BIG AL's NFL TOTAL OF THE WEEK (86-49 RUN) -- Sunday
At 1 pm, our selection is on the UNDER in the Atlanta Falcons/Seattle Seahawks game. The defenses for both of these teams have been a sieve. Atlanta's allowed 53, 34 and 37 points in its last three games, while Seattle's given up 29, 28 and 30 points over its last three. The knee-jerk reaction might be to look for another high-scoring game here. But consider that, over the past 40 years, NFL games have gone 'under' the total 62% of the time when each team had given up more than 24 points in each of their three previous games. We saw this same situation a couple of weeks ago in the Giants/Redskins game. New York had given up 31, 28 and 35 points in its three previous games, while Washington's defense had allowed 31, 31 and 32 points. The O/U line in that game was 48 points, but it easily sailed under the total in a 24-3 New York win. I look for a similar outcome in this game on Sunday. Take the Falcons/Seahawks 'under' the total. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.