Jim Feist
Inner Circle Preseason Game of the Year - Panthers
Carolina (1-0 SU/ATS) has new coach Ron Rivera (former Chargers defensive coordinator) and new DC Sean McDermott, who previously headed up an attacking Philadelphia Eagles defense. They beat the Giants, 20-10, and go with rookie QB Cam Newton, Jimmy Clausen and No. 3 QB Derek Anderson. All the Carolina quarterbacks will have Steve Smith available to throw to for Friday's matchup, as the veteran wide receiver returned to practice this week after sitting out the opener with an injured hand. Former Bears tight end Greg Olsen added punch to the Panthers' offense. Olsen seems thrilled to have landed in Charlotte, where the tight end figures prominently in offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski's offense. Chudzinski came with Rivera from San Diego, where he worked with Antonio Gates. "Energy" was the word new Panthers coach Ron Rivera kept using in his postgame news conference. And it fit on a night that felt like the Panthers clicked a light switch and saw it brighten the room for the first time in a year. They take on a Miami team with a lot of new looks and a lousy QB rotation of Chad Henne, Matt Moore, Tom Brandstater and Pat Devlin. Miami (1-0 SU/ATS) came from a 17-0 deficit to win at Atlanta, 28-23, though the offense had just 263 total yards and averaged 2.3 yards per rush. It was a lackluster preseason debut by the starters that included two interceptions, some clear miscommunication and a struggling running game. There are also problems with the secondary, with Will Allen out, and Vontae Davis and Sean Smith are playing on different sides than they did last year. Miami was favored once last preseason and lost 16-6 at home to Atlanta. They are far too big a favorite against the team with the new coaching staff that has a chip on its shoulder. Play the Panthers!
SCOTT SPREITZER
NFL-X DOG OF THE YEAR - KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Just about anyone who pays attention to the NFL knows that the Kansas City Chiefs have been a go-against team in preseason play over the last few seasons. They didn't disappoint last weekend. But I believe that KC is now getting too many points with the public all over the anti-KC information. The fact is, no matter how long Baltimore plays their starters and regular backups, they just don't care whether they win or lose this contest. Instead, they're attempting to find a halfway decent offensive line combination. At least two o-line starters are injured for the second straight week and the run and pass blocking turned out to be quite messy and inefficient in week one. KC may not normally care about winning preseason games, but they certainly have an opportunity to push around the makeshift combination's Baltimore OC Cam Cameron plans to use up front. It also doesn't hurt that KC's coaches have stated that they do want a more positive effort than they saw last weekend. And with the Ravens' o-line a shell of what it's expected to be during the regular season, I doubt we'll see much more than basic sets when the starting offense is on the field tonight. KC is actually in a strong league-wide preseason spot tonight. Preseason teams that are priced as a pick or dog are 20-5 ATS if they're off a home loss of at least 10 points and they're winless. Meanwhile, the Ravens are 0-7 ATS at home after scoring 14 points or less in their previous preseason game. That's a 27-5 ATS combined mark. We cashed the Under in Baltimore's week one contest with Philly. Tonight, I'm going against them. I'm grabbing the points with the Chiefs on Friday.
Steve Janus
5* Yankees
4* Reds
4* Rangers
Bob Balfe
Browns / Lions Over 37
Both teams have very good backup quarterbacks who can throw the ball well. The Lions have a few key defensive backs that will miss tonight’s game and neither defense has much depth. Look for a lot of points in the second half. Take the Over.
Baltimore Ravens -6.5
Kansas City is far behind the rest of the league in getting started this season. Last week, they didn’t even scrimmage and only had a few practices before the blowout loss to the Bucs. Baltimore did not look too hot against Philadelphia, but I look for them to work more on throwing the ball to their new receivers tonight. Tyrod Taylor is going to be a great backup in this league and tonight you will see how well he runs against the Kansas City backups. The Chiefs seem to have no interest in winning their preseason games and want to get into the regular season injury-free. Take Baltimore.
Green Bay Packers -5
Kevin Kolb will get his first road test in a new system against a team that is very quick and hard to beat at home. Green Bay has so many great wide receivers that should burn the Arizona backups. Green Bay will be home for the first time after winning the Super Bowl, so I expect it to be an exciting environment, even if it is just the preseason. The Packers have more speed and should win this game with ease. Take Green Bay.
LA Dodgers +106
Hiroki Kuroda has been on fire in his last few starts and, with these teams being as evenly matched as they are, we will give the edge to the Dodgers. Jason Hammel has been rocked and is a not a good home pitcher. Look for the Dodgers to get the road win.
Lines2Win
3* Dodgers / Rockies Over 9.5
ATS Winners
5* Lions / Browns Over 37
4* Atlanta Falcons +3
4* Baltimore Ravens -6.5
4* Cardinals / Packers Over 38
Jeff Benton
30 Dime Indians
10 Dime Dolphins
Derek Mancini
40 Dime Jaguars
Northcoast
3* Baltimore -6.5
Marque Cleveland -2.5
Marque Atlanta / Jacksonville Under 36
Ben Burns
10* Seattle -115
These teams both had an off day yesterday. If recent history is any indication, that should favor the visiting Mariners. The M's are a surprisingly solid 27-24 (+4.8) when playing with a day off the past few seasons. During that stretch, the Rays are an awful 16-24 (-14.4) when playing with a day off. That's not why I'm playing on Seattle here though. Rather, its because they've started to swing the bats better and because they've got their ace on the mound.
I was happy to see the M's get shutdown by their former teammate (Brandon Morrow) on Wednesday, as I had the "under" in that game. However, prior to that game, they'd been swinging the bats very well. In fact, they entered that game averaging 5.3 runs per game over their previous seven games, while hitting a very healthy .301. They're getting solid production from some of their young hitters and the team seems to be relaxed and playing better again.
While the M's have been hitting better lately, their ace has also been hitting his stride. Last time out, he beat Beckett and the Bosox. Prior to that, in his most recent road start, he limited the Angels to two runs on only four hits through eight innings. While he got no run support, the fact that he had 12 K's without walking a batter shows what kind of stuff he had. For the season, he's got a 3.06 ERA and 1.113 WHIP in 15 road starts, averaging better than seven innings in those outings. In 106 road innings, he has 104 K's with only 29 walks.
Hernandez should be happy to see the Rays, as he's dominated them over his career. In eight starts vs. Tampa, Hernandez is 3-1 with a superb 2.29 ERA and 1.068 WHIP. The M's were a highly profitable 7-1 (+5.4) in those games, including an 8-2 victory back in June. "King Felix" recorded 11 K's in that one, allowing only one run on five hits, through seven innings.
On the other hand, Davis gave up five runs in his lone start vs. the M's this season. While the Rays lost 9-6, he was fortunate to avoid factoring in the decision. Davis did lose his lone 2010 start vs. Seattle though and has a poor 4.82 ERA in three lifetime starts vs. Seattle overall. Perhaps more importantly, Davis has a terrible 5.93 ERA€ over his last five starts.
I expect Hernandez to outpitch and outlast Davis here as the M's start the series with a win.
Lines2Win
3* Dodgers / Rockies Over 9.5
2* Lions +2.5
Wayne Root
Millionaire - Miami Dolphins -6
Billionaire - Jacksonville Jaguars -3
King Creole
2* Kansas City Chiefs +7
KELSO
25 Units Giants -145
15 Units Indians +130
10 Units Rangers -115