Tweet
Northcoast Pro Selections
NFL KEY SELECTIONS:
4* MIAMI over Houston - The Dolphins head trainer stated that they had not
suffered this high of a number of injuries in the preseason S/’98 (that
team opened the season 3-0 SU). The Dolphins are 20-1 SU, 16-4-1 ATS & 4-17
O/U as a HF vs non-div teams S/’98. HOU’s Dom Capers is 8-3 ATS as a DD AD.
MIA does have the Jets & Bills on deck in division play. In their 3rd
preseason game MIA faced the 3-4 D of ATL & also faced the Texans in the
3rd preseason game LY so they should be well prepped for Houston. Showing
the gap between them & the rest of the NFL, the Texans played most of their
starters into the 4Q in Wk 3 while San Diego only played them 1 & still
prevailed in Houston. Miami has not had problems starting the season it is
finishing that has been the problem & over the L/3Y the Dolphins are 7-0 SU
& ATS at home in September. In those games Miami has won by an avg score of
25-8 with 5 of the wins being by 13 or more pts. The Texans OL was banged
up during preseason & expect Carr to have yet another long day of running
for his life facing a top notch Dolphins D. FORECAST: MIAMI 27 Houston 3
3* CAROLINA over Jacksonville - These teams have met twice in the regular
season since their inception & the home team has covered both. JAX’s HC
Jack Del Rio assembled LY’s #2 defense of the Panthers so he will be very
familiar with how they operate. LY’s Panther starting DL had 34 sacks which
was 3rd best in the NFL for a starting unit. CAR is 6-2 ATS vs AFC teams at
home. The Jaguars are 5-11 SU & 5-10-1 ATS on the road vs NFC teams. The
Jags installed a modified West Coast offense TY & in the start of the
season defenses are generally ahead of the offenses. JAX will be without
their top WR Jimmy Smith who is suspended for the first 4 games. CAR lost
LB Mark Fields for the year & he was the team’s #1 tackler LY. Del Rio
tried shopping Brunell in the last week of preseason before declaring him
the starter. The Panthers have declared their opening day QB to be Rodney
Peete again. CAR’s season openers have gone Under the total the last 7
straight years & we expect the Panthers to do the same again in another win
for us here on these pages vs a Jaguars team looking at an uncertain
future. FORECAST: CAROLINA 23 Jacksonville 9
NFL OTHER SELECTIONS:
2* GREEN BAY over Minnesota - The dog in this series has done well
covering the L/7 straight which is surprising with the different playing
surfaces & climates. MIN is only 5-11 ATS in their L/16 road openers but is
5-1 ATS in div games under Tice & he won both ATS vs GB LY, covering here
+9’, losing only 26-22. Favre hit 61% for 250 ypg in the two meetings vs
the Vikes LY while GB’s excellent secondary held Moss & Co to just 166 ypg
passing, including 125 yds at Lambeau. GB has opened the season at home 6
straight years & while 5-1 SU they are just 2-4 ATS in that span but are
10-6 ATS at home the L/2Y overall. Favre’s rec corps is more dangerous this
year as WR’s Driver & Ferguson are seasoned & the addition of TE Walls
gives Brett a number of outlets to choose from vs a suspect Viking
secondary. MIN is without RB Bennett who rushed for 1296 yds LY. MINN has
one of the biggest OL’s in the NFL & they rushed for 195 yards vs OAK in
the preseason. GB earned their 12-4 record LY vs the easiest schedule in
the NFL but were beset by injuries. While GB is a mediocre 20-23-2 ATS as a
HF the L/6Y they are 9-1 their L/10 at home as a dog or when favored by
less than 7. They should open a newly renovated Lambeau Field this year
with a big win over their division rival. FORECAST: GREEN BAY 31 Minnesota 17
2* New England over BUFFALO - The Pats were very impressive in the
preseason this year but did gameplan more thus taking their foes seriously.
LY they continued their momentum into the season by covering their first 2
games by 57 pts!! They look like a team on the rise TY & even added NT Ted
Washington 2 weeks ago to make their defense more formidable. LY Bill
Belichick was masterful in gameplanning to stop Drew Bledsoe here putting
multiple sets on the field that left the Bills’ OL baffled. NE won by a
38-7 margin on this field & by 10 at home as they benefitted from +6 in
TO’s & Belichick has won 5 in a row SU in this rivalry. The Bills may be
without starting LG Ruben Brown which can only make things harder here.
Buffalo switched to a more rush oriented offense this year wanting to keep
their improved defense as fresh as possible & reduce the 54 sacks Bledsoe
took LY as well. FORECAST: New England 23 BUFFALO 16
NFL OTHER GAMES:
NY Jets at WASHINGTON - Thursday. This game is on ABC & is the first
telecast of the regular season with the MNF crew (they will do 2 games this
week & none in Wk 17). The Jets finished with a flurry LY with Chad
Pennington at QB going 8-2-1 ATS over their L/11 & 8-3 SU advancing to the
2nd round of the playoffs. Pennington was injured in preseason & is out for
the next 12 weeks. The Redskins raided the Jets during Free Agency for WR
Coles, KR Morton, G Thomas & K Hall & there is no love lost here. The Jets
were a 1 pt fav prior to their QB injury & are now 3 pt dogs. Our Monday
Night record is a super 54-27-4 67% over the past 5 years & you can get
tonight’s game on the Pay After You Win basis on Thursday after 5:00 ET.
Call 1-800-654-3448.
DETROIT 27 Arizona 13 - LY ARZ made a FG to send the game into OT at home &
won after a questionable penalty overturned a Lions’ int return. ARZ is
4-10-1 on the road vs non-div teams while DET is 5-16 as a HF vs non-div
teams S/’94. We had the Cards pegged as the weakest team in the NFL in July
& that was before they lost top DE Kyle Vanden Bosch & CB Duane Starks.
They lack quality WR’s (Boston & Sanders left in the offseason) & while
their Big Red OL is the team strength they match up against DET’s strength
of their defense the DL (including DT’s Wilkinson & Rogers who avg 344
lbs). ARZ’s defense had 15 sacks in the 1st 3 preseason games after having
just 21 all of LY. Part of that was due to heavy blitzing which helps a
team’s success in preseason but not in the regular season when opponents
gameplan. beat CHI in their Wk 3 dress rehearsal but that was mostly due to
a 5-1 TO edge. They face a Lions OL that allowed an NFL low 20 sacks LY.
The Lions will be without RB James Stewart who dislocated his shoulder in
the last preseason game. Our power ratings still lists ARZ as the weakest
team in the NFL & while it is hard to lay over a FG with the Lions they
have the talent edge & will get much more out of such talent under new HC
Steve Mariucci.
PITTSBURGH 17 Baltimore 16 - The visitor is 7-1 SU & 7-0-1 ATS the L/4Y
with the dog being 5-2 ATS. HC Brian Billick is 12-3 ATS as an AD (4-1 LY)
with the Ravens. In LY’s home game BAL torched PIT for 308 yds passing
which was the 2nd highest of the season. That was with an experienced QB at
the helm & PIT had an injury depleted secondary. PIT has installed the
nickel defense for the first time in Cowher’s career here, but has lost LB
Joey Porter (89 tkls & 9 sacks LY) to an off field incident, for the near
future. LY’s PIT team was 20th in pass def which was the lowest its ever
been in Cowher’s tenure. With Boller starting at QB the Ravens will have
had a new starter under center in each year of Billick’s tenure. The
Steeler OL didn’t get a chance to gel in preseason as injuries only allowed
the starters a couple of full practices & face an always formidable Ravens’
defense which will be the key to the Ravens covering here.
Denver 23 CINCINNATI 17 - DEN’s second attempt at life without Elway begins
as Jake Plummer takes the QB reins. The last time these 2 teams met Corey
Dillon ran for an NFL record yds. The Broncos are only 5-10 SU & 3-11-1 ATS
the L/15 on the road but are 8-1-1 ATS in their L/10 road openers. The
Bengals are 10-28 ATS at home in Sept & are 2-8 ATS in their L/10 home
openers. They have lost the L/5 home openers by an avg score of 26-11 but
new HC Marvin Lewis hopes to change that around with an improved defense.
The Broncos questionable secondary will undergo a stern test vs WR Chad
Johnson (69 rec, 16.9 ypc LY) & QB Jon Kitna who went through the offseason
knowing that he would be the #1 QB. The Bengals played well in the
preseason (504-160 yd edge vs IND) as Lewis wanted to instill a winning
attitude early on here. Denver is still the more talented team though &
they earn a win to start their new campaign.
Indianapolis 28 CLEVELAND 24- These teams met at this site LY in December
with both teams fighting for playoff position. Indy had a 417-349 yard edge
& won the game 28-23 as a 2 pt AF. CLE led 16-0 at the half however with a
217-120 yard edge & led 23-14 in the 4Q. They drove to the IND 10 in the
final seconds but a pass in the EZ bounced off the WR’s hands. A lot will
be made by the media in that QB Kelly Holcomb & OC Bruce Arians will face
their former team in the Colts. There is also another aspect of the game
with the team’s LB units. The Browns starting LB’s are all 2nd yr players
with no starts & only 42 tackles between them. The Colts LB’s haven’t been
able to play as a unit in the preseason as MLB Rob Morris has been out with
knee surgery. The Browns’ young back 7 allowed 71% completions to starting
QB’s in the first 3 preseason games. The Browns also have lost LT Verba for
the season which will hurt an already struggling unit. We expect the Colts’
defense to improve as the year progresses & to hold off the Browns here.
KANSAS CITY 31 San Diego 23 - KC did not show a lot on offense during the
preseason wanting to hold back until the starting gun fired. They field a
much improved D (were dead last in NFL LY) & that makes them a playoff
caliber team. SD has an improved offense with QB Brees, RB Tomlinson & the
addition of WR Boston but their D looks weaker. They have the youngest set
of CB’s in the NFL & have a total of 4 starts among them with Quentin
Jammer possessing all of those. Each of the Chargers’ back 4 slots will be
manned by a different face than LY. Overall we rate these teams with the
#26 & #25 defenses so points should be plentiful. KC is a stout 13-5-2 ATS
in their season openers. KC are 7-3-2 ATS the last 12 games vs the Chargers
& are 5-2-1 the L/8 times they have been favored in this series. Priest
Holmes may hold out here but the Chiefs offense should still get them the
win here.
St Louis 28 NY GIANTS 24 - The Rams are 4-12-1 ATS on the road vs non-div
teams S/’99. One of the victories was here in 2000 when the Rams won &
covered for us as a 3’* Late Phone Selection as a 1’ pt fav, 38-24. NYG are
9-4 ATS in their L/13 season openers. The Rams secondary is a bit suspect
with the injuries to Jason Sehorn & Kim Herring which shifted Aeneas
Williams to FS forcing the Rams to field a pair of starting CB’s with only
a pair of int between them. The Giants right side of the OL is pretty bare
with the RG & RT (both UFA’s) only having 1 start & 19 games of experience
between them. They will face a Rams’ DL whose 3 DT rotation has all 1st RD
DC’s. The Rams’ OL is one of the better & most expensive units being
fielded this year & have solid bookends in LT Pace & RT Turley. Kurt Warner
showed flashes of returning to his MVP form in the preseason & he should
continue to here with the Rams getting the win.
Atlanta 20 DALLAS 16 - Of course, the big news is that Mike Vick is out for
ATL. LY Doug Johnson stepped in when Vick hurt his shoulder & hit 19-25 for
257 yards in a win over the NYG (playoff team). Also see the System Section
on page 8. ATL is 5-1 ATS the L/6Y in season openers. DAL has covered 4 of
their L/5 home openers. Just in case the line moves, Parcells is 19-4-2 ATS
as a dog. Interestingly ATL had the #3 rush offense in the NFL LY but Vick
had about one third of those yards mostly after plays broke down. Dunn &
Duckett combined for just 1434 of it with a 3.98 ypc. Parcells game planned
for his last preseason game & it showed in their 52-13 rout of the Raiders
which gives us some solid line value here. There is a lot of the 5-11 team
remaining in Dallas & it will take some time for Parcells to completely
turn things around. He will put a dinged up secondary on the field & has a
suspect starting RB in Troy Hambrick. The Falcons have the same nucleus of
the 9-6-1 team that made the playoffs & should get the win here.
SAN FRANCISCO 27 Chicago 13 - The 49ers have failed to cover the L/6
straight season openers. This is the third of 4 straight road games (incl
preseason) for the Bears who open up “new” Solider Field in Wk 3. CHI
traded DT Washington (Pro Bowl 2001) to NE & DT Robinson is suspended so
they lack depth on the DL. They also lack OL depth as RT Marc Columbo is
out due to his knee inj from LY & LG Rex Tucker is out for the year with an
ankle injury. The trade of Washington has had a major negative effect on
the team as the players feel that the front office is looking toward the
future instead of the present. The 49ers have earned their fair share of
preseason inj’s with TE Eric Johnson out & CB Jason Webster gone for about
a month. The Bears brought in QB Kordell Stewart this season but there have
been reports that he has trouble grasping the offense & RB Anthony Thomas
struggled LY & in the preseason. San Francisco is the more talented team
here & opens the season with the win.
SEATTLE 30 New Orleans 23 - The Saints have been 9-3 SU in the first 6
games of the year the L/2 seasons & 0-6 SU in their final 3 games. They
have covered their last two season openers by 15’ & 12 pts. SEA hopes to
continue their late season surge of ‘02. In their L/6 games LY they avg’d
475.8 ypg & 29 ppg once QB Hasselback became comfortable with the offense.
Seattle is 3-11 ATS in season openers. What this comes down to is the fact
the Seahawks have a new DC in Ray Rhodes & they look to have a decent stop
unit finally. The Saints have really struggled to get things done
defensively & lost 2 safeties in the final preseason game so side with the
home team here.
Oakland at TENNESSEE - What a great opener for the first Sunday Night game
of the football season! LY these teams met twice in OAK. In the regular
season the Raiders plastered the Titans, 52-25, but with only a 464-430
yard edge. They met in the AFC Title game & OAK was -8 & won 41-24 but with
only a 355-332 yard edge. Ironically, despite losing by 25 ppg, the Titans
had a 53-50 FD edge in the two games. Tennessee is 24-8 SU in the Coliseum
since it opened (20-12 on the road) & is once again a playoff caliber team.
Oakland is the best team in the AFC on paper this year & the favorite to
represent the league in the Super Bowl. TEN is just 3-7-1 ATS as a HF the
L/2Y & OAK is 11-5-1 ATS as an AD the L/4Y. OAK has had one trip here &
that was on a Thursday Night in ‘99 & they lost 21-14 as 3 pt dogs. Titan
DE Jevon Kearse missed the L/2 preseason games but should be available
here. Our Sunday Night ESPN record is 63-38 62% L/6Y on Phil Steele’s
Private Play Hotline & you can get tonight’s winner on Sunday after 11:00
AM ET at 1-900-903-9467 for just $9. The Private Play Hotline is the #1
ranked 900 line service as documented by The Sports Monitor this year!
Tampa Bay at PHILADELPHIA - This is a re-match of the NFC Championship game
which saw the Bucs push past the Eagles for the Super Bowl after being
knocked out of the playoffs by them the previous 2 years. The Eagles also
get to show off their brand new stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, on MNF.
Our Monday Night Late Phone record is an amazing 54-27-4 67% over the L/5Y
& you can get our Monday Night Magic play on the pay AFTER YOU WIN basis
Monday Night after 5:00 pm ET.
4* MIAMI over Houston - The Dolphins head trainer stated that they had not
suffered this high of a number of injuries in the preseason S/’98 (that
team opened the season 3-0 SU). The Dolphins are 20-1 SU, 16-4-1 ATS & 4-17
O/U as a HF vs non-div teams S/’98. HOU’s Dom Capers is 8-3 ATS as a DD AD.
MIA does have the Jets & Bills on deck in division play. In their 3rd
preseason game MIA faced the 3-4 D of ATL & also faced the Texans in the
3rd preseason game LY so they should be well prepped for Houston. Showing
the gap between them & the rest of the NFL, the Texans played most of their
starters into the 4Q in Wk 3 while San Diego only played them 1 & still
prevailed in Houston. Miami has not had problems starting the season it is
finishing that has been the problem & over the L/3Y the Dolphins are 7-0 SU
& ATS at home in September. In those games Miami has won by an avg score of
25-8 with 5 of the wins being by 13 or more pts. The Texans OL was banged
up during preseason & expect Carr to have yet another long day of running
for his life facing a top notch Dolphins D. FORECAST: MIAMI 27 Houston 3
3* CAROLINA over Jacksonville - These teams have met twice in the regular
season since their inception & the home team has covered both. JAX’s HC
Jack Del Rio assembled LY’s #2 defense of the Panthers so he will be very
familiar with how they operate. LY’s Panther starting DL had 34 sacks which
was 3rd best in the NFL for a starting unit. CAR is 6-2 ATS vs AFC teams at
home. The Jaguars are 5-11 SU & 5-10-1 ATS on the road vs NFC teams. The
Jags installed a modified West Coast offense TY & in the start of the
season defenses are generally ahead of the offenses. JAX will be without
their top WR Jimmy Smith who is suspended for the first 4 games. CAR lost
LB Mark Fields for the year & he was the team’s #1 tackler LY. Del Rio
tried shopping Brunell in the last week of preseason before declaring him
the starter. The Panthers have declared their opening day QB to be Rodney
Peete again. CAR’s season openers have gone Under the total the last 7
straight years & we expect the Panthers to do the same again in another win
for us here on these pages vs a Jaguars team looking at an uncertain
future. FORECAST: CAROLINA 23 Jacksonville 9
NFL OTHER SELECTIONS:
2* GREEN BAY over Minnesota - The dog in this series has done well
covering the L/7 straight which is surprising with the different playing
surfaces & climates. MIN is only 5-11 ATS in their L/16 road openers but is
5-1 ATS in div games under Tice & he won both ATS vs GB LY, covering here
+9’, losing only 26-22. Favre hit 61% for 250 ypg in the two meetings vs
the Vikes LY while GB’s excellent secondary held Moss & Co to just 166 ypg
passing, including 125 yds at Lambeau. GB has opened the season at home 6
straight years & while 5-1 SU they are just 2-4 ATS in that span but are
10-6 ATS at home the L/2Y overall. Favre’s rec corps is more dangerous this
year as WR’s Driver & Ferguson are seasoned & the addition of TE Walls
gives Brett a number of outlets to choose from vs a suspect Viking
secondary. MIN is without RB Bennett who rushed for 1296 yds LY. MINN has
one of the biggest OL’s in the NFL & they rushed for 195 yards vs OAK in
the preseason. GB earned their 12-4 record LY vs the easiest schedule in
the NFL but were beset by injuries. While GB is a mediocre 20-23-2 ATS as a
HF the L/6Y they are 9-1 their L/10 at home as a dog or when favored by
less than 7. They should open a newly renovated Lambeau Field this year
with a big win over their division rival. FORECAST: GREEN BAY 31 Minnesota 17
2* New England over BUFFALO - The Pats were very impressive in the
preseason this year but did gameplan more thus taking their foes seriously.
LY they continued their momentum into the season by covering their first 2
games by 57 pts!! They look like a team on the rise TY & even added NT Ted
Washington 2 weeks ago to make their defense more formidable. LY Bill
Belichick was masterful in gameplanning to stop Drew Bledsoe here putting
multiple sets on the field that left the Bills’ OL baffled. NE won by a
38-7 margin on this field & by 10 at home as they benefitted from +6 in
TO’s & Belichick has won 5 in a row SU in this rivalry. The Bills may be
without starting LG Ruben Brown which can only make things harder here.
Buffalo switched to a more rush oriented offense this year wanting to keep
their improved defense as fresh as possible & reduce the 54 sacks Bledsoe
took LY as well. FORECAST: New England 23 BUFFALO 16
NFL OTHER GAMES:
NY Jets at WASHINGTON - Thursday. This game is on ABC & is the first
telecast of the regular season with the MNF crew (they will do 2 games this
week & none in Wk 17). The Jets finished with a flurry LY with Chad
Pennington at QB going 8-2-1 ATS over their L/11 & 8-3 SU advancing to the
2nd round of the playoffs. Pennington was injured in preseason & is out for
the next 12 weeks. The Redskins raided the Jets during Free Agency for WR
Coles, KR Morton, G Thomas & K Hall & there is no love lost here. The Jets
were a 1 pt fav prior to their QB injury & are now 3 pt dogs. Our Monday
Night record is a super 54-27-4 67% over the past 5 years & you can get
tonight’s game on the Pay After You Win basis on Thursday after 5:00 ET.
Call 1-800-654-3448.
DETROIT 27 Arizona 13 - LY ARZ made a FG to send the game into OT at home &
won after a questionable penalty overturned a Lions’ int return. ARZ is
4-10-1 on the road vs non-div teams while DET is 5-16 as a HF vs non-div
teams S/’94. We had the Cards pegged as the weakest team in the NFL in July
& that was before they lost top DE Kyle Vanden Bosch & CB Duane Starks.
They lack quality WR’s (Boston & Sanders left in the offseason) & while
their Big Red OL is the team strength they match up against DET’s strength
of their defense the DL (including DT’s Wilkinson & Rogers who avg 344
lbs). ARZ’s defense had 15 sacks in the 1st 3 preseason games after having
just 21 all of LY. Part of that was due to heavy blitzing which helps a
team’s success in preseason but not in the regular season when opponents
gameplan. beat CHI in their Wk 3 dress rehearsal but that was mostly due to
a 5-1 TO edge. They face a Lions OL that allowed an NFL low 20 sacks LY.
The Lions will be without RB James Stewart who dislocated his shoulder in
the last preseason game. Our power ratings still lists ARZ as the weakest
team in the NFL & while it is hard to lay over a FG with the Lions they
have the talent edge & will get much more out of such talent under new HC
Steve Mariucci.
PITTSBURGH 17 Baltimore 16 - The visitor is 7-1 SU & 7-0-1 ATS the L/4Y
with the dog being 5-2 ATS. HC Brian Billick is 12-3 ATS as an AD (4-1 LY)
with the Ravens. In LY’s home game BAL torched PIT for 308 yds passing
which was the 2nd highest of the season. That was with an experienced QB at
the helm & PIT had an injury depleted secondary. PIT has installed the
nickel defense for the first time in Cowher’s career here, but has lost LB
Joey Porter (89 tkls & 9 sacks LY) to an off field incident, for the near
future. LY’s PIT team was 20th in pass def which was the lowest its ever
been in Cowher’s tenure. With Boller starting at QB the Ravens will have
had a new starter under center in each year of Billick’s tenure. The
Steeler OL didn’t get a chance to gel in preseason as injuries only allowed
the starters a couple of full practices & face an always formidable Ravens’
defense which will be the key to the Ravens covering here.
Denver 23 CINCINNATI 17 - DEN’s second attempt at life without Elway begins
as Jake Plummer takes the QB reins. The last time these 2 teams met Corey
Dillon ran for an NFL record yds. The Broncos are only 5-10 SU & 3-11-1 ATS
the L/15 on the road but are 8-1-1 ATS in their L/10 road openers. The
Bengals are 10-28 ATS at home in Sept & are 2-8 ATS in their L/10 home
openers. They have lost the L/5 home openers by an avg score of 26-11 but
new HC Marvin Lewis hopes to change that around with an improved defense.
The Broncos questionable secondary will undergo a stern test vs WR Chad
Johnson (69 rec, 16.9 ypc LY) & QB Jon Kitna who went through the offseason
knowing that he would be the #1 QB. The Bengals played well in the
preseason (504-160 yd edge vs IND) as Lewis wanted to instill a winning
attitude early on here. Denver is still the more talented team though &
they earn a win to start their new campaign.
Indianapolis 28 CLEVELAND 24- These teams met at this site LY in December
with both teams fighting for playoff position. Indy had a 417-349 yard edge
& won the game 28-23 as a 2 pt AF. CLE led 16-0 at the half however with a
217-120 yard edge & led 23-14 in the 4Q. They drove to the IND 10 in the
final seconds but a pass in the EZ bounced off the WR’s hands. A lot will
be made by the media in that QB Kelly Holcomb & OC Bruce Arians will face
their former team in the Colts. There is also another aspect of the game
with the team’s LB units. The Browns starting LB’s are all 2nd yr players
with no starts & only 42 tackles between them. The Colts LB’s haven’t been
able to play as a unit in the preseason as MLB Rob Morris has been out with
knee surgery. The Browns’ young back 7 allowed 71% completions to starting
QB’s in the first 3 preseason games. The Browns also have lost LT Verba for
the season which will hurt an already struggling unit. We expect the Colts’
defense to improve as the year progresses & to hold off the Browns here.
KANSAS CITY 31 San Diego 23 - KC did not show a lot on offense during the
preseason wanting to hold back until the starting gun fired. They field a
much improved D (were dead last in NFL LY) & that makes them a playoff
caliber team. SD has an improved offense with QB Brees, RB Tomlinson & the
addition of WR Boston but their D looks weaker. They have the youngest set
of CB’s in the NFL & have a total of 4 starts among them with Quentin
Jammer possessing all of those. Each of the Chargers’ back 4 slots will be
manned by a different face than LY. Overall we rate these teams with the
#26 & #25 defenses so points should be plentiful. KC is a stout 13-5-2 ATS
in their season openers. KC are 7-3-2 ATS the last 12 games vs the Chargers
& are 5-2-1 the L/8 times they have been favored in this series. Priest
Holmes may hold out here but the Chiefs offense should still get them the
win here.
St Louis 28 NY GIANTS 24 - The Rams are 4-12-1 ATS on the road vs non-div
teams S/’99. One of the victories was here in 2000 when the Rams won &
covered for us as a 3’* Late Phone Selection as a 1’ pt fav, 38-24. NYG are
9-4 ATS in their L/13 season openers. The Rams secondary is a bit suspect
with the injuries to Jason Sehorn & Kim Herring which shifted Aeneas
Williams to FS forcing the Rams to field a pair of starting CB’s with only
a pair of int between them. The Giants right side of the OL is pretty bare
with the RG & RT (both UFA’s) only having 1 start & 19 games of experience
between them. They will face a Rams’ DL whose 3 DT rotation has all 1st RD
DC’s. The Rams’ OL is one of the better & most expensive units being
fielded this year & have solid bookends in LT Pace & RT Turley. Kurt Warner
showed flashes of returning to his MVP form in the preseason & he should
continue to here with the Rams getting the win.
Atlanta 20 DALLAS 16 - Of course, the big news is that Mike Vick is out for
ATL. LY Doug Johnson stepped in when Vick hurt his shoulder & hit 19-25 for
257 yards in a win over the NYG (playoff team). Also see the System Section
on page 8. ATL is 5-1 ATS the L/6Y in season openers. DAL has covered 4 of
their L/5 home openers. Just in case the line moves, Parcells is 19-4-2 ATS
as a dog. Interestingly ATL had the #3 rush offense in the NFL LY but Vick
had about one third of those yards mostly after plays broke down. Dunn &
Duckett combined for just 1434 of it with a 3.98 ypc. Parcells game planned
for his last preseason game & it showed in their 52-13 rout of the Raiders
which gives us some solid line value here. There is a lot of the 5-11 team
remaining in Dallas & it will take some time for Parcells to completely
turn things around. He will put a dinged up secondary on the field & has a
suspect starting RB in Troy Hambrick. The Falcons have the same nucleus of
the 9-6-1 team that made the playoffs & should get the win here.
SAN FRANCISCO 27 Chicago 13 - The 49ers have failed to cover the L/6
straight season openers. This is the third of 4 straight road games (incl
preseason) for the Bears who open up “new” Solider Field in Wk 3. CHI
traded DT Washington (Pro Bowl 2001) to NE & DT Robinson is suspended so
they lack depth on the DL. They also lack OL depth as RT Marc Columbo is
out due to his knee inj from LY & LG Rex Tucker is out for the year with an
ankle injury. The trade of Washington has had a major negative effect on
the team as the players feel that the front office is looking toward the
future instead of the present. The 49ers have earned their fair share of
preseason inj’s with TE Eric Johnson out & CB Jason Webster gone for about
a month. The Bears brought in QB Kordell Stewart this season but there have
been reports that he has trouble grasping the offense & RB Anthony Thomas
struggled LY & in the preseason. San Francisco is the more talented team
here & opens the season with the win.
SEATTLE 30 New Orleans 23 - The Saints have been 9-3 SU in the first 6
games of the year the L/2 seasons & 0-6 SU in their final 3 games. They
have covered their last two season openers by 15’ & 12 pts. SEA hopes to
continue their late season surge of ‘02. In their L/6 games LY they avg’d
475.8 ypg & 29 ppg once QB Hasselback became comfortable with the offense.
Seattle is 3-11 ATS in season openers. What this comes down to is the fact
the Seahawks have a new DC in Ray Rhodes & they look to have a decent stop
unit finally. The Saints have really struggled to get things done
defensively & lost 2 safeties in the final preseason game so side with the
home team here.
Oakland at TENNESSEE - What a great opener for the first Sunday Night game
of the football season! LY these teams met twice in OAK. In the regular
season the Raiders plastered the Titans, 52-25, but with only a 464-430
yard edge. They met in the AFC Title game & OAK was -8 & won 41-24 but with
only a 355-332 yard edge. Ironically, despite losing by 25 ppg, the Titans
had a 53-50 FD edge in the two games. Tennessee is 24-8 SU in the Coliseum
since it opened (20-12 on the road) & is once again a playoff caliber team.
Oakland is the best team in the AFC on paper this year & the favorite to
represent the league in the Super Bowl. TEN is just 3-7-1 ATS as a HF the
L/2Y & OAK is 11-5-1 ATS as an AD the L/4Y. OAK has had one trip here &
that was on a Thursday Night in ‘99 & they lost 21-14 as 3 pt dogs. Titan
DE Jevon Kearse missed the L/2 preseason games but should be available
here. Our Sunday Night ESPN record is 63-38 62% L/6Y on Phil Steele’s
Private Play Hotline & you can get tonight’s winner on Sunday after 11:00
AM ET at 1-900-903-9467 for just $9. The Private Play Hotline is the #1
ranked 900 line service as documented by The Sports Monitor this year!
Tampa Bay at PHILADELPHIA - This is a re-match of the NFC Championship game
which saw the Bucs push past the Eagles for the Super Bowl after being
knocked out of the playoffs by them the previous 2 years. The Eagles also
get to show off their brand new stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, on MNF.
Our Monday Night Late Phone record is an amazing 54-27-4 67% over the L/5Y
& you can get our Monday Night Magic play on the pay AFTER YOU WIN basis
Monday Night after 5:00 pm ET.
Comment