NFL Week 1 Betting Lines and Predictions
by Frank Doyle of Sports Interaction - 6/7/2011
Sports Interaction betting analyst Frank Doyle is thinking positive – here are his picks from the early lines for NFL Week 1!
At Sports Interaction, we believe in thinking positive. Nature abhors a vacuum, and there will be a serious vacuum in all our lives if there’s no football in September. With that in mind, Sports Interaction has set lines for Week 1 of the NFL just as always, and there are some bargains to be had once the legal shape-throwing is over and the league and players deliver the people what they want – football.
The first line that strikes you as odd on the Week 1 slate is San Francisco as a six point home favorite against Seattle. The reason behind that line is that public opinion holds that Mike Singletary was the problem at San Francisco and now that he’s gone and Jim Harbaugh has taken over all the Niners’ problems will go away.
That’s a pretty big assumption to lay six points. Seattle fell over the line into the playoffs last year, being the first team ever with a losing record to make it to the playoffs. But the Seahawks delivered when they were there, taking down the World Champion Saints, and what more can they do? They can come within six points of San Francisco on Week 1 next time out. They can do that much.
Tampa Bay laying three at home to Detroit is another of those lines that’s based more on perception than reality. Detroit couldn’t win a raffle away from home for a long time, and the Lions played like kitty-kats more than once at home too. But these are different Lions, with a really frightening defensive line.
Tampa Bay’s defensive line is comprised of bad hombres too, and neither team’s offense is particularly likely to light them up. So the best bet here is Under 41 total points. This game could finish 9-6 and nobody would be a bit surprised.
Finally, Philly can’t lay four points on the road at the Rams. The Greatest Show is as much Rams history now as the Fearsome Foursome, but Sam Bradford is the future. St Louis showed real progress last year – too much to be a four point ‘dog in its own dome on Opening Day. Philly is a great team and Michael Vick has achieved true greatness in his second coming as an NFL starter, but Rams +4 at home is just too good to resist.
As well as these three, Sports Interaction has action on all Week 1 games, and outrights for the NFL, College and the CFL. Get a piece of all the pigskin action with Sports Interaction!