Bob Balfe
Redskins/Ravens Over 38
Washington looked great on offense, defense and special teams last week against the Bills and should have a decent night throwing the ball against a banged-up Ravens secondary that is not deep at all to begin with. The Ravens' first team looked great in the first two series they had and I look for them to have another solid start. Both teams have good offensive depth which should send this well over the total. Take the Over.
Pittsburgh Steelers -4
The Giants are hurting at the offensive line position and will have to insert Rhett Bomar into the fire. In addition, Manning and Sorgi will not play tonight at all. The Steelers will play Big Ben for the first time this year and then should play well with their seasoned backups. Bomar is not good enough to generate any type of offense against the Steelers D. Take the Steelers in an easy win.
Kansas City Chiefs +2
Both teams should be much improved this year, but I think its very important for the Chiefs to get a win in the preseason, so they should be playing their starters a little bit longer. The Bucs do not have much depth and will want to keep their starters injury-free and in there for a very limited amount of time. Look for KC to get the win. Take the Chiefs.
Cleveland Browns -3.5
You have to feel bad for Sam Bradford, who was sacked like crzy in his first NFL action last week. The Rams just do not have a good enough offensive line for Bradford to get set and throw the ball downfield. The Browns, on the other hand, showed a tremendous amount of versatility and talent within their offense last week and will put this game out of reach early in the 2nd half, led by a seasoned vet and excellent preseason QB in Seneca Wallace. Take the Browns.
Saints/Texans Over 41
Last year, the Saints really opened it up in week 2 of the preseason. The Texans played great defense last week but it will be a different story today in New Orleans. Houston also gave up 19pts in the 4th quarter which means their backup players still have a lot of practicing to do. Look for the Texans to play well themselves on offense. I Schaub and Brees should generate enough offense to make this over completely attainable throughout the entire game. I was really surprised to see this total at 41 (my analysis had the total set at 46.5), so there is tremendous value here. Both teams will score plenty to send this over the total...take the Over.
New York Jets -1
I liked what Jimmy Claussen did last week, but that was against a Ravens secondary that has zero depth and had almost every starter out. The Jets' defense will not be that friendly tonight. Look for them to play their starters a bit longer and to make up for last week's 2nd half meltdown against the Giants, as their defense allowed a lot of big plays. Look for a good defensive game with the Jets getting the win.
Chicago Bears -1
This is a real football matchup! Oakland has a great set of QB's for preseason play (not to be confused with regular season) but a few are hurt. In addition, their offensive line will definitely not be able to provide any sort of protection against a solid Bears defense. The Raiders are hurting at the wide receiver position right now and, with two running backs also hurt, it will be extremely difficult for them to put up any points. Take the Bears.
Washington Nationals -102
The Nationals played well last night (10 hits), considering they only lost 1-0 to a Phillies team that was a 3/1 favorite with Halladay on the hill. Now Washington will have their ace on the mound going against a shaky and inconsistent Kyle Kendrick. The pitching matchup favors Washington and this is as good as a price you will ever get with Strasburg on the mound. Take the Nationals.
Mike Neri Sports
1 Unit Atlanta -155
NSA
20* Saints -1
20* Yanks -1.5
20* Rays -130
MTi Sports
4* Boston
Andrew Lange
Tex/Balt Under 7.5
Teddy Covers
Padres/Brewers Over
Nationals
Browns
Beat Your Bookie
10* Play Houston (+115) over Florida (POD)
Florida is 8-18 in home games when the line is between -125 and +125
Chris Volstad is 7-15 when pitching as a favorite of -110 or higher the last 2 seasons
Chris Volstad has an ERA of 6.32 over the last 3 starts
5* Play Toronto (+120) over Boston
Toronto is 52-33 when the total posted is between 8.5 and 10 runs
Ricky Romero is 4-0 when the total posted is between 9 and 9.5 runs
Ricky Romero is 2-0 over the last 3 starts with an ERA of 3.27
10* Play Tampa Bay (-2) over Kansas City (Top Play)
Kansas City is 1-8 ATS in all pre-season games the last 3 years
Kansas City is 3-13 ATS in pre-season as a road underdog of 3 points or less
Kansas City is 0-4 SU & ATS when playing on a Saturday in pre-season the last 3 years
5* Play Cleveland (-3) over St. Louis
St. Louis is 2-9 ATS in pre-season games coming off a home loss
St. Louis is 4-15 ATS in pre-season games when playing on a Saturday
St. Louis is 6-18 SU in pre-season as a road underdog of 7 points or less
Seabass
100* St Louis Rams
100* Houston Texans
50* KC Chiefs
50* Seattle Seahawks
Gary Olshan
Texans at Saints
Pick: Under 41
I believe the total is too high in this matchup between Houston and New Orleans. Saint HC Payton said he was "disturbed" by the defense's performance in the 27-24 loss at New England. So look for Saints to play harder on D in their 1st home game of the season. Meanwhile, Saint offense will drop off significantly once Brees leaves the game after around 1 Q of action. Houston D played well for 3 Qs before the deep reserves allowed Cards to pull tou 18-16 win week ago.
TIM TRUSHEL
SL Cardinals Under
Boston Red Sox Under
SD Chargers
KELSO
50 Units Pittsburgh Steelers -4
25 Units Cincinnati Reds +115
15 Units SD Padres -120
10 Units Colorado Rockies -165
Dwayne Bryant
Red Sox
TB Rays
DAVID BANKS
Browns -3.5
Jaguars -2
Saints -1
Padres -118
Cardinals -154
Dodgers -118
BIG AL
Detroit Tigers
SD Padres
Scott Sprietzer
5* Boston
3* TB Rays