Vikings at Browns +4
Interesting game though on face value of Vikes only needing 5 to win. Let’s first see why that line is low. Brett Favre by opting to forgo retirement for another season, Favre made the risky decision to come back despite a partial tear in his rotator cuff. We think Peterson will run for over 100 yards here so if Brett has throughing problems Aidrien will pick up the slack. Coach Eric Mangini says he has determined which signal-caller will start for the Browns, but he won't reveal that to the public. His hope is that keeping the announcement a secret will hinder the Vikings' defensive gameplan. We'll find out Sunday. Let’s put it this way; It ain’t gonna make that much difference! Even though Mangini became the Browns' coach in the offseason, he began cleaning house on the defensive side of the ball, bringing in four new starters with him from the Jets. The unit performed well at times during the preseason, but gets a stiff test against the Vikings' talented offense. Keep this in mind as our final decision to go with the Vikes in Cleveland; Quinn beat out Anderson for QB starter.
* If Brett is 70% he will murder the Browns defensive backfield core. Give the 4 pts Take Vikes 49ers at Cards -6
At first glance many may say this is a walk over for SuperBowl runner ups. Think again. The Niners will try to avoid mistakes and that means lots of Frank Gore. Gore will be willing to take on the extra defensive attention he will receive from Arizona and will get his numbers. Shaun Hill will lean heavily on Isaac Bruce and Josh Morgan is worth a gamble for a big gain or two in possible garbage time. San Francisco WR Isaac Bruce ranks second in career receiving yards (14,934) all-time. ... 49ers TE Vernon Davis has caught a touchdown in three straight games against the Cardinals. On top of these thoughts the Niners arean improved team, hungry, and want recognition badly. A win over Cards would do all that. Fitzgerald is coming off perhaps the greatest postseason by a wide receiver in NFL history. He had 30 catches for 546 yards and seven touchdowns in four playoff games, and even caught a TD in the Pro Bowl. But The Cardinals lost their offensive coordinator, Todd Haley, to the Chiefs in the offseason and fired defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast. Given those changes at coordinator, it could take a while for the team to jell and that was evident as the Cardinals went 0-4 in the preseason. A stat we do not like for a team that got unlucky in losing the Superbowl. Keep this stat thought in mind; Bruce and Johnson caught for 1381 yards and 10 TD’s. Fitz and Boldin caught for 2469 yards and 23 TD’s. Kurt Warner may be getting up there but he is wise and still very accurate.
This could be a closer game than the line indicates but still all in all we give the under a TD -6 and roll with the AZ Cards. Eagles at Panthers +2.5
First thing to notice is this game it iopened at -1 Eagles, now its -2.5 and will go to three by game time possibly. WHY? Brian Westbrook’s explosiveness: The two-time Pro Bowl running back missed the entire preseason after offseason ankle surgery. If he doesn't look ready against Carolina, impressive rookie LeSean McCoy\ could be called upon to pick up the slack.Panthers QB Jake Delhomme wants to put last season behind him and start off fast in 2009. In Week 13 of the 2006 season, the Eagles got a sensational performance from Jeff Garcia. (312 yards and 3 TDs) and held off the visiting Panthers, 27-24. The Eagles have won four of the teams' five career meetings, but the Panthers were victorious in the lone playoff contest between the two in the 2003 NFC Championship Game. The last time we saw the Panthers quarterback in a game that mattered was in the divisional round of last year's playoffs when he suffered through a terrible postseason performance. Despite that poor outing, his steady regular-season play earned him a contract extension in the offseason, but will there be a lingering effect from his playoff disappointment? We think so! Keep this littlre didy in mind; Philadelphia has advanced to the NFC title game in five of Andy Reid's 10 seasons as coach. ... Westbrook is the only player since 2004 with 4,000-plus rushing yards (4,915) and 3,000-plus receiving yards (3,191). ... Juliuss Peppers is first in Panthers franchise history with 70.5 sack.
Eages are simply too strong in too many positions for week line. Grab the -2.5 and run! Indy at Jags +7
In the previous three games we took all favorites, here we have to defer to the dog with Jags. Year after year the Colts are considered the best but always find a way to lose the big important play-off game time and again. Except when they crushed an inflated Bears team in ’07. Our point here is they start out complacient, slow and seemingly uninspired. Then Dungy rips them a new one and they start winning 5-6 in a row. Manning gets a throw or two in the preseason, they say to themselves we are NFL Gods so ‘what’s me worry’. Remember this about Jaguars' offensive line: Part of the reason for Jacksonville's demise last season was that the starting offensive line was decimated by injuries. With the unit healthy headed into this season, QB David Garrard's production should be better. He's coming off a disappointing year, largely because he was constantly under duress. Another little point breaker is the fact that Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Caldwell acknowledged Friday that senior offensive coordinator Tom Moore will back on the sidelines this weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars.The worry is the Jags have never played horrendous at the start as the Colts have. The Jags are getting a TD even though the game is being played at home. Factors here favor Jags with 7 point advantage. We like the under a bit too. 45 points knowing Indy will play just to win and Jags are not jagurnauts of scoring.Keep this option open if your sentimental journey with goofy adverstisor Payton Manning has undermined your NFL knowledge.
We like the +7 Jags and the Under 45. |
