Category: NFL

Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) vs. Denver Broncos (0-1)

Time/Date: 4:15 PM EST, September 18, 2011

Venue: Sports Authority Field at Mile High

Broadcast: CBS

Bengals vs. Broncos Gambling Odds from BetOnline

Spread: Broncos -3.5

Moneyline: Broncos (-180) Bengals (+160)

Over/Under: 40

The fans will likely continue chanting for Tim Tebow, but John Fox made it pretty clear that he is sticking with Kyle Orton as his starting quarterback. Andy Dalton and a young Cincinnati Bengals team will visit Denver this weekend. The Broncos are coming off a tough loss to the Raiders, while the Bengals are coming off a surprising victory over the Browns.

Andy Dalton was efficient in his time as the starter last weekend, but he injured his wrist and had to miss the second half. Bruce Gradkowksi struggled at the beginning of his time in the game, but he connected on a great quick snap pass to A.J. Green to put the Bengals in front late in the fourth quarter. While the quarterback play was pretty good, it was the running of Cedric Benson that was key for the Bengals last weekend. Benson gained 121 yards on 25 carries in last week’s win. If this team is going to be successful at all this year, they must be able to run the football consistently.

The Cincinnati defense was pretty impressive last week. The front four dominated the Browns offensive line, and they really held Peyton Hillis and the Browns running game in check. The Bengals have a couple very solid corners in Nate Clements and Leon Hall. Rey Maualuga looks like he has made the transition to middle linebacker quite successfully. The Bengals are hoping to get Keith Rivers back soon, but he is questionable this week. The defense is expected to be the strength of the Bengals team this season. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

Billboards around Denver are starting to pop up with Play Tim Tebow messages, and the fans are clearly getting upset already. Kyle Orton threw for 304 yards last week, but a crucial fumble cost the Broncos a chance of winning last week. Brandon Lloyd has emerged as a star wide receiver for this Broncos team. He had six catches for 89 yards last week. The running game struggled all last year, and they weren’t good against Oakland either. Knowshon Moreno is likely out this weekend, so expect Willis McGahee to get most of the carries. John Fox really wants the Broncos to establish a running game.

The Broncos defense only allowed 105 passing yards against Oakland, but the Raiders rolled up 190 yards on the ground. Brian Dawkins and Champ Bailey were the leading tacklers for Denver last week. It’s never a good sign when your secondary leads the team in tackles, especially when the other team didn’t throw it very often at all. Von Miller showed flashes of brilliance last weekend, and I expect the Broncos to blitz the young Bengals quarterback early and often this week.

I don’t think either of these teams will be very good this year. The Broncos like to throw it, but the Bengals secondary is pretty good. Cincinnati’s offense isn’t good at all at this point, but they can probably run it some against Denver. I think this goes down to the wire.

Free NFL Pick: Bengals +3.5

Venue/Stadium: Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Time/Date: Monday September 19, 2011 – 8:30 PM ET

NFL Odds

Moneyline: Giants -270

Spread (ATS): Giants -6

Over/Under: 44

Steve Spagnuolo earned his first job as an NFL head coach by proving his merit as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants in 2007 and 2008. Now, the man who led the St. Louis Rams to within one win of a division title in his first season in control will look for his first win of year two against that same team he helped win a Super Bowl back in 2007. Both teams are battling a plethora of injuries that contributed to week one losses, and will clash at MetLife Stadium under the bright lights of Monday night hoping to avoid consecutive losses to open their respective seasons.

The Giants will likely be without two of the defensive stars that helped Spagnuolo’s units lead the league with 53 sacks in 2007, as ends Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora are both injured. New York is already without cornerback Terrell Thomas and linebacker Jonathan Goff for the remainder of the season, and as injuries take their toll on the defense it will be up to Eli Manning and the offense to get things done. Manning struggled against the rival Washington Redskins week one as he completed just over 50-percent of his passes for 268 yards and an interception, while the running game never really got going either with Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combining for just 73 yards on 19 carries. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

The offense will need to be better Monday night, and that could be tough as Spagnuolo is already familiar with their strengths and weaknesses, especially with the chance that wide receiver Hakeem Nicks could also miss the game with a knee injury.

The third-year head coach had to be happy to hear that quarterback Sam Bradford will be able to play this week after bruising his right index finger in the fourth quarter of the Rams’ 31-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. How the injury will affect his play will be one of the keys to the game for St. Louis, as well as whether or not running back Stephen Jackson and wide receiver Danny Amendola will be cleared to play. The Rams’ defense improved dramatically a year ago under Spagnuolo, but seemed to wear down against Philadelphia as the game went on. If Bradford can operate at a high level and Jackson plays then St. Louis should be able to keep this one close in Spagnuolo’s return, but it will be very tough to push a contender like New York to 0-2 on the road.

NFL Betting Pick: Giants