Venue/ Stadium: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Time/Date: 1 PM EST Saturday, September 18, 2011
NCAA Odds From: BetOnline.com
Moneyline: Packers -490 / Panthers +390
Spread (ATS): Packers -10
Over/Under: 47
Green Bay Packers vs. Carolina Panthers Preview
Great week 2 match up with the defending champion Green Bay Packers heading south to take on #1 draft pick Cam Newton, who was stellar in his debut, and the Carolina Panthers. Yeah, the Packers are on the road and Newton may be the real deal, but NFL lines still has Green Bay as big 10-point favorites with a total of 47.
In their opening games of the season the Packers won a barnburner 42-34 against the New Orleans Saints and the Panthers lost 28-21 to the Arizona Cardinals despite the impressive performance by Newton.
Did I say impressive? Well, Newton threw for the most yards (422) by a QB making his first start. WR Steve Smith had 178 receiving yards with 2 TD in the loss to Arizona and new addition TE Greg Olsen chimed in with 4 catches for 78 yards.
Carolina has lost 6 of their last 7 home openers.
The Packers had a great passing defense last season, but in their season opener they gave up 419 yards and 3 TD to Drew Brees and the Saints. Newton did shine in his debut, but there is one thing to touch on. The Cardinals did not want to get killed by Newton running the ball so they brought up players from the secondary to thwart that. Because of that Newton saw open passing lanes and 1-on-1 coverage. The Packers will know that and not give Cam what the Cardinals did.
Newton did not have much help from the rushing offense in week 1, as the Panthers only had 74 rushing yards with DeAngelo Williams only gaining 30 yards on 12 carries averaging a paltry 2.5 yards per carry. That does not live up to the big contract he signed before the season began. Also, while the Packers gave up a ton of passing yards to the Saints they only gave up 81 rushing yards. Williams needs to break out and have a good game this Sunday or the Panthers will start the season 0-2 again. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was named NFC offensive player of the week after going 27/35 passes for 312 yards and 3 TD in the win over the Saints. This does not bode well for a Carolina team that allowed new Arizona QB Kevin Kolb to pass for 309 yards and 2 TD against them last week.
Carolina LB Jon Beason was lost for the season last week with an injury and that is a big blow since he was the anchor for the defense. The Packers rushed for 103 yards last week and the Panthers allowed the Cardinals, who have a sketchy rushing offense at best, to gallop for 99 yards.
Betting Trends
Green Bay is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road games, 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games as a favorite, and has an Under record of 6-0 in their last 6 games as a road favorite.
Carolina is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 home games, 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog, and has an Over record of 5-2-2 in their last 9 games.
Jason’s Pick: Newton may a solid QB, but the Packers are simply much better on both sides of the ball. Rodgers will not be stopped, the Pack will run the ball well, and they will play solid D. Take the packers to win this game and cover the 10-point spread. Betting trends be damned, as even though the total has gone Under in the last 6 games when the Packers are the road favorite this game will go Over the posted total of 47.
