NFL Football Handicapping

NFL Week 4 Recap - Monday Night Football was a Classic

by D.S. Williamson

The New England Patriots took everything that was written about them being done and turned it into two straight victories over the Atlanta Falcons and the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens decided to shut down the Tom Brady to Randy Moss connection with double coverage. Brady saw it and used his other weapons to dismantle the Ravens D, tossing passes to Wes Welker and tight-end Benjamin Watson and using running backs Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor in the flats.

On defense, the Patriots somehow found a way to keep Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco from throwing for 300 yards. Flacco ended up with 264. Ray Rice rushed for 103 yards, but it didn’t matter. The Patriots’ D was good enough to keep the Ravens from exploding in this game offensively.

The Patriots’ victory, along with the Jets loss, suddenly puts New England at the top of the NFC East race again. New England is back and NFL betting fans should keep them in mind when making wagers.

New Orleans Welcomes Mark Sanchez to the NFL

Did anyone believe that the New Orleans Saints defense would be the first to really welcome rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez to the NFL? The BetUS football odds makers had a clue in this game as they made the Saints a 6 ½ point favorite in the NFL sportsbook, but nobody really believed that the Saints’ defense would cause 4 turnovers, 3 interceptions and a fumble by Sanchez, and put up 14 points.

The Saints’ D is becoming scary good. Because the Saints offense is balanced enough to run or pass, New Orleans is easily the best team in the NFL right now. They can beat you in a lot of ways and might be even better after their bye this week.

Pittsburgh Shows Up

The Steelers showed up, finally, this past Sunday by knocking around the San Diego Chargers 38 to 28 as 5 ½ point favorites. The biggest news to come out of the game is that Pittsburgh RB Rashard Mendenhall ran for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns. With a running game now at their disposal, the Steelers are once again one of the favorites from the AFC to get into the Super Bowl.

As for San Diego, it’s the same old story. They are overrated on defense and offense and have only covered one spread this year. Forget betting on the Chargers in 2009. Pittsburgh? They could turn into a profit making machine.

Can Everyone Agree that Denver is Real?

At the two minute mark in the game Kyle Orten threw a 51 yard pass to Brandon Marshall for a touchdown. That highlight reel score moved Denver to 4 and 0 ATS and 4 and 0 straight-up. Only one other team is 4 and 0 SU and 4 and 0 ATS in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints.

The Broncos will keep playing tough. If there was any chance for them to pack it in, it would have been against the Cowboys this past Sunday. The Broncos are for real.

Favre vs. Packers Showdown Proves to Be All About Favre

And all about the Minnesota defense. The truth is that Favre was exceptional on Monday night. He threw for 3 touchdown passes and 271 yards in vintage Favre form. Of the 24 out of 31 completions, many were off balance tosses that were right on the money. It really looked like he stepped his game up in a really entertaining football game.

As good as Favre was, the Minnesota Vikings defense was that much better. They did an absolute number on Aaron Rodgers, particularly Jared Allen who had 4 ½ sacs.

What’s more important for Minnesota backers is that the Vikings not only beat the Packers straight-up but they also beat the 4 ½ spread.