Tenn @Ne
I thought what Tennessee did last week in beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh was remarkable. Pittsburgh is a good run defence team and for the Titans to put up 30 says a lot. Four significant injuries for New England and they are all on defense - nose tackle Ted Washington, linebacker Mike Vrabel, top free agent Rosevelt Colvin and interior linebacker Ted Johnson. That is a lot of talent that apparently won't play this weekend. Has Eddie George slowed down? He might have when you consider he has carried the football 2,500 times. But what makes up for it is Steve McNair's spontaneous runs, his ability to get the extra first down or two when he takes off is everything.
PLAY: Tenn -1 (-110)
$110 to wun $100
Cinn@Buff
Too many points. The Bengals continue to improve under Marvin Lewis, who will develop a fundamentally sound team. In the Cleveland game, John Kitna hit eight different receivers which is a good sign of a quarterback coming into his own. At running back, Cory Dillon is due for a dominant game. It may not happen this week, though, due to Buffalo's run defense but I think Cincinnati has the running back advantage due to the injury to Travis Henry. The underrated area of the Bengals are their receivers, Peter Warrick, Chad Johnson and Reggie Kelly. They help Kitna's performance. If Cincinnati can control Eric Moulds, they have a shot at winning this game outright.
PLAY: CINN +8 (-110)
$110-$100
Mia@NYG
With the extra week to prepare, Miami has the edge with a rested Ricky Williams because you know it may turn into a 30 carry afternoon. But then again, the Giants are coming off their bye week as well so they should be more polished than ever. Can Miami handle Hilliard, Toomer and Shockey? I think their secondary can and their linebackers are athletic enough to stay with the Giants tight ends. This should be a close one so if Miami has to kill the clock to win, they have a good chance with Williams.
PLAY: MIA (PK)
$110-$100
Sea@GB
Did you know that Mike Sherman has won more games (33) in his first three years in Green Bay than any other coach in Packers history. They Packers may still have a shot at the NFC North. The battle of running backs, Shean Alexander and Ahman Green, will be key. The confidence Green played with against Chicago should help him prepare in this short week. Now Seattle are coming off a long work week with extra time to prepare due to the bye. Hard to judge if they will benefit considering how well they played the previous three weeks, going 3-0. The teams are evenly matched in talent but Green Bay at home is still an advantage for me. The Seahawks have beaten New Orleans, Arizona and St. Louis while Green Bay lost to Minnesota, dominated Detroit, lost to Arizona and beat Chicago. Brett Favre responds well when he personally makes mistakes; Matt Hasselbeck, I'm not so sure about. But I like the fact that both Mike Holmgren and Ray Rhodes know Green Bay and Favre intimately - just like John Gruden knew Rich Gannon in last year's Super Bowl
PLAY: SEA +2
$110-$100
OAK@CHI
The Raiders need this game at this point of the season. The Bears have allowed 73 points in their first two games and then were dominated by Green Bay last week on Monday Night Football. This could be a big confidence building for Oakland going into their next game against Cleveland. The Bears may be in for a long season. I think they should commit to Anthony Thomas and take as many third and long situations away from Kordell Stewart. Oakland still has a playoff shot.
PLAY: OAK -4
$110-$100
Minn@Atl
A sign of a real good football team is when your backup quarterback comes in and you still win big. That's what happened last week when Gus Frerotte played a key role in the Vikings domination of San Francisco. The Vikings have the offensive balance every team desires. With Moss and D'Wayne Bates, the strong safety must stay deep to help coverage. If the pre-snap read is there, then just run the ball behind an up-and-coming offensive line. If the strong safety plays tight to the line of scrimmage, then go for your best 1-on-1 opportunity or just throw it up to Moss. Tough to stop.
PLAY: Minn-4
$110-$100
Denv@KC
Big game when it comes down to home field advantage, considering the team that wins this one takes a big step towards winning the AFC West. Two great running backs in Clinton Portis and Priest Holmes and two of what may be the best offensive lines in the AFC, although Baltimore merits some consideration as well. I don't think either team will dominate and as usual the team that avoids the key mistakes will win. Baltimore ran effectively against Kansas City and Denver may do the same. Although it was a close game, Jake Plumber did hit 16 in a row against Detroit. The Chiefs should win but Denver should keep it close.
PLAY: DENV +3.5
$110-$100
Clev@Pitt
A lot of tradition and history between these two teams but Pittsburgh is a much better organization right now. The Browns have had two good games defensively this year - the opener against Indianapolis and two weeks ago against San Francisco. But going into Week 4, Cleveland has limited offensive ability and that is surprising considering the competition between Holcomb and Couch as well as the quality wide receivers in Quincy Morgan and Kevin Johnson. The Steelers were really humbled by Tennessee last week and they need to respond in a big way. One constant about Bill Cowher's teams is that they play well on national TV. On Sunday night, I like Pittsburgh to rise to the challenge.
PLAY: PIT -7
$220-$200
GL to all!
:canada1
I thought what Tennessee did last week in beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh was remarkable. Pittsburgh is a good run defence team and for the Titans to put up 30 says a lot. Four significant injuries for New England and they are all on defense - nose tackle Ted Washington, linebacker Mike Vrabel, top free agent Rosevelt Colvin and interior linebacker Ted Johnson. That is a lot of talent that apparently won't play this weekend. Has Eddie George slowed down? He might have when you consider he has carried the football 2,500 times. But what makes up for it is Steve McNair's spontaneous runs, his ability to get the extra first down or two when he takes off is everything.
PLAY: Tenn -1 (-110)
$110 to wun $100
Cinn@Buff
Too many points. The Bengals continue to improve under Marvin Lewis, who will develop a fundamentally sound team. In the Cleveland game, John Kitna hit eight different receivers which is a good sign of a quarterback coming into his own. At running back, Cory Dillon is due for a dominant game. It may not happen this week, though, due to Buffalo's run defense but I think Cincinnati has the running back advantage due to the injury to Travis Henry. The underrated area of the Bengals are their receivers, Peter Warrick, Chad Johnson and Reggie Kelly. They help Kitna's performance. If Cincinnati can control Eric Moulds, they have a shot at winning this game outright.
PLAY: CINN +8 (-110)
$110-$100
Mia@NYG
With the extra week to prepare, Miami has the edge with a rested Ricky Williams because you know it may turn into a 30 carry afternoon. But then again, the Giants are coming off their bye week as well so they should be more polished than ever. Can Miami handle Hilliard, Toomer and Shockey? I think their secondary can and their linebackers are athletic enough to stay with the Giants tight ends. This should be a close one so if Miami has to kill the clock to win, they have a good chance with Williams.
PLAY: MIA (PK)
$110-$100
Sea@GB
Did you know that Mike Sherman has won more games (33) in his first three years in Green Bay than any other coach in Packers history. They Packers may still have a shot at the NFC North. The battle of running backs, Shean Alexander and Ahman Green, will be key. The confidence Green played with against Chicago should help him prepare in this short week. Now Seattle are coming off a long work week with extra time to prepare due to the bye. Hard to judge if they will benefit considering how well they played the previous three weeks, going 3-0. The teams are evenly matched in talent but Green Bay at home is still an advantage for me. The Seahawks have beaten New Orleans, Arizona and St. Louis while Green Bay lost to Minnesota, dominated Detroit, lost to Arizona and beat Chicago. Brett Favre responds well when he personally makes mistakes; Matt Hasselbeck, I'm not so sure about. But I like the fact that both Mike Holmgren and Ray Rhodes know Green Bay and Favre intimately - just like John Gruden knew Rich Gannon in last year's Super Bowl
PLAY: SEA +2
$110-$100
OAK@CHI
The Raiders need this game at this point of the season. The Bears have allowed 73 points in their first two games and then were dominated by Green Bay last week on Monday Night Football. This could be a big confidence building for Oakland going into their next game against Cleveland. The Bears may be in for a long season. I think they should commit to Anthony Thomas and take as many third and long situations away from Kordell Stewart. Oakland still has a playoff shot.
PLAY: OAK -4
$110-$100
Minn@Atl
A sign of a real good football team is when your backup quarterback comes in and you still win big. That's what happened last week when Gus Frerotte played a key role in the Vikings domination of San Francisco. The Vikings have the offensive balance every team desires. With Moss and D'Wayne Bates, the strong safety must stay deep to help coverage. If the pre-snap read is there, then just run the ball behind an up-and-coming offensive line. If the strong safety plays tight to the line of scrimmage, then go for your best 1-on-1 opportunity or just throw it up to Moss. Tough to stop.
PLAY: Minn-4
$110-$100
Denv@KC
Big game when it comes down to home field advantage, considering the team that wins this one takes a big step towards winning the AFC West. Two great running backs in Clinton Portis and Priest Holmes and two of what may be the best offensive lines in the AFC, although Baltimore merits some consideration as well. I don't think either team will dominate and as usual the team that avoids the key mistakes will win. Baltimore ran effectively against Kansas City and Denver may do the same. Although it was a close game, Jake Plumber did hit 16 in a row against Detroit. The Chiefs should win but Denver should keep it close.
PLAY: DENV +3.5
$110-$100
Clev@Pitt
A lot of tradition and history between these two teams but Pittsburgh is a much better organization right now. The Browns have had two good games defensively this year - the opener against Indianapolis and two weeks ago against San Francisco. But going into Week 4, Cleveland has limited offensive ability and that is surprising considering the competition between Holcomb and Couch as well as the quality wide receivers in Quincy Morgan and Kevin Johnson. The Steelers were really humbled by Tennessee last week and they need to respond in a big way. One constant about Bill Cowher's teams is that they play well on national TV. On Sunday night, I like Pittsburgh to rise to the challenge.
PLAY: PIT -7
$220-$200
GL to all!
:canada1
