Public Likes Niners
The Detroit Lions will see a familiar face in Mike Martz when they travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers. Oddsmakers have made the 49ers a 4.5-point favorite.
The Detroit Lions have struggled stopping opponents so far this season and things don’t get any easier this weekend in San Francisco. The 49ers put up 33 points in an overtime win over the Seahawks last Sunday and new offensive coordinator Mike Martz might be seeking some revenge against his old team. Don’t expect Frank Gore to see much action this week, as Martz is expected to use quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan in a bombs-away passing strategy.
The Lions have an equally effective offense, but they’ve fallen behind by 21 points in each of their first two games and have been forced to abandon the run. If they can get rookie running back Kevin Smith going early, they might be able to control the clock more and keep their suspect defense off the field. The 49ers defense has improved over the years, but Detroit receivers Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson will give San Fran’s secondary all it can handle.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBG Global have made the 49ers a 4.5-point favorite and the over/under total has been set at 46.5. Current public betting information shows that 66% of bettors favor San Francisco to cover the 4.5-point spread.
Martz is going to look to rout the Lions and with how well the Niners played last week in Seattle, it’s hard to believe the “Mad Scientist” won’t have success against Detroit’s brutal defense. As long as Martz can play things smart (which is questionable given his reckless coaching style), San Francisco should walk away with its second win of the season. We predict the 49ers over the Lions 37-24.
Lions at 49ers Point Spread and Over/Under Total
Key Injuries:
DETROIT
[CB] Stanley Wilson IR – Achilles – 09/04/08
[WR] Aveion Cason IR – Ankle – 08/31/08
[TE] Dan Campbell IR – Hamstring – 09/09/08
[FB] Jon Bradley IR – Shoulder – 08/20/08
[DE] Corey Smith missed last game, %27?%27 – Hamstring – 09/14/08
SAN FRANCISCO
[CB] Shawntae Spencer is expected to miss – Knee – 09/17/08
[QB] Alex Smith IR – Shoulder – 09/07/08
[CB] Donald Strickland is upgraded to probable – Knee – 09/17/08
[OT] Jonas Jennings left last game, is downgraded to doubtful – Shoulder – 09/17/08
Top Trends:
DETROIT is 2-11 ATS (-10.1 Units) in road games against conference opponents over the last 3 seasons.
DETROIT is 7-19 ATS (-13.9 Units) when playing with 6 or less days rest over the last 3 seasons.
DETROIT is 1-8 ATS (-7.8 Units) as a road underdog of 3.5 to 7 points over the last 3 seasons.
DETROIT is 4-13 ATS (-10.3 Units) in road games over the last 3 seasons.
DETROIT is 4-13 ATS (-10.3 Units) in road lined games over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN FRANCISCO is 1-0 against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
SAN FRANCISCO is 1-0 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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