The Asian Executive
Lock of the Week 9 units Buffalo -3.5
2 units New England Under 37
MATT FARGO
10* Indianapolis Colts +3.5
KIKI SPORTS
2 Units Indy/Buffalo UNDER 33
1 Unit Atlanta Braves -1.5
1 Unit Boston -150
JR O'Donnell
2* Indianapolis Colts + 3.5
Turnovers cost the Colts big time last game as we faded the Jim Caldwell crew last outing and The Niners needed 4 turnovers to get that baby ugly "37-17". The Niners out yarded the Colts 288-140 after the first quarter which the runner ups in the SB were dominating . This game will be a better effort vs the poor Buff Bills in Toronto, The Bills were beat up bad by a Wash Skins group last outing and Bills head coach Chan Gailey had a injured ball club. Trent Edwards was 6-for-12 with 58 yards and we are very low on him. We expect Colts back up Qb's Painter and Tom Brandstater to play better! Look for a more spirited effort here in game 2 as the Colts are working hard @ Anderson University.
Evan Altemus
3 Units Patriots / Falcons Over 37
Tom Brady, despite having his fingers taped together, is still practicing, and I expect him to play the 1st quarter on Thursday. The first team offense played well against New Orleans, and I expect them to move the ball in this game. Back-up quarterback Brian Hoyer has played very well both in this preseason and last year’s preseason. The Patriots have opened up the offense with him in the game and allowed him to throw the ball down the field. Meanwhile, Atlanta has a decent back-up quarterback in Chris Redman. He also performed well in last year’s preseason. I expect both Matt Ryan and Redman get extended playing time in this game because they did not get that in their last game. Both of these teams have been good over selections in last year’s preseason, and I expect more of an offensive showing in this game. The Patriots don’t have good depth on defense, which is why the Saints were able to move the ball on them in the 2nd half. Atlanta didn’t have a good offensive performance last week, and New England should put up at least 20 points with Brady and Hoyer getting most of the snaps. Take the over.
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
9* Indianapolis Colts + 3
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this contest is on the visitors:
Indianapolis went 1-3 ATS during the pre-season in 2009 and lost badly to the 49'ers at home in its first pre-season contest this year, 37-17.
It's interesting to note though that the Colts only ATS victory last pre-season was in their second game.
Peyton Manning was dominant last week in the limited amount of time he was on the field; he was 8 of 10 for 91 yards and led the Colts to scores on their first two drives.
His backup though, wasn't as fortunate; Curtis Painter threw three INT's and botched a handoff which allowed the 49'ers to overcome a slow start and eventually go on to dominate.
Suffice to say I expect a turn around here as the Colts, across the board, will look to take better care of the ball this week.
I also expect the Colts to get their stalled running game going this week, something Jim Caldwell wants to focus on coming into this season.
“Obviously, the big thing was turnovers,” Caldwell said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, so we’ll keep working.”
On the other side of the field: The Bills went 1-3-1 in the 2009 pre-season as the starting offense scored just three points over 15 series in five games; they got annihilated 42-17 last week against the Redskins
Chan Gailey is the new head coach and still hopes that this season will be more productive than last, however the Bills looked like the Bills of old; that made a ton of mistakes and added two running backs to the already very long list of injured as Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch went down; earlier the Bills scratched 13 players due to injuries, including five linebackers and four offensive linemen.
Gailey knows his team has a long way to go; “Thank goodness it’s preseason,” Gailey said. “When we get to early September, it’s going to be 0-0 on the win-loss column and thank goodness for that. But we’ve got to find who can do what in these next three ballgames and get ourselves ready for that first one.”
Bottom line: The Colts have never put a lot of emphasis on the pre-season, but after last weeks collapse after dominating the start, I look for this team to take advantage of a clearly inferior team;
Ben Burns
9* Colts / Bills Under 34
These teams closed out the regular season against each other last year. That game was almost like an exhibition game though, as the Colts had already secured the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs. The game would finish with 37 points. The previous four meetings all finished with 34 or fewer points though. I expect another relatively low-scoring game on Thursday, at Toronto.
Neither of these teams had to have been very happy with their defensive performances in Week 1. The Colts gave up 37 points vs. San Francisco.
The Bills were even worse. They gave up 42 points at Washington. It was the most points the Redskins scored in a preseason game since 1988. As a result, I expect both teams to place a greater emphasis on that side of the ball here.
After last week's blowout, Bills' linebacker Andra Davis noted: "...We'll learn from this." Making his return to the NFL, coach Chan Gailey figures to be particularly interested in seeing an improved effort from the defense.
While all teams hope to avoid injury in the preseason, the Colts should be particularly interested in staying healthy on offense. Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday could miss up to six weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery, while starting left tackle Charlie Johnson missed all week of practice with a sprained right foot. Rookie interior lineman Jacques McClendon also missed this week's work with an undisclosed injury.
Additionally, Pro Bowl tight end injured his left leg in last Friday's practice.
In addition to wanting to holding their opponent to fewer points and staying healthy, the Colts should be looking to work on their ground attack. They came into the season lookin to improve their running game. Yet, they produced only 8 yards on the ground in the first 25 minutes.
Peyton Manning already looked in mid-season form, so the offense figures to feature a fairly heavy dose of the run, even when Manning is in the game.
Obviously, Manning is more than capable. However, Curtis Painter and Tim Brandstater will see the majority of the snaps. Neither QB exactly keeps defensive coordinators awake at night. Likewise for the Bills' quartet of Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Brohm and Levi Brown.
While the Canadian fans would probably prefer a "shootout," with both teams looking for an improved defensive effort, I look for the final combined score to stay below the number.
King Creole
2* Patriots / Falcons Over 37
Over / Under line in this game opened at 37 points, and it's still at that number as of Wednesday late-afternoon, You'll want to play this ASAP though... as the OU line figures to go UP on gameday.
The HIGHLIGHT Over / Under System for this game is based on each team's results in Week One. Atlanta went 'UNDER' vs the Chiefs... while the Pats went 'OVER' vs the Saints.
22-7 O/U last 3 years for all Pre-Season GAME TWO home teams (FALCONS) who went 'Under' in Game One. If these hosts are playing a team that went 'Over' in Week One (like the PATS), the results shoot up to a very sharp 16-1 O/U!
10-2 O/U last 3 years: All Pre-Season GAME TWO home teams when BOTH won their first pre-season game last week (FALCONS / PATRIOTS). If both teams won SU and ATS as a favorite in that game, the results improve to 6-1 O/U.
14-5 O/U last 3 years: All Pre-Season GAME TWO teams who allowed 10 34 pts.
Speaking of the point spread and OU line, let's run a combination query:
10-3 O/U last 5 years: All Pre-Season GAME TWO home favs of 6 < points (FALCONS) with an OU line of 37 to 40 points. These teams are 5-1 o/U when playing off a SU win.
This is the second of back-to-back HOME games for the Falcons...
9-3 O/U: All Pre-Season GAME TWO home teams (FALCONS) playing off a home game. Last season, these teams went a PERFECT 5-0 O/U!
This situation went 9-1 O/U last year in ALL pre-season games (regardless of game number).
9-1 O/U: All teams in the second of BB home games... off an 'Under' in that last game (FALCONS).
This is the second straight THURSDAY game for the visiting Patriots...
5-1 O/U last 5 years: All pre-season THURSDAY ROAD teams in Games 2 or 3.... if they also played on Thursday the previous week (PATRIOTS).
Dwayne Bryant
LA Dodgers
Mr. East
3 Units Pittsburgh Pirates -1.5 +190
Dave Cokin
Oakland A's
Atlanta Falcons -2.5
Fantasy Sports Gametime
100* Play Atlanta (-200) over Washington
Atlanta has won 7 of the last 8 games and they have also won 41 of the last 55 home games as a favorite of -110 or higher. Derek Lowe has won 16 of the last 18 home games as a favorite of -200 to -225 and he is 8-4 in home games this season with an ERA of 3.69.
50* Play NY Yankees (-240) over Detroit
New York pitcher, Phil Hughes has won 9 consecutive home games when the total posted in between 9 and 9.5 runs and he has also won 14 of the last 16 home games as a favorite of -150 or higher. Phil Hughes has won 5 consecutive games vs. AL Central Division Opponents and he is 8-3 in home games this season.
50* Play Philadelphia (-170) over San Francisco
Philadelphia has won 6 of the last 7 games and they have also won 28 of the last 39 home games when the total posted is between 8.5 and 10 runs. Philadelphia has won 67 of the last 103 games vs. NL West Division Opponents and they have also won 39 of the last 55 home games as a favorite of -150 to -175.
Paul Leiner
50* Marlins -105
25* Bills -3.5
Stan Lisowski
3* Colts +3.5
Despite the short week will shade the Colts here as Buffalo appears to be awful. Without RBs, WRs, and stability at quarterback, the Bills may be in for a long season. Coach Gailey is 1-10 in preseason play, with Buffalo going 12-28 as an exhibition chalk. Indy has covered 26 of 40 as a preseason dog.
Rocketman
5* LA Dodgers -140