Scott Spreitzer
Green Bay Packers at Carolina Panthers
Prediction: Green Bay Packers
We give Carolina QB Cam Newton credit where it's due. After all, it's not always easy to take what a defense gives you. But that's exactly what Newton and the Panther offense did last weekend. And while Newton did have a huge game, it should be noted that the Arizona secondary is young, thin, and learning new coverage philosophies. It should also be noted that CB Patrick Peterson left Steve Smith open almost all afternoon. But after the break, Newton and the offense scored just 7 points. In fact, Carolina's second half drive chart went: INT, TD, punt, punt, punt, stopped on downs. Cam and company better get used to that when they matchup against the Packers. Dom Capers has had a couple of extra days to prep his defense for a rookie QB who rarely had to go through his progressions or even look off his primary receiver in his NFL debut. I also expect Carolina's defense to struggle with Green Bay's vast array of offensive weaponry. When this one is said and done, I believe Green Bay will be a wide margin winner, extending Carolina's September ATS slide to 0-9. I'm laying the points with the Packers on Sunday.
Charlie Scott
Rams vs. Giants
Play: Over 43.5
I feel the offense's are ahead of the defense's this time of the season because of the labor lockout and limited amounts of training camp & practice time. Coverage on Special Teams was terrible in week #1 and definitely helped in having 12 games go Over the Total last week. The Giants have numerous injuries on a defense that struggled against the pass last week vs Rex Grossman and some No name receivers. Giants Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride (The Asst Coach Buddy Ryan tried to beat up in Houston Years ago) refuses to run the ball on consecutive plays. This is the first Monday Night game for the Rams since 2006. PLAY OVER !
Raiders vs. Bills
Play: Over 42.5
I feel the offense's are ahead of the defense's this time of the season because of the labor lockout and limited amounts of training camp & practice time. This is a relatively low total for Today's NFL, where as Fezzik stated at the Vegas Insider seminar Teams get penalized for tackling. Raiders pass defense is bad, so I look for Bills QB Fitzpatrick to have another good day in YR#2 of the Gailey system, while the Raiders have enough weapons at skill positions & special teams to also score some points. Make no mistake about it, although the Bills defense played well lw @ KC, they won't be confused with the 86 Bears. PLAY OVER !
BIG AL
Pittsburgh Pirates @ Los Angeles Dodgers
PICK: Los Angeles Dodgers
It's Brad vs. Chad as righthanders Brad Lincoln and Chad Billingsley go to the mound in southern California, and Billingsley threw 6 1/3 strong innings in his last start at home against the Diamondbacks after three straight starts which were less than ideal against the Rockies, Braves, and Nationals. Funny thing is that the Dodgers lost that last start but won the three where Billingsley pitched poorly, and that's the goofy kind of season it's been for the veteran who is in his sixth season - all in Dodger Blue. In any event, Billingsley claims that a tweak that he made to his delivery is responsible for the improved performance last time out and certainly tonight his team should have an easier time against the Pirates. Despite his six years in the MLB, Billingsley is just now entering his prime at 26 years old and he should have plenty left in the tank and could bounce back next season from what has to be considered a disappointing 2011 campaign. Lincoln is a prototypical Pittsburgh starter, which is to say that his ERA isn't terrible, but he has a losing record and will probably find it impossible to have it any other way on this team, which is guaranteed to have their 19th losing season in a row. The Pirates are 22-55 in the last 77 meetings heading into Saturday. Take the Dodgers.
Jimmy Boyd
1 Unit on Detroit Tigers -1.5 -106
Look for the Tigers to bounce back strong behind their ace Sunday. Verlander has won his last 11 starts, and the last 6 wins have all come by at least 2 runs. Looking back, the Tigers have won 22 of his last 25 starts with 16 of those victories coming by at least 2 runs. In addition, the Tigers are a perfect 13-0 on the road this season with Verlander on the hill as a favorite of -125 or more. They have won these contests by an average of 2.8 runs. We'll get behind the hottest pitcher in baseball with a run line wager Sunday.
Freddy Wills
Oakland Raiders vs. Buffalo Bills
Play: Oakland Raiders +4
After the first week when the Bills went on the road and dominated the Chiefs everyone is buying into the Bills and I"m a little surprised at this line. Yes the Raiders have to come East to play this game, but I feel they are ready to play well and back up their Monday performance on short rest here. People forget how bad the Bills run defense was last year as the Chiefs never got to take advantage of that falling behind early. Bills were ranked last last year and I think the Raiders can really shorten the game and play with the lead with one of the better running games in the league. I think the Raiders man coverage and blitz scheme will throw Fitzpatrick off a little bit and the Bills will have issues trying to run the ball today.
Larry Ness
Pittsburgh Pirates vs Los Angeles Dodgers
Play: Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers own a MVP candidate in Matt Kemp (.317 / 33 HRs / 111 RBI) and a Cy Young contender in Clayton Kershaw (19-5, 2.30 ERA), but are just trying to reach .500 with a win Sunday afternoon. The 75-76 Dodgers haven’t been over .500 since the team was 6-5 way back on April 12. Chad Billingsley is 10-10 with a 4.30 ERA on the season but hasn’t won since beating Arizona on August 5. He’s 0-1 with a 4.78 ERA in seven starts since (team is 3-4) but I expect him to be just fine here vs the, as always, struggling Pirates. Believe or not, the Pirates actually led the NL Central by one-half game with a 51-44 record back on July 20. However, that euphoria would not last. Pittsburgh enters this game 68-84 on the season, already assuring themselves a 19th consecutive season of a sub-.500 finish, extending its own major league record. Billingsley has made nine career appearances (five starts) against the Pirates and he’s 4-1 with a 4.54 ERA in those starts. He’ll face a team which since being tied for the NL Central lead back on July 25, has scored only 186 runs since that time, tied with the Marlins for the fewest in the majors. Brad Lincoln will take the mound for Pittsburgh looking to bounce back from a poor outing. He allowed four runs (three earned) and a season-high eight hits in 5.1 innings Monday but escaped with a no decision after Pittsburgh rallied to beat St Louis 6-5 win. Lincoln is 1-2 with a 3.73 ERA in 10 appearances this season (six starts), with the Pirates going 3-3 in those starts. He’s done a decent job but the Dodgers have won NINE of their last 12 meetings with the Pirates and use a sunny afternoon at Dodger Stadium to get to .500 on the season, something the Pirates have been unable to attain for 19 years, and counting...
EZWINNERS
Detroit Lions -9
There are some serious problems in Kansas City. The Bills handed the Chiefs their worst home loss in thirty five years with a 41-7 ass kicking last week at Arrowhead Stadium and now Kansas City travels to take on one of the fastest rising teams in the NFL in the Detroit Lions. Kansas City played very bad in the pre-season and that bad play carried right over in the regular season. The KC offense is doing very little and they are going to have a very hard time matching scores with a Detroit offense that is really clicking and has one of the best young quarterback to receiver combos in Matthew Stafford and Charles Johnson. Stafford threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns that included 88 yards and two touchdowns to Megatron against the Bucs last week and I expect them to feast on the Kansas City secondary in this game. The Chiefs were shredded by Buffalo's quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick last week and losing Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry to a a torn ACL will make an already struggling Chief's secondary even weaker. Detroit was 7-1 against the spread at home last season and I look for those winning ways to continue. Lay the points.
Bob Balfe
Jets -9.5 over Jaguars
If the Jets can put up 10 points they should win and cover this game. Jacksonville is thin at WR and have a few key injuries on defense. I really do not see the Jaguars putting up any offense at all as McCown is not a quarterback who will put fear in the Jets eyes. New York was lucky to have beaten Dallas last week and I think they will tighten up and make a statement on defense today. This should be a one sided matchup. Take the Jets.
Jack Jones
Minnesota Vikings -2.5
I’ll side with the Minnesota Vikings at home Sunday as they are showing great value against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs come into the 2011 season way overrated after going 10-6 last year. This is a team that will regress, and they are off to a bad start with a 20-27 home loss to the Detroit Lions last week.
Minnesota played pretty well for three quarters against the San Diego Chargers on the road last week. They took a 17-14 lead into the fourth quarter, but would eventually fall 24-17. The Lions put up 431 total yards against Tampa Bay, and I like Adrian Peterson and Donovan McNabb to have big games for this Vikings offense.
The Buccaneers are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog of 0.5-3.0. The Vikings are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite. Minnesota is 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games as a home favorite. The home team is 13-3-1 ATS in the last 17 meetings. Roll with the Vikings Sunday.
Steve Janus
Kansas City Chiefs +9
All lot of people are calling the Lions a playoff team after just one game, and that has them favored by way too much against the Chiefs. Kansas City didn't look good at all in their week 1 loss to the Bills. A lot of that had to do with them falling behind early and not being able to get the run game established. The Chiefs players should also come out extremely focused and fired-up after what took place on their home field last week. I'm not saying the Chiefs will win the game, but I think they can at least keep this game close.
There are two big trends that I really like that point to the Chiefs covering the spread. Kansas City is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games as a road underdog and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing more than 30 points in their previous game. On the other side, Detroit is just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as a home favorite of 3.5-10.0. BET THE CHIEFS!
Jimmy Moore
San Diego @ New England
Pick: San Diego +6.5
New England looked very impressive in their debut but that was on Monday night giving them a short week and now they have to play the very solid Chargers. San Diego really dominated their game last week but with a kick return TD the Vikings made the game closer than it really was. New England is caught in a division sandwich with Buffalo up next so look for the Chargers to hand tough and get the ATS win in this one.
David Banks
Eagles / Falcons Under
Sunday night’s Week 2 battle takes NFL bettors to the dome in Hot’Lanta where the Falcons will look to turn the page on last week’s poor showing in the Windy City and secure its first win of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles; Kick-off from the Georgia Dome will air live on NBC at 8:20 ET.
The penned “Dream Team” got off to a roaring start last Sunday in St. Louis where they cruised to the 31-13 road win as four-point favorites behind the efforts of the new 100 million dollar man otherwise known as Michael Vick. Though he completed just 14-of-32 passes, they went for 187 yards and two TDs. He also picked up another 98 on the ground. In all, the Eagles rushed for an impressive 237 yards at 7.6 yards per carry. Philly got a score from the defense and limited what ended up being a punchless Rams attack to just 335 yards of combined offense. Three sacks were also accrued, but remember this unit looked better than it is due to the Rams losing their best RB and WR in the 1st quarter; it’ll be interesting to see how they look in tonight’s spot.
Last week’s effort at Soldier Field was certainly one that got away from the Falcons; real quick. With the game tied 3-3 and the Falcons forcing a three and out, QB Matt Ryan and the offense looked to take the lead on its third possession of the 1st quarter. That said; MLB Brian Urlacher put a quick halt to that by picking off Matty Ice near midfield. A 56-yard TD jaunt by RB Matt Forte later, and Chicago took a TD lead that it would never relinquish. Coach Mike Smith’s squad looked to be severely outclassed as the Bears looked more fundamentally sound in every facet of the game. Another indicator of just how off the team was came in the form of nine penalties for 65 yards that kept the Falcons behind the chains and right in the hands of the Bears cover 2 scheme.
This will be Vick’s return to Atlanta for the first time since the whole dog fighting scandal went down. He got the best of his former team last season in Philly where the Eagles cruised to the 31-17 home win and cover as short two-point favorites. The win improved the Eagles to 5-1 SU & 4-2 ATS versus the Falcons since 2005. They trounced Atlanta 34-7 as four-point road chalk in their last visit to the Georgia Dome back in 2009, and enter this spot 5-2 ATS their L/7 as a road favorite of three points or less. Atlanta counters with a 5-1 ATS tally its L/6 off a SU loss of 2+ TDs, and have gone a remarkable 18-2 straight up and 15-5 ATS at home during the regular season with Matt Ryan leading its charge. The ‘under’ is 6-1-1 in these teams L/8 overall meetings and has played to a perfect 5-0 tally the L/5 times these teams went at it in the ATL.
John Ryan
Houston Texans at Miami Dolphins
Prediction: Houston Texans
I like Houston in this game as they take on Miami in Week 2 NFL action. My proprietary sports handicapping database and simulator shows a high probability that Houston will win this game by four or more points. Supporting this graded play is a system that has produced a record of 57-21 ATS for 73.1% winners and has made 33.9 units per one unit wagered since 1983. Play against home teams where the line is +3 to -3 after one or more consecutive losses with the game taking place in the first month of the season and after closing out last season with two or more straight losses. Of the 58 plays made based on the criteria of this system 29 of the plays covered the spread by seven or more points. This underscores my strong belief that Houston will win this game by double digits. The money line is an attractive alternative as well and is further strengthened by this system that has produced a 22-4 record for 85% winners since 2005. Play on any team using the money line that is off a win by 10 points or more over a division rival and facing an opponent off a home loss. Houston destroyed the ?Peytonless? Colts 34-7 and easily covered the 8 1/2 point spread. Miami was manhandled ay home by New England 38-24 in Week 1 and were installed as seven point dogs. Houston gained 167 rushing yards against the Colts and this will be a much stiffer test against a strong Miami defensive front. I still believe that Houston will be just as successful as they were in Week 1. Houston will have their best power runner back in Arian Foster, who did not play last week needing an extra week to heal from a nagging hamstring injury. Houston has a strong group of running backs that will pound the ball and wear down the Miami defensive front. Houston quarter Matt Shaub is one of the best play action passers in the NFL. Once the run is established and Miami starts to bring the safeties up toward the line of scrimmage Shaub will be able to exploit the middle of the field with play action routes. I have noticed over several games that Shaub?s ball fakes in play action are so good that many times it just doesn?t freeze linebackers it makes them react to the run. This gives the Houston receivers ample time to gain separation to catch the ball easily and then all of them are very elusive and hard to bring down when running in space. New England exploited the Miami secondary and they do not have the elite athleticism that Houston has in Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones. Miami has to pick their poison to either defend the run or us nickel packages to help in coverages. These are the easiest reads for any NFL quarterback to make and I think the Miami defense will be crushed by the combination of power running and play action. I also think Houston?s tight end Owen Daniels will have a big game with as many as seven catches exploiting the vacancies in the middle of the Miami secondary. Take the Houston Texans
Vegas Experts
Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers
Look for a strong bounce back performance at home from the Steelers after getting embarrassed last week by Baltimore. No team in the league travels worse than Seattle, whose previous 11 losses have all come by double digits. The Seahawks are a terrible 2-14 ATS as a road dog, including 0-7 ATS when taking between 7.5 to 14 points. Pittsburgh is 2-0 ATS following its two previous double digit losses.
Play on: Pittsburgh
Tony Karpinski
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Atlanta Falcons
Play: Philadelphia Eagles -1.5
Most analysts on tv like the Falcons tonight because they had the best record in The NFL last year, and aren't nearly as bad as they looked against the Bears. The Eagles have the corners to shutdown the Falcon receivers. Matt Ryan is from Philly and has never beaten the Eagles and the Atlanta offensive line is banged up. I like Andy Reid who is a great coach led by Michael Vick as he returns back to Atlanta on Sunday night. PREDICTION: Eagles win 30-20