The Bum's Week # 2 NFL Preseason Best Bets !

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Eagles and Steelers clash Thursday night

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (1-0)

at PITTSBURGH STEELERS (0-1)


Kickoff: Thursday, 8:00 p.m. EDT
Line: Pittsburgh -3.5, Total: 34

Two Super Bowl XLVI front-runners meet up when the Eagles travel west to Pittsburgh for a Keystone State battle on Thursday night.

In Week 1 of the preseason on Friday, the Steelers suffered an ugly 16-7 loss in Washington, where they were outgained 452-186. Meanwhile, the Eagles won a defensive struggle at home over Baltimore, 13-6 on Thursday. Pittsburgh has never lost more than one game in a preseason under Mike Tomlin, and the Steelers will be especially motivated after Friday’s sloppy performance. Add in the home-field advantage, and it should be enough to put them over the top. The pick is PITTSBURGH.

The Steelers will likely be without top cornerback Ike Taylor (broken thumb) and could be without top pass rusher OLB James Harrison, who is recovering from two offseason back surgeries, for a second straight game. But their biggest worry for Thursday is the play of third-string QB Dennis Dixon, who struggled badly on Friday (1-for-10 for 29 yards). The fourth-year quarterback is playing for his roster spot at this point. The offensive game plan could focus on back-up RB Isaac Redman (5 rushes, 42 yards, TD on Friday).

The Eagles have little to prove in the preseason and will likely use QB Michael Vick sparingly. Back-up Vince Young (3-for-5, 45 yards against Baltimore) and third-stringer Mike Kafka (13-for-19, 132 yards, INT) will see the bulk of the snaps on Thursday. They’re also looking to settle on a third-string running back and could feature rookie Dion Lewis (10 carries, 26 yards) again on Thursday.

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Preseason Recap - Week 1

August 15, 2011

Even though it’s only the first week of preseason, most football fans couldn’t help but be glued to their television for the first action on the gridiron. That excitement translated well through the betting windows in Las Vegas sports books with bettors getting the best of it out of the gate. The favorites went 11-4 against the spread through the first week, including 5-0 in Saturday’s games.
Information on who would play, and for how long, was critical in some of the favorites getting covers. Had you uncovered that Mike Shanahan would play Rex Grossman and most of the Redskins starters the entire first half of their Friday night game against the Steelers, Washington would have likely been bet much more heavily than they were.

The majority of teams played their starters for one of two series and then took a closer look at the rest of their roster as the process to get down to 46 players has a much shorter window than usual because of the lockout. You can expect the starters to play a little more this week, but not enough to make a real educated opinion on a game until the coaches release their plan to the public. Week 3 of preseason is usually the week where we see starters do their regular season dress rehearsal playing into the third quarter.

In the short time that we got to see some of the players play, there were a few that made quite an impression. Browns quarterback Colt McCoy stands out the most from his performance against the Packers (9-of-10, 135 yards, 1TD). Even with the Packers defensive starters in the game, McCoy showed the poise and presence on the field like he did in college and was a completely different looking player from last season. Yes, it’s only preseason, but it’s apparent that new coach Pat Shurmur has made a difference with their offensive scheme giving Cleveland fans something to be excited about after watching the Mangini-era’s offense.

The Patriots backups played with more intensity and fire than their starters led by backups QB’s Brian Hoyer and rookie Ryan Mallett. We also got a glimpse of a new piece of their running back committee with another LSU running-back to go along with Kevin Faulk in rookie Stevan Ridley, who scored three touchdowns.

Quarterback Cam Newton made his Panthers debut last week against the Giants and showed signs of why the Panthers were so high on him. The first overall draft choice entered the game in the second quarter to a standing ovation from the home fans and the former Heisman trophy winner didn’t disappoint making a couple strong arm connections for over 30 yards. It’s only a few series to go of off, but there were signs that he could be a pretty good pocket passer in the NFL. Newton looked to make a point by not taking off on the run during his series. If he blends the two together well, he will be a force in the league.

It was sort of puzzling seeing Newton wear the No. 1 jersey, but he had to because current starting quarterback Jimmy Clausen currently wears Newton’s famous No. 2. Clausen refused to give up the number, despite Clausen being No. 7 in college. But there's reason for that. When Clausen came into the league the Panthers punter had No. 7 and wouldn’t give it to him, so Clausen thought it was fair play to do the same to Newton as well.

Without Brett Favre around it seems like the entire media corps has been converging on Broncos back-up QB Tim Tebow as a means to stir debate and get people talking. Everyone has an opinion on Tebow with one side saying his poor throwing mechanics will never make him a quality NFL QB and the other side saying that he’s plain and simply just a hustling football player who does everything to get the job done.

This topic was almost as hot last year leading up to the NFL draft where no one expected Tebow to be drafted early, let alone for being drafted as a quarterback. After the Broncos took him in the first-round, the skeptics still insisted it was a bad draft pick and that he would never pan out. After watching Tebow run goal line offenses with success, there were still doubts he could throw the ball. And then when he got his chance to start and put up good numbers, along with a classic video of him beating down Raiders chasing him into the end zone, the doubters still insisted he wouldn’t make it as if everything was a fluke.

Tebow’s throwing motion will never change and it will always be ugly. His accuracy in the 20-yard range is lacking. But the thing that separates Tebow from others with more talent that haven’t made it is that he’s got the rare combination of toughness, smarts, willingness to learn and winning attitude. He’s a winner, even if it means backing up Kyle Orton this season. If JaMarcus Russell had half the internal drive Tebow had, the Raiders would be talked about as being Super Bowl champs this year.

Orton looked terrific in his one and only drive, as did the Broncos offensive line, but it was the same old Orton crashing and burning in the red zone as he couldn't cash in a 1st-and-goal opportunity. Should Orton win the starting job, these are spots where Tebow could be his most affective as a regular contributor to the team.

Arizona's Kevin Kolb wasn't great in his game at Oakland, but he did heave up a 43-yard bomb that Larry Fitzgerald miraculously pulled down. The relationship between the two will be great this season, just because it has to. The Cardinals have to do all they can to keep Fitzgerald in Arizona and getting him the ball should do the trick.

Fans were also treated with opportunities for much longer rest-room breaks as it appears kickoffs will mean close to nothing this season. Forty-three of the 127 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks (33.8%) under the NFL‘s modified kickoff rules. Last season only 16.4% of kickoffs were touchbacks. So now we have the TV timeout after a score, the kickoff (touchback) and then another TV timeout following giving the fans about five to six minutes of free time where they know nothing is going to happen.

[StarDust Bum]

Cowboys host Chargers on Sunday

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (0-1)

at DALLAS COWBOYS (1-0)


Kickoff: Sunday, 8:00 p.m. EDT
Line: Dallas -1, Total: 35

The San Diego Chargers will travel to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX to play the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. San Diego lost its preseason opener 24-17 to Seattle, while Dallas beat Denver 24-23 in dramatic fashion, scoring a touchdown and two-point conversion with 15 seconds left in regulation.

Chargers’ QB Philip Rivers played like he was in midseason form on Thursday, completing 5-of-6 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. Backup QB Billy Volek looked average, going 6-for-10 for just 39 yards. For the Cowboys, QB Tony Romo didn’t see too much playing time and threw just five passes, completing three of them for 33 yards. Back-up QB Stephen McGee played most of the game and impressed many, going 14-of-24 for 208 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. The Chargers have good depth in their running game and at the quarterback position which makes SAN DIEGO a good preseason pick to beat the Cowboys.

The FoxSheets show a preseason trend favoring the Chargers.

Play Against - Home teams (DALLAS) - undefeated in the preseason. (36-14 over the last 5 seasons.) (72%, +20.6 units. Rating = 2*).

Rivers threw his touchdown pass to Mike Tolbert, who in his third year out of Coastal Carolina, surprised everyone when he rushed for 735 yards and 11 touchdowns. Tolbert and second-year back Ryan Mathews continue to fight for the starting running back spot. Third on the depth chart is former UConn star Jordan Todman who looked good, rushing the ball six times for 30 yards and catching four passes for 21 yards.

The Cowboys’ top rusher Felix Jones looked explosive on Thursday night, gaining 23 yards on only three carries and gaining 16 yards on his one reception. Young receiver Dwayne Harris, looked very impressive, catching five balls for 127 yards and two touchdowns, including a 76-yarder to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Harris will be fighting for the third receiver spot behind Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. Expect Jon Kitna to get some more reps on Sunday in a backup role to Romo.

[Letswinalot]

I have looked some. I like NE/TB over... I like SEATTLE the best I really liked that Portis kid 3rd string... IDK on Phi/Pitt...
GL

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Preseason Trends - Week 2

August 17, 2011



Thursday, Aug. 18


New England at Tampa Bay (7:30 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Bill Belichick (35-27 SU 32-24-6 ATS)

Tom Brady
Brian Hoyer
Ryan Mallett

OVER 6-1 L7

Raheem Morris (4-5 SU 5-4 ATS)

Josh Freeman
Josh Johnson
Rudy Carpenter
Jonathan Crompton

7-2 L9 ATS AS FAV

Last Week's Preseason Results:

New England (-3) beat Jacksonville 47-12 (OVER 33.5)

Tampa Bay (-2.5) beat Kansas City 25-0 (UNDER 32.5)



Philadelphia at Pittsburgh (Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Andy Reid (19-30 SU 20-27-2 ATS)

Michael Vick
Vince Young
Mike Kafka
Jerrod Johnson

1-5 L6 ATS OFF WIN


Mike Tomlin (13-5 SU 10-8 ATS)

Ben Roethlisberger
Byron Leftwich
Dennis Dixon
Charlie Batch

UNDER 4-0 L4 OFF LOSS


Last Week's Preseason Results:


Philadelphia (-3) beat Baltimore 13-6 (UNDER 34)

Pittsburgh (+2.5) lost at Washington 16-7 (UNDER 33)


Friday, Aug. 19


Washington at Indianapolis (7:00 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Mike Shanahan (45-28 SU 40-31-2 ATS)

John Beck
Rex Grossman
Kellen Clemens
Ben Chappell

UNDER 9-4 L13

Jim Caldwell (1-8 SU 2-7 ATS)

Peyton Manning
Curtis Painter
Dan Orlovsky
Nate Davis

2-6 L8 ATS AS DOG

Last Week's Preseason Results:

Washington (-2.5) beat Pittsburgh 16-7 (UNDER 33)
Indianapolis (+7) lost at St. Louis 33-10 (OVER 34)



Detroit at Cleveland (7:30 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Jim Schwartz (7-2 SU 6-3 ATS)

Matthew Stafford
Shaun Hill
Drew Stanton
Zac Robinson

6-1 L7 ATS

Pat Shurmur (1-0 SU 1-0 ATS)

Colt McCoy
Seneca Wallace
Jarrett Brown
Troy Weatherhead

OVER L7

Last Week's Preseason Results:

Detroit (-3) beat Cincinnati 34-3 (OVER 35)
Cleveland (-2.5) beat Green Bay 27-17 (OVER 35.5)



Carolina at Miami (7:30 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Ron Rivera (1-0 SU 1-0 ATS)

Cam Newton
Jimmy Clausen
Derek Anderson
Tony Pike

UNDER 7-0 L7


Tony Sparano (10-3 SU 8-4-1 ATS)

Chad Henne
Matt Moore
Kevin O'Connell
Pat Devlin

8-3 L11 ATS

Last Week's Preseason Results:

Carolina (-2.5) beat N.Y. Giants 20-10 (UNDER 33)
Miami (+1.5) beat Atlanta 28-23 (UNDER 33)



Kansas City at Baltimore (7:30 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Todd Haley (1-8 SU 0-9 ATS)

Matt Cassel
Ricky Stanzi
Tyler Palko

0-11 L11 ATS


John Harbaugh (8-5 SU 7-6 ATS)

Joe Flacco
Hunter Cantwell
Tyrod Taylor

6-3 L9 ATS

Last Week's Preseason Results:

Kansas City (+2.5) lost to Tampa Bay 25-0 (UNDER 32.5)
Baltimore (+3) lost at Philadelphia 13-6 (UNDER 34)

Arizona at Green Bay (8:00 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Ken Whisenhunt (6-11 SU 7-10 ATS)

Kevin Kolb
Max Hall
John Skelton
Richard Bartel

4-1 L5 ATS

Mike McCarthy (9-12 SU 11-10 ATS)

Aaron Rodgers
Matt Flynn
Graham Harrell

OVER 7-1 L8

Last Week's Preseason Results:

Arizona (+3.5) beat Oakland 24-18 (OVER 33.5)

Green Bay (+2.5) lost at Cleveland 27-17 (OVER 35.5)



Atlanta at Jacksonville (Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Mike Smith (6-7 SU 6-5-2 ATS)

Matt Ryan
Chris Redman
John Parker Wilson
Adam Froman

6-1 L7 ATS AS DOG


Jack Del Rio (20-13 SU 20-11-2 ATS)

David Garrard
Blaine Gabbert
Luke McCown

7-3 L10 ATS

Last Week's Preseason Results:

Atlanta (-1.5) lost to Miami 28-23 (OVER 33)
Jacksonville (+3) lost at New England 47-12 (OVER 33)



Saturday, Aug. 20


Tennessee at St. Louis (8:00 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Mike Munchak (1-0 SU 1-0 ATS)

Matt Hasselbeck
Jake Locker
Rusty Smith
Brett Ratliff

4-2 L6 ATS AS DOG


Steve Spagnuolo (7-2 SU 7-2 ATS)

Sam Bradford
A.J. Feeley
Thaddeus Lewis
Taylor Potts

OVER 6-1 L7

Last Week's Preseason Results:

Tennessee (-3) beat Minnesota 14-3 (UNDER 32.5)
St. Louis (-7) beat Indianapolis 33-10 (OVER 34)



New Orleans at Houston (NFL Network, 8:00 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Sean Payton (12-10 SU 13-9 ATS)

Drew Brees
Chase Daniel
Sean Canfield

7-2 L9 ATS

Gary Kubiak (11-10 SU 11-8-2 ATS)

Matt Schaub
Matt Leinart
T.J. Yates

OVER 6-2 L8

Last Week's Preseason Results:

New Orleans (-3) beat San Francisco (UNDER 35.5)

Houston (-3) beat New York 20-16 (OVER 34)



Oakland at San Francisco (8:00 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Hue Jackson (0-1 SU 0-1 ATS)

Jason Campbell
Trent Edwards
Kyle Boller
Jordan La Secla

OVER 9-1 L10

Jim Harbaugh (0-1 SU 0-1 ATS)

Alex Smith
Colin Kaepernick
Jeremiah Masoli
McLeod Bethel-Thompson

UNDER 6-3 L9

Last Week's Preseason Results:

Oakland (-3.5) lost to Arizona 24-18 (OVER 33.5)

San Francisco (+3) lost at New Orleans (24-3 (UNDER 35.5)



Buffalo at Denver (8:30 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Chan Gailey (3-12 SU 4-11 ATS)

Ryan Fitzpatrick
Tyler Thigpen
Levi Brown
Joshua Nesbitt

OVER 7-3 L10

John Fox (19-18 SU 17-19-1 ATS)

Kyle Orton
Tim Tebow
Brady Quinn
Adam Weber

OVER 7-1 L8

Last Week's Preseason Results:


Buffalo (+2.5) lost at Chicago 10-3 (UNDER 36)

Denver (+2.5) lost at Dallas 24-23 (OVER 34



Minnesota at Seattle (10:00 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Leslie Frazier (0-1 SU, 0-1 ATS)

Donovan McNabb
Christian Ponder
Joe Webb
Rhett Bomar

6-3 L9 ATS

Pete Carroll (12-10 SU 13-8-1 ATS)

Tarvaris Jackson
Charlie Whitehurst
Josh Portis

OVER 6-2 L8


Last Week's Preseason Results:


Minnesota (+3) lost at Tennessee 14-3 (UNDER 32.5)

Seattle (+3) beat San Diego 24-17 (OVER 35)


Sunday, Aug. 21


Cincinnati at N.Y. Jets (7:00 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation Preseason Trends

Marvin Lewis (17-17 SU 17-17 ATS)

Andy Dalton
Bruce Gradkowski
Jordan Palmer
Dan LeFevour

4-2 L6 ATS AS DOG

Rex Ryan (4-5 SU 5-4 ATS)

Mark Sanchez
Mark Brunell
Greg McElroy
Drew Willy

1-4 L5 ATS AS FAV


Last Week's Preseason Results:


Cincinnati (+3) lost at Detroit 34-3 (OVER 35)

New York (+3) lost at Houston 20-16 (OVER 34)



San Diego at Dallas (NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation

Preseason Trends

Norv Turner (26-27 SU 23-25-5 ATS)

Philip Rivers
Billy Volek
Scott Tolzien

OVER 5-2 L7 AWAY

Jason Garrett (1-0 SU, 0-1 ATS)
Tony Romo
Jon Kitna
Stephen McGee

2-5 L7 ATS OFF WIN




Last Week's Preseason Results:


San Diego (-3) lost to Seattle 24-17 (OVER 35)

Dallas (-2.5) beat Denver 24-23 (OVER 34)




Monday, Aug. 22


Chicago at N.Y. Giants (ESPN, 8:00 p.m. ET)

Teams Coaches (Exhibition Records) Projected QB Rotation Preseason Trends

Lovie Smith (15-15 SU 13-16-1 ATS)
Jay Cutler
Caleb Hanie
Nathan Enderle

OVER 11-6 L17

Tom Coughlin (32-30 SU 29-29-4 ATS)

Eli Manning
Sage Rosenfels
David Carr
Ryan Perrilloux

UNDER 6-3 L9


Last Week's Preseason Results:


Chicago (-2.5) beat Buffalo 10-3 (UNDER 36)

New York (+2.5) lost at Carolina (UNDER 33)

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NFL Preseason Week 2 Betting Preview

Preseason NFL betting moves into Week 2 after favorites posted a 12-4 record against the spread record and the ‘over’ finished 9-7 during the first round of action. Home favorites are once again found all over the odds board, as 15 of the 16 games were released with the host laying points.

Ironically enough, the Washington Redskins, who finished with a 6-10 straight-up record a year ago were sent out as the only road favorite against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. The opening line was 3 and has since moved to its current place of 5 ½.

Thursday night’s action kicks off with the New England Patriots (1-0) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) at Raymond James Stadium, as both teams come off impressive opening week wins.

New England dominated Jacksonville in a 47-12 home win as 3-point favorites, out-gaining the Jaguars by 283 yards. The offense racked up 476 yards without the services of starting quarterback Tom Brady, who was surprised about not seeing any action.

Tampa Bay has been made a 2 ½-point favorite due to a 25-0 shutout of the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Buccaneers delivered a spread victory to backers as the only road favorite of the opening weekhttp://www.donbest.com/nfl/preseason-week-1-nfl-betting-review-a-12934.html .

Brady is expected to see action in this contest and will likely work on building chemistry with newly-acquired wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. The total has moved from its opening number of 34 ½ to 37 points to reflect this notion.

The second scheduled game on Thursday night features a battle of teams from Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) and Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1) face off in front of a national audience at 5:00 (PT) on FOX.

Head coach Andy Reid has stated that Eagles starters will likely play an entire half after being limited to 15 minutes of action in a 13-6 home win over the Baltimore Ravens the previous week.

Pittsburgh was handed a listless 16-7 defeat by the Washington Redskins and head coach Mike Tomlin was visibly upset at the team’s performance in the post-game news conference.

Still, the Steelers will have no game plan installed for the Eagles, as the staff focuses on strictly evaluating performances of their players. The defending AFC champions are 3-point favorites and the total has held steady at 34.

The New Orleans Saints (1-0) and Houston Texans (1-0) both picked up ATS victories over San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets respectively in opening up exhibition play.

Offense is certainly the name of the game in this matchup, with both teams possessing Pro Bowl caliber quarterbacks. The total reflects this outlook by currently being tied for the second-highest number of the week at 37.

Early betting has moved the line four points in some spots, as the Saints were released as 3-point road underdogs to their current position of being favored by a point.

Saturday’s meeting will be the fifth preseason meeting between the two franchises and the series is split at 2-2, following a 38-20 New Orleans win in the Superdome last August.

A marquee NFC contest closes things out in Week 2, with the Chicago Bears (1-0) and New York Giants (0-1) squaring off on Monday Night Football at New Meadowlands Stadium with the opening kickoff scheduled for 5:00 (PT).

The Giants are currently 4-point favorites and the total stands at 34 ½. Bettors will find that the Bears often close the offensive playbook against conference opponents, posting a 1-8 ATS record against such teams under head coach Lovie Smith.

New York quarterback Eli Manning will need to perform at a high level in front of the home faithful after missing the playoffs in two consecutive years, while also stating a claim on Wednesday that he belongs in the same class as Brady in terms of NFL signal callers.

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Date WLT Pct Net Units Record
08/15/11 2-*0-*0 100.00% +*1000 Detail
08/13/11 4-*6-*0 40.00% -*1300 Detail
08/12/11 6-*4-*0 60.00% +*800 Detail
08/11/11 5-*5-*0 50.00% -*250 Detail
Totals 17-*15-*0 53.13% +250

Thursday, August 18

Game Score Status Pick Amount

New England - 7:30 PM ET New England +2.5 500

Tampa Bay - Over 37 500

Philadelphia - 8:00 PM ET Pittsburgh -3 500

Pittsburgh - Under 34 500

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Date WLT Pct Net Units Record
08/18/11 3-*1-*0 75.00% +*950 Detail
08/15/11 2-*0-*0 100.00% +*1000 Detail
08/13/11 4-*6-*0 40.00% -*1300 Detail
08/12/11 6-*4-*0 60.00% +*800 Detail
08/11/11 5-*5-*0 50.00% -*250 Detail
Totals 20-*16-*0 55.56% +1200

Friday, August 19

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Washington - 7:00 PM ET Washington -5 500
Indianapolis - Under 35 500

Carolina - 7:30 PM ET Carolina +6 500
Miami - Over 34 500

Detroit - 7:30 PM ET Detroit +2.5 500
Cleveland - Over 37.5 500

Kansas City - 7:30 PM ET Kansas City +6.5 500
Baltimore - Under 32.5 500

Arizona - 8:00 PM ET Green Bay -5 500
Green Bay - Over 38.5 500

Atlanta - 8:00 PM ET Atlanta +3 500
Jacksonville - Over 36 500

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Texans, Cowboys Host NFL Preseason Betting Games

There are a couple of NFL Preseason Week 2 primetime showdowns in the Lone Star State when New Orleans visits Houston on Saturday and Dallas hosts San Diego on Sunday.

Home teams went 11-5 against the spread in Week 1. The second week kicked off Thursday with hosts going 1-1 straight up and ATS. Pittsburgh beat visiting Philadelphia 24-14, while New England did a number on its opponent for the second week in a row, 31-14 at Tampa Bay.

New Orleans at Houston – Saturday 5:00 p.m. (PT) NFL Network

New Orleans is a 1 ½-point favorite with a total of 36 ½-points. These teams meet in Week 3 of the regular season and will likely keep the game plans ‘vanilla’ on Saturday, not wanting to show off too much.

The Saints easily handled San Francisco in their opener, 24-3 as 2 ½-point home favorites. That was the debut for 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, but he’s stuck with the same old quarterback in Alex Smith. New Orleans put constant pressure on both him and rookie backup Colin Kaepernick, getting six, first half sacks.

New Orleans didn’t have much offense of its own early last week with Drew Brees going 1-of-4 for six yards in the first three series, not putting up any points. He should get top receiver Marques Colston back, who missed last week with a knee injury.

The Texans opened with a 20-16 home win over the Jets. Chris Ogbonnaya had a one-yard run with under two minutes remaining to also get a slim ‘cover’ of the 3-point spread. It put them ‘over’ the 34 ½-point total as well.

Houston was missing star wide receiver Andre Johnson (finger) and running back Arian Foster (hamstring). Both are expected to play Saturday with the starters playing most of the first half according to coach Gary Kubiak.

The Texans are still adjusting to their new 3-4 defense under coordinator Wade Phillips. While they did have seven sacks last week, most of it was from their backups. Going against Brees and company will be a much better measure of where the defense stands.

San Diego at Dallas – Sunday 5:00 p.m. (PT) NBC

Dallas is a one-point favorite with a total of 37-points. These teams are practicing against each Thursday through Saturday this week.

The Cowboys are coming off a 24-23 victory over Denver as 2 ½-point home favorites. Third-string quarterback Stephen McGee had his second touchdown pass of the game with 15 seconds left and then threw the game-winning, 2-point conversion.

Quarterback Tony Romo played just one series, going 3-of-5 for 33 yards. He’s reportedly been throwing the ball great in practice as he comes back from his broken collarbone suffered last October.

San Diego opened with a 24-17 home loss to Seattle as 3-point favorites. Quarterback Philip Rivers was 5-of-6 for 87 yards and a touchdown in his only series and San Diego led 10-0 at halftime. Seattle scored two touchdowns in the final 4:02 of the fourth to win the game.

Both Romo and Rivers are sure to see significantly more time this game, likely well into the second quarter. It will be a good test for both defenses, which have new coordinators (Rob Ryan for Dallas and Greg Manusky for San Diego).

The Cowboys’ other big question is the offensive line, which has several new starters. The last thing they want to do is get Romo hurt in a preseason game.

Dallas will be missing running backs DeMarco Murray (hamstring) and Tashard Choice (calf), with Felix Jones out to prove he should be a workhorse back this year. San Diego will be without cornerback Antoine Cason (finger).

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Date WLT Pct Net Units Record
08/19/11 7-*5-*0 58.33% +*750 Detail
08/18/11 3-*1-*0 75.00% +*950 Detail
08/15/11 2-*0-*0 100.00% +*1000 Detail
08/13/11 4-*6-*0 40.00% -*1300 Detail
08/12/11 6-*4-*0 60.00% +*800 Detail
08/11/11 5-*5-*0 50.00% -*250 Detail
Totals 27-*21-*0 56.25% +1950

Saturday, August 20

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Tennessee - 8:00 PM ET St. Louis -3 500
St. Louis - Under 36 500

Oakland - 8:00 PM ET Oakland +3 500
San Francisco - Over 34 500

New Orleans - 8:00 PM ET New Orleans -2 500
Houston - Under 38 500

Buffalo - 8:30 PM ET Denver -4 500
Denver - Under 37 500

Minnesota - 10:00 PM ET Seattle -3 500
Seattle - Over 35.5 500

[StarDust Bum]

Teams ROT Record Consensus Odds

CHI 651 11-14 (3-9 V) - 144 OVER

WAS 652 5-18 (3-9 H) - 2.5 ( CHI + 2.5 )

Stats: Matchup | Preview | Trends | Line Moves My Scores
Opinion: Consensus | Team Experts



8:00 PM ETLos Angeles at Minnesota

Teams ROT Record Consensus Odds

LA 653 10-14 (3-9 V) - 157.5 OVER

MIN 654 19-6 (10-2 H) - -8.5 ( LA + 8.5 )

Stats: Matchup | Preview | Trends | Line Moves My Scores
Opinion: Consensus | Team Experts



10:00 PM ETSan Antonio at Phoenix

Teams ROT Record Consensus Odds

SA 655 13-11 (7-5 V) - 180 OVER

PHO 656 14-10 (8-4 H) - -7 ( SA + 7 )

Stats: Matchup | Preview | Trends | Line Moves My Scores
Opinion: Consensus | Team Experts



10:00 PM ETNew York at Seattle

Teams ROT Record Consensus Odds

NY 657 15-11 (5-7 V) - 142.5 UNDER

SEA 658 13-12 (9-2 H) - -6.5 ( SEA - 6.5 )

Stats: Matchup | Preview | Trends | Line Moves My Scores

[StarDust Bum]

Date WLT Pct Net Units Record
08/20/11 3-*7-*0 30.00% -*2350 Detail
08/19/11 7-*5-*0 58.33% +*750 Detail
08/18/11 3-*1-*0 75.00% +*950 Detail
08/15/11 2-*0-*0 100.00% +*1000 Detail
08/13/11 4-*6-*0 40.00% -*1300 Detail
08/12/11 6-*4-*0 60.00% +*800 Detail
08/11/11 5-*5-*0 50.00% -*250 Detail
Totals 30-*28-*0 51.72% -*400

Sunday, August 21

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Cincinnati - 7:00 PM ET N.Y. Jets -6 500

N.Y. Jets - Over 35.5 500

San Diego - 8:00 PM ET San Diego +1.5 500

Dallas - Under 38 500

[StarDust Bum]

Date WLT Pct Net Units Record
08/21/11 3-*1-*0 75.00% +*950 Detail
08/20/11 3-*7-*0 30.00% -*2350 Detail
08/19/11 7-*5-*0 58.33% +*750 Detail
08/18/11 3-*1-*0 75.00% +*950 Detail
08/15/11 2-*0-*0 100.00% +*1000 Detail
08/13/11 4-*6-*0 40.00% -*1300 Detail
08/12/11 6-*4-*0 60.00% +*800 Detail
08/11/11 5-*5-*0 50.00% -*250 Detail
Totals 33-*29-*0 53.23% +550

Monday, August 22

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Chicago - 8:00 PM ET N.Y. Giants -4.5 500

N.Y. Giants - Under 35.5 500

[StarDust Bum]

Bears visit Giants on Monday night

CHICAGO BEARS (1-0)

at NEW YORK GIANTS (0-1)


Kickoff: Monday, 8:00 p.m. EDT
Line: New York -4.5, Total: 35.5

After shaky offensive performances in their respective preseason openers, the Giants and Bears both have a little more motivation to perform well when the teams meet up in The Meadowlands on Monday night.

Chicago was much quicker to go to its backups in Week 1, and still managed to score a 10-3 victory over Buffalo at home. The Giants may be willing to go with their offensive starters a little longer after an uneven performance in Carolina, but DE Osi Umenyiora’s recent knee injury means they’re likely to take it easy with rising star Jason Pierre-Paul and the defense. That’s enough to make CHICAGO the pick.

The FoxSheets show another reason to back the Bears.

Play On - Underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points (CHICAGO) - off a home win, with a winning record in the preseason. (57-28 since 1993.) (67.1%, +26.2 units. Rating = 2*).

Sloppy field conditions in Carolina likely played a role in their Week 1 performance, but the Giants offense was far from impressive in a 20-10 loss to the Panthers. LB Michael Boley’s interception was their only touchdown. QB Eli Manning was 4-for-9 for 36 yards and the team mustered just 81 yards on 25 rushes (3.2 YPC). K Lawrence Tynes didn’t help matters by missing field goals of 37 and 55 yards, and having a 44-yarder blocked. The one positive was the performance of Pierre-Paul (two sacks), but the Giants can’t risk playing him too many reps with Umenyiora out for at least a month.

The Bears weren’t much better against Buffalo last week. Back-up QB Caleb Hanie, nearly the hero of last year’s NFC Championship game, was all over the place, going 3-for-7 for just 32 yards. He did score the game’s only touchdown though, running it in from four yards out. Jay Cutler threw one pass in the preseason opener (a dump-off to Matt Forte for no gain) and could see a similarly light workload against the Giants. Last October, he was sacked nine times and concussed when the Bears visited the Meadowlands.