Sport: NFLPick Selection: MIAMI, HOUSTON, UNDER(ATL/GBP)
I'm taking the points with MIAMI. I believe the situation strongly favors the home dog here. After back to back covers, the betting public is back in love with the Chargers. However, while their Monday night cover two weeks ago was reasonably impressive (that was a home game) they were very fortunate to cover in last week's win at Oakland. That game was a lot tougher than the score indicated as the Chargers were behind the entire way. Now they will be traveling across the country to play an early game (a situation which has given past Charger teams some trouble) which will also be their second of back to back road games. Note that the Chargers are just 1-5 ATS the last six times that they were road favorites in the -3.5 to -7 range. While the Chargers are off a hard fought game and in a difficult travel spot, the Dolphins are coming off a bye and brimming with confidence after blowing out the Patriots prior to their break. The Dolphins are 7-2 SU/ATS their last nine in this series and I look for them to give the Chargers all they can handle here, earning at least the cover.
I'm taking the points with HOUSTON. The betting public will always love Peyton Manning and the Colts while they're particularly down on the Texans at the moment. At 1-2, the Colts haven't played much better than the winless (0-3) Texans though and I believe that the "public sentiment" has given us excellent value with what will be a highly motivated home underdog. While the Colts are dealing with some key injuries (including Bob Sanders) I still believe that this is Houston team is better than it has shown. Keep in mind that the Texans were forced to play their first three games on the road due to the effects of Hurricane Ike. Last week, they traveled to Jacksonville and very nearly beat a very good Jaguars team, eventually losing by three. Note that the also lost a close one vs. Jacksonville in their last game.) Now the Texans return to Reliant Stadium where they're a perfect 4-0 SU/ATS their last four games and a highly profitable 8-2 SU/ATS their last 10. The Texans are 4-1 ATS their last five home meetings in this series. They had a season-high in yards last week and I look for them to earn at least the cover here.
I'm playing on the Packers and Falcons to finish UNDER the total. Regardless of whether or not, Aaron Rodgers plays, I expect this to be a low-scoring affair. If Rodgers plays, he may not be at 100% and the Packers are likely to be a little more conservative in their play-calling in order to protect him and also due to the fact that he threw three interceptions last week. If he doesn't play, the Packers will be very inexperienced at the QB position and will be even more cautious. Either way, after a season-low in rushing yards last week, we should be able to expect a heavy dose of the run here, as the Packers look to get that part of their game going again. On the other side of the ball, the Falcons figure to have real trouble scoring against this Green Bay defense. The Packers remain excellent defensively and the Falcons have managed a mere 18 points (9 in each game) in their two road games, both of which finished with identical 24-9 scores. Including those results, the Falcons have now seen the UNDER go 14-4 their last 18 road games. Meanwhile, the UNDER is 3-0-1 the last four times the Packers were home favorites in the -3.5 to -7 range. Look for this afternoon's game to be lower-scoring than most are expecting once again.
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Handicappers
