BEN BURNS
I'm taking the points with CHICAGO. I won a big play on the 'under' when these teams faced each other earlier in the season. This time, I believe that the value lies with the home underdog.
Everyone is pretty down on the Bears these days & its true that they're dealing with some injuries. That's been factored into the line though, as we're now getting nearly as many points with them, as Bears' backers did in the earlier game at Lambeau. Note that while the Bears did lose that one by six points, they had a significant statistical advantage.
Despite all the negative sentiment and the disappointing overall results, the Bears are coming off an 8-point win, albeit vs. the Rams, and they're home record of 4-2 is actually better than Green Bay's 3-2 mark on the road.
While they won't be making the playoffs, they're technically not eliminated yet. As defensive end Alex Brown noted: "I don't know the chances, I'm not a math guy, but if there is a possibility, we just got to win..." While the Bears realize that's not realistically going to happen, they'd still LOVE to damage the cha‡nces of their arch-rival.
The Bears haven't been swept in a season series by the Packers since 2003 and they've won three of the last four meetings here at Soldier Field. Last year, they won 20-17 here. The previous season, in December of 2007, they were big underdogs but rose to the occasion and won by a score of 35-7. Catching the Packers playing on a short week, I expect them to again elevate their level of play, earning AT LEAST the cover and improving to 50-39-1 ATS the last 90 times that they were attempting to avenge an earlier loss. *10 Top 2009 AFC North Play
Blazer
3* Colts
3* Jaguars
3* Ravens
Goldsheet LTS
1.5* Texans
1* Tenn
1* Patriots
Frank Patron
20000 Unit Oddsmakers Lock
Dallas Cowboys -3.5
Stu Feiner
100 Dimes Dolphins
Joey Torelli
3* Vikings -6
Northcoast
Marquee Eagles
Mike Lineback
Redskins -1
Street Rosenthal
*200 Green Bay Packers -4
*300 Dallas Cowboys -3
*300 Philadelphia Eagles -1
*500 Minnesota Vikings -6
Seabass
100* KC
200* Jaguars
100* Dallas
100* Cinn
100* NYG
400* Bears
C-Star Sports
5000 Units Green Bay minus the points over Chicago
1000 Units Houston Minus the points over Seattle
50 units Detroit at Baltimore under the total
50 units Denver plus the points over Indianapolis
Rocketman
ATLANTA HAWKS -12.5
New Jersey is 31-53 ATS last 3 years when playing against a team with a winning record. New Jersey is 3-11 ATS this year against good offensive teams scoring 99 points per game or more. Atlanta is 16-6 ATS in all games this year. Atlanta is 23-10 ATS last 3 years in December. Atlanta is 5-1 ATS this year against Atlantic Division opponents. New Jersey is scoring only 88.5 points per game overall and 88.6 points per game on the road this season. Atlanta is scoring 111.1 points per game at home this year. Nets are 21-44-2 ATS in their last 67 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. Nets are 5-11-1 ATS in their last 17 games as a road underdog of 11.0 or greater. Nets are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 vs. Eastern Conference. Nets are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games following a SU loss. Nets are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games as an underdog. Nets are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games playing on 1 days rest. Nets are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 games overall. Nets are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games. Nets are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a road underdog. Nets are 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 Sunday games. Nets are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning SU record. Nets are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game. Hawks are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 Sunday games. Hawks are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 vs. NBA Atlantic. Hawks are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of less than .400. Hawks are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. Hawks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. Hawks are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games following a ATS win. Hawks are 19-7-1 ATS in their last 27 games as a home favorite. Hawks are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 home games. Hawks are 14-6 ATS in their last 20 games as a favorite. Hawks are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a losing SU record. Hawks are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a SU win of more than 10 points. Hawks are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 vs. Eastern Conference. Hawks are 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400. Home team is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings. We'll play Atlanta for 3 units today!
Evan Altemus
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES -1
New York still has significant problems despite their win last week. Dallas outplayed them and should have won. The Giants secondary still has problems, and they were exploited by the Eagles earlier in the season. Philadelphia has one of the best passing attacks in the NFL, and New York doesn’t match up well against them. The Eagles have played well on the road this season, and they have played well against the Giants recently, winning their last three games against them. Philadelphia will have Desean Jackson back for this game as well, and he is a significant key to the offense. Look for the Eagles to get the road win.
Bob Balfe
CHICAGO BEARS +4
The Packers will be without their Nose Tackle and Jolly might not play. This Green Bay line is banged up and coming off a short week. The Bears are the home team and matchup well on offense. Chicago has two big cover corners that will shut down the Green Bay passing game. Look for the Bears to get a big cover.
Lenny Del Genio
BUFFALO BILLS -1
Kansas City is just awful and does not deserve to be favored (0-5-1 ATS L3 years when laying points) against anyone, which is probably why we've seen the change in roles early in the week. The KC defense is allowing nearly 400 yards per game and has been shredded for 87 points the last two weeks. QB Cassel has been a disappointment and was benched last week vs. Denver. HC Todd Haley has not exactly won over his players. Buffalo, meanwhile, is at least playing hard for interim coach Perry Fewell. They have had three extra days to prepare for this matchup, which is huge this time of year. Although they lost that game to the Jets in Toronto, a designated "home game," they do typically play well outside of Orchard Park, covering seven of their last nine road games. The Bills have dominated this series, going 6-3 SU, 7-2 ATS, the last nine head to head meetings, including a 54-31 beatdown last year. Although he is on the downside of his career, Terrell Owens still can have big games against bad teams. Kansas City certainly qualifies. Owens had 14 catches for 293 yards and two touchdowns against subpar Jaguars and Dolphins secondaries in Weeks 11 and 12. The Chiefs best wideout, Dwayne Bowe, is suspended for this matchup. Rushing edge goes to Buffalo with Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch. Kansas City has covered just six of its last 21 home games. Take Buffalo.
Marc Lawrence
Cincinnati +6
When the Bengals battle the Vikings in Minnesota SUnday afternoon they will do so in a terrific winning situation. That's because NFL .666 or greater road dog of more than four points of a win during the regular season versus a .666 or greater opponent are 10-0 ATS if the Over/Under total in this game is 40 or more points and the opponent was a dog or favorite of 17 or less points in its last game. Take the Bengals.
Executive
650 GOY Jacksonville
300 KC
300 Oakland
Ron Meyer
Detroit +14
KC +2
Cincinnati +6.5
Savannah Sports
4* Jacksonville -1.5
3* Indianapolis Under 44
3* Oakland Under 37.5
Eric Degarde
1* Villanova -3.5
1* Xaiver -4
BEN BURNS
I'm laying the points with DALLAS. You've probably already heard all the talk about how Dallas can't win in December and how San Diego can't lose in December. It's true that's been the case in recent years. However, I believe that this will prove to be an excellent spot for a play on the home team. The Cowboys lost last week. However, they could have easily won that one, as they outgained the Giants by a 424-337 margin. This will be their third home game in their past four games. The Chargers, on the other hand, are playing the second of back to back road games and are now playing their third road game in the past four. They've gone back and forth from the West Coast numerous times this season and I believe that all the travel may be beginning to take a toll. While this is still a big game for San Diego, it's arguably much bigger for the Cowboys. For starters, they desperately want to silence all the "can't win in December" talk. More importantly, they badly need a victory to stay in the playoff hunt. San Diego is a game ahead of the Broncos in the AFC West and plays two of its final three at home. On the other hand, the Cowboys are tied with Philadelphia on top the AFC East (with Giants, who have beaten them twice, only 1 game behind them) and play their next two on the road. Making things even more difficult, the next one comes at New Orleans. When considering how tough the Saints have been this season, this one is essentially a "must win" game for them. The Cowboys are 6-1 SU and 5-2 ATS their last seven games played on turf. Conversely, the Chargers are 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS their last five on turf. The Chargers usually have an advantage over most teams that they play at the quarterback position. With all due respect to Rivers, who is having another great year, I don't expect that to be the case this afternoon. Romo is coming off a game which saw him throw for 392 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Romo, who completed an outstanding 41 of 55 (74.5 percent) passes, now has 16 touchdowns with just three interceptions in his last eight games, topping the 300 yard mark in five of them. Jason Witten, who caught 14 passes for 156 yards, is capable of matching San Diego's Antonio Gates while the duo of Miles Austin and Roy Williams arguably give the Cowboys the advantage at the receiver position. As far as the running game goes, even though Tomlinson still gets a lot of publicity, the Chargers rush for just 87 yards per game. Dallas, on the other hand, averages 130 rushing yards per game. Its not just the Dallas runs more often either. The Cowboys run the ball 26 times per game. The Chargers run the ball 27 times per game. San Diego gains an average of 3.3 yards per carry. The Cowboys gain an average of five yards per carry. Perhaps most importantly, I believe that the Cowboys have the advantage on the defensive side of the ball. Dallas allowed a lot of points last week. However, that was the first time in 11 games that they allowed more than 21 points. They'd held each of their previous five opponents to 17 points or less with those teams averaging less than 13 points. For the season, the Cowboys are allowing 17.7 points and 15.2 at home. The Chargers, who allowed 23 vs. lowly Cleveland last week, are allowing 20.2. The Chargers are 4-7 SU and 5-6 ATS the last 11 times that they played a game with a line ranging from +3 to -3. During the same stretch, the Cowboys are 9-5 SU/ATS when they have done so. I expect them to improve on those stats here, temporarily silencing the "can't win in December" talk and taking a critical step towards making the playoffs. *10 GOM
REST OF CARD
NY GIANTS
DENVER UNDER
JAGUARS
The Duke's Sports
Denver Over (43') for 2.5 Units
These teams have collided for a combined 5-0 O/U mark in their last 5 meetings. With both of these teams' offenses revved up, we see good value with the "over" today. The Colts' sack specialist, Mathis, is fighting through a quad injury and may be limited in his "get off" today. And although SS Melivin Bullitt does a great job coming up to make tackles, he leaves a void in the secondary during play action, something Denver does well. On the other hand, the Broncos' secondary will have their strongest test on the road vs the game's premier passer-Peyton Manning. Manning is use to winning those battles. The Broncos are 10-4-1 O/U in December while the Colts are 7-2 O/U in week 14. Value with the "over"
KBHoops
5* Villanova -3 **POD**
5* LA Clippers +6
Pitbull
20 units Dallas -3.5
20 units NY Giants +1
20 units NY Jets -3.5
20 units Jaguars -1
15 units Kansas City ML +130
15 units Bears/Packers Over 41
15 units Bears +4.5
NHL PRO PICKS
Tampa Bay +206