Winless In Seattle
Steve Sauro
Elliott SmithFree Football Picks From Unsportsman
September 9th 2010 16:44
Here at UnSportsman, we take pride in not only our knowledge of all sports, but our knowledge of using that information to our advantage. We'd like to pass some of that knowledge on to you, the loyal reader. We'll start doing so in giving you some serious insight into some matchups that we feel very strongly about, followed by a break down of why we feel that way.
Take our info and picks and go to Vegas! It's nice this time of year!
As the NFL season officially kicks off tonight - let's jump right in... (We'll even throw in some college!)
Take 'Over' 43.5 Detroit at Chicago
We fully expect a shoot-out between these NFC North Division rivals. The 'over' total has come up in 7 out of the last 10 meetings between these two teams. In their two games last year the average total points scored was a whopping 66 points per game! Both teams come into this game with some major changes on the offensive side of the ball - which boosts my confidence that the scoring will go up in this matchup. Detroit's QB, Matthew Stafford, has a year under his belt now, and should move forward - as shown by his stellar preseason numbers - given his added weapons. The Bears now should have a pass happy offense under the toolage of Mike Martz - and Cutler has the arm for it. Detroit's pass defense is shaky at best - so look out! I see the scoreboard operators getting tired in this one - and that 43.5 number is too low! Take it!
Washington plus 3.5 over Dallas
Shannahan - love him or hate him - is a winner. I think the drama between the head coach and a certain overweight, over-paid, defensive player has a little too much influence on this number. It's usually a good bet to take a home dog - and taking one on Week One is even better! Dallas has had it's fair share of issues with it's offense this preseason, and nothing seemed to really gel just yet. McNabb and the Redskins run a similar offense to the Houston Texans (who cruised over the Cowboys in the all important Week 3 preseason matchup). To add a little more confidence to this pick - I can tell you that the underdog is 19-7 against the spread in the last 26 meetings in this matchup - with Washington being 5-2 over the last seven. The McNabb/Shannahan era might very well start with a straight up win here! Take the points!
Baltimore plus 3.5 over New York Jets
Ignore what I said about home dog's in the prediction above - this number is flat out wrong. Baltimore is picked by many to be a Super Bowl contender while the Jets are barely scrapping by as a Wild Card contender on most sheets - if even making the playoffs. Flacco has always had the arm to go downfield, now he has the weapons to do it. Add Ray Rice, and the Jets defense - including a barely practiced Revis - should have trouble stopping this team. The Jets are being led by Mark "INT" Sanchez and have a relatively unproven running game to take the pressure off of him. Look for the Ravens to not only cover that number - but most likely win straight up.
BYU plus 1 over Air Force
BYU is coming off a nice little home opener win against a supposedly revamped UW team. BYU's defense was very effective in shutting down one of the most talented QB's in college football - so I don't see them having too much of a problem here. Last year, BYU beat Air Force by 17 points - and it wasn't even that close. BYU head coach, Bronco Mendenhall, has never lost to Air Force while the last six matchups have ended in a 41-22 average score. In that span the closest that Air Force has come was 14 points. Trending against Air Force is that fact that they are just 1-6 against the spread in their last seven games after a straight up win by 20 points - meaning they seem to let off the gas pedal quite a bit after a big win. On the flip side, BYU is 5-2 against the spread on it's last seven road games. Take the visiting BYU Cougars here!
Take 'Under' 52 Michigan at Notre Dame
College defenses are typically ahead of their offenses at this point in the season. Traditionally in this matchup both teams like to establish the run early - meaning the clock will run, while the points on the scoreboard won't. Michigan heald UConn's offense to only 10 points last week - and I don't expect the defense to give up much more here. For trends, Notre Dame is 1-4 over/under in the last five contests - and I can't see that changing here. Play it safe and take the under.
Take our info and picks and go to Vegas! It's nice this time of year!
As the NFL season officially kicks off tonight - let's jump right in... (We'll even throw in some college!)
Take 'Over' 43.5 Detroit at Chicago
We fully expect a shoot-out between these NFC North Division rivals. The 'over' total has come up in 7 out of the last 10 meetings between these two teams. In their two games last year the average total points scored was a whopping 66 points per game! Both teams come into this game with some major changes on the offensive side of the ball - which boosts my confidence that the scoring will go up in this matchup. Detroit's QB, Matthew Stafford, has a year under his belt now, and should move forward - as shown by his stellar preseason numbers - given his added weapons. The Bears now should have a pass happy offense under the toolage of Mike Martz - and Cutler has the arm for it. Detroit's pass defense is shaky at best - so look out! I see the scoreboard operators getting tired in this one - and that 43.5 number is too low! Take it!
Washington plus 3.5 over Dallas
Shannahan - love him or hate him - is a winner. I think the drama between the head coach and a certain overweight, over-paid, defensive player has a little too much influence on this number. It's usually a good bet to take a home dog - and taking one on Week One is even better! Dallas has had it's fair share of issues with it's offense this preseason, and nothing seemed to really gel just yet. McNabb and the Redskins run a similar offense to the Houston Texans (who cruised over the Cowboys in the all important Week 3 preseason matchup). To add a little more confidence to this pick - I can tell you that the underdog is 19-7 against the spread in the last 26 meetings in this matchup - with Washington being 5-2 over the last seven. The McNabb/Shannahan era might very well start with a straight up win here! Take the points!
Baltimore plus 3.5 over New York Jets
Ignore what I said about home dog's in the prediction above - this number is flat out wrong. Baltimore is picked by many to be a Super Bowl contender while the Jets are barely scrapping by as a Wild Card contender on most sheets - if even making the playoffs. Flacco has always had the arm to go downfield, now he has the weapons to do it. Add Ray Rice, and the Jets defense - including a barely practiced Revis - should have trouble stopping this team. The Jets are being led by Mark "INT" Sanchez and have a relatively unproven running game to take the pressure off of him. Look for the Ravens to not only cover that number - but most likely win straight up.
BYU plus 1 over Air Force
BYU is coming off a nice little home opener win against a supposedly revamped UW team. BYU's defense was very effective in shutting down one of the most talented QB's in college football - so I don't see them having too much of a problem here. Last year, BYU beat Air Force by 17 points - and it wasn't even that close. BYU head coach, Bronco Mendenhall, has never lost to Air Force while the last six matchups have ended in a 41-22 average score. In that span the closest that Air Force has come was 14 points. Trending against Air Force is that fact that they are just 1-6 against the spread in their last seven games after a straight up win by 20 points - meaning they seem to let off the gas pedal quite a bit after a big win. On the flip side, BYU is 5-2 against the spread on it's last seven road games. Take the visiting BYU Cougars here!
Take 'Under' 52 Michigan at Notre Dame
College defenses are typically ahead of their offenses at this point in the season. Traditionally in this matchup both teams like to establish the run early - meaning the clock will run, while the points on the scoreboard won't. Michigan heald UConn's offense to only 10 points last week - and I don't expect the defense to give up much more here. For trends, Notre Dame is 1-4 over/under in the last five contests - and I can't see that changing here. Play it safe and take the under.
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