Bills @ Patriots
Play: Under 47.5
Relative Strength: Large
Comment:
The market appears to be much more bullish than I in regards to the success the Bills will have this season. After all, they finished 7-9 last year and now have Owens and a more experienced Edwards, right? Let’s not forget, this team closed out the season with a 2-8 record, and a lot of sabermetric studies have shown Owens has not helped out an offense in years. I will not be surprised in the least that the Bills will finish with one of the worst offenses in the league, and should probably come out of the gates supporting such. The Bills recently fired their offensive coordinator will replaced it with a more simplistic game plan early. The last thing the Bills want is to turn this game into a shootout. Expect them to try to slow down the pace (contrary to opinions in which Van Pelt will try to execute), eat up the clock and grind out yards with their running game. The Patriots are not one of the better defenses in creating three and outs, and may struggle trying to defend the run without their main guy Seymour. This should allow the Bills to have some success on the ground and with short passes. But the bend-don’t break defense will make it hard for the Bills to finish drives with more than field goals.
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The Patriots will once again probably end up being a top 3 offense in football. However, they were ever to struggle, it will more than likely be early in the season, as Brady gets back into rhythm and gets accustomed to his brace. The Bills defense is nothing to get excited about. However, they have shored up their edge rush, which should allow them to have decent success putting pressure on Brady without throwing the kitchen sink at him. Expect the Patriots to be more committed to the running game early in the season as Brady works back into things. The Patriots should find success on offense, but they might not make it look as easy as they did a couple of years ago, and may be more committed to the ground to find this success.
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Chargers @ Raiders
Play: Under 42.5
Relative Strength: Small
Comment:
In my opinion, the Chargers will probably end up having the best offense in football this season. So why come out of the gates taking an Under in their game? The Chargers offense has the propensity of peaking late in the season. The only thing about the Raiders that can be construed as reputable is their pass defense. If the Chargers want to find the most success on offense, they will have to be heavily committed to the running game. The success they do have on the ground will be somewhat limited, as <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1lace>Seymour</st1lace></st1:City> was a nice addition to shore up this weakness on the Raiders. The Chargers are also more than likely to have a comfortable lead wire to wire, which should allow them to be determined to eat up clock and run that much more.
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Last year, the Chargers defense was hampered by injuries and underachieved. I am expecting them to be one of the better and more balanced defenses in the league this year. The Raiders offense will simply be overmatched tonight, especially in the passing game. If they do want to find success, it will come from the ground, as Russell simply can not be relied on. However, expecting more than 17 points from this team may be wishful thinking.
Play: Under 47.5
Relative Strength: Large
Comment:
The market appears to be much more bullish than I in regards to the success the Bills will have this season. After all, they finished 7-9 last year and now have Owens and a more experienced Edwards, right? Let’s not forget, this team closed out the season with a 2-8 record, and a lot of sabermetric studies have shown Owens has not helped out an offense in years. I will not be surprised in the least that the Bills will finish with one of the worst offenses in the league, and should probably come out of the gates supporting such. The Bills recently fired their offensive coordinator will replaced it with a more simplistic game plan early. The last thing the Bills want is to turn this game into a shootout. Expect them to try to slow down the pace (contrary to opinions in which Van Pelt will try to execute), eat up the clock and grind out yards with their running game. The Patriots are not one of the better defenses in creating three and outs, and may struggle trying to defend the run without their main guy Seymour. This should allow the Bills to have some success on the ground and with short passes. But the bend-don’t break defense will make it hard for the Bills to finish drives with more than field goals.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
fficeffice" /><o> </o>The Patriots will once again probably end up being a top 3 offense in football. However, they were ever to struggle, it will more than likely be early in the season, as Brady gets back into rhythm and gets accustomed to his brace. The Bills defense is nothing to get excited about. However, they have shored up their edge rush, which should allow them to have decent success putting pressure on Brady without throwing the kitchen sink at him. Expect the Patriots to be more committed to the running game early in the season as Brady works back into things. The Patriots should find success on offense, but they might not make it look as easy as they did a couple of years ago, and may be more committed to the ground to find this success.
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> </o>Chargers @ Raiders
Play: Under 42.5
Relative Strength: Small
Comment:
In my opinion, the Chargers will probably end up having the best offense in football this season. So why come out of the gates taking an Under in their game? The Chargers offense has the propensity of peaking late in the season. The only thing about the Raiders that can be construed as reputable is their pass defense. If the Chargers want to find the most success on offense, they will have to be heavily committed to the running game. The success they do have on the ground will be somewhat limited, as <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
ffice:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1lace>Seymour</st1lace></st1:City> was a nice addition to shore up this weakness on the Raiders. The Chargers are also more than likely to have a comfortable lead wire to wire, which should allow them to be determined to eat up clock and run that much more. <o
> </o>Last year, the Chargers defense was hampered by injuries and underachieved. I am expecting them to be one of the better and more balanced defenses in the league this year. The Raiders offense will simply be overmatched tonight, especially in the passing game. If they do want to find success, it will come from the ground, as Russell simply can not be relied on. However, expecting more than 17 points from this team may be wishful thinking.
