The Jacksonville Jaguars (2-3 SU, 1-4 ATS, 3-2 O/U), had high hopes of making their first Super Bowl appearance this season after a recording a promising 11-5 record in 2007, but are in serious danger of even making the playoffs this season even at this early juncture of the 2008 regular season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have proven that even though a lot of things have changed in the NFL this season, some things have stayed the same. Tampa plays defense like no other team in the NFL. They are a group of young, ball-hawking, tough guys led by middle linebacker Barrett Rudd.
Week 4 NFL Picks – Sunday, September 28, 2008 1pm
Arrowhead Stadium (79,451) — Kansas City, Missouri
The Temple Owls (1-3 SU, 1-3 ATS), who have had some tough luck and some tough scheduling, will play host to the Western Michigan Broncos (3-1 SU, 1-2 ATS) in NCAA college football action that is set to kick off at 2 PM ET on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field (natural turf) in Philadelphia.
The way the Denver Broncos (3-0 SU, 1-1-1 ATS, 3-0 O/U), are scorching opposing defenses this season, I’m thinking the team should come up with a new motto!
Week 3 NFL Picks – Sunday Sept 21st, 2008 1:00 PM ET
INVESCO Field at Mile High (76,125) — Denver, Colorado
Bettors love what they’ve seen from the Denver Broncos offense and expect more of the same this weekend against New Orleans.
The nightcap game is out in Oakland with the Raiders getting three points from the hated Denver Broncos. The spread for this game opened at one-point with the Broncos getting the bulk of the early action.
Preseason: Denver Broncos at Houston Texans
BetUS NFL Betting Odds: HOUSTON -3, Total 34.5
NOTABLE STAT: Denver was 29th in rushing defense in 2007 (142.1 ypg allowed)
KEY NFL FOOTBALL BETTING TREND: Denver has won nine of its last 12 in pre-season
The Houston Texans (8-8 SU & ATS in 2007) are trying to get themselves over the .500 mark and to the playoffs in this, the third season of Gary Kubiak’s tenure as head coach. On Saturday night they will get their pre-season started when they host the Denver Broncos (7-9 SU, 5-11 ATS in 2007) in an NFL exhibition game that is slated to begin at 8 PM ET at Reliant Stadium (natural turf) in Houston.
In the BetUS NFL football betting odds, the Texans are listed as a three-point home favorite, with a posted total of 34.5 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* DEN has lost nine of its last 14 games SU
* DEN has covered six of its last 24 games
* DEN has played 15 of its last 21 games OVER the total
* DEN has played five of its last seven road games OVER the total
* HOU has won five of its last eight games SU
* HOU has played four of its last five games OVER the total
* HOU has won five of its last six home games SU
* DEN has played four of its last six pre-season games UNDER the total
* DEN has won nine of its last 12 pre-season games SU
* DEN has covered eight of its last 12 pre-season games
* HOU has played seven of its last nine pre-season games OVER the total
* HOU is 5-2-1 ATS in its last eight pre-season games
* HOU has won four of its last five pre-season home games SU
Of course, the storyline here is easy – Gary Kubiak served as Denver’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for eleven years before taking the head coaching job with the Texans. And he has brought so much former Bronco personnel that his team has become known to some as “Denver South.” None of that has been an accident, as Kubak is trying to emulate the winning formula established by Denver coach Mike Shanahan. He has even gone so far as to hire Mike’s son, Kyle Shanahan as his offensive coordinator.
Kubiak has also hired Alex Gibbs, the former offensive line coach in Denver, as his assistant head coach, and they are going to set about trying to develop a running game that can carry this team. They could conceivably be better equipped, but there is no question that Gibbs’ presence will be felt with this team.
Andre Johnson is certainly the #1 receiver for Houston, but there is going to be some competition for who is inserted aside him and in the three and four-WR sets that Kubiak will use. Last season, when Johnson was down with injury, some of the wideouts stepped up and performed well, namely Andre Davis and Kevin Walter. The problem is that this team is thin at running back at the moment, so they’ll have to improvise.
With Sage Rosenfels getting plenty of snaps in this game, the Houston offense will be in decent shape, for a while anyway. Rosenfels tossed 15 touchdown passes last year, six more than starter Matt Schaub, despite starting only five games.
There is no secret as to one of the things Mike Shanahan wants to do in this pre-season. He needs to find an every-down running back and establish a pecking order with capable backups. Travis Henry, who was a load of trouble apparently, was let go a couple of months ago, and now Selvin Young has the lead, but he is going to be pushed by Michael Pittman and Andre Hall. The downer is that Ryan Torain, regarded as a possible “sleeper” by many, is having elbow surgery and is unavailable until at least the middle of the year.
There’s a distraction in Denver, surrounding starting wide receiver Brandon Marshall’s three-game suspension from the league for violating its code of conduct. But there may be some revenge in the air too, as Shanahan was blown away by his former pupil in a 31-13 Houston win last year. And since Shanahan doesn’t mind winning these pre-season tilts (capturing nine of their last 12), we’ll take the points with Denver, the three-point underdog in the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds.
JAY’S PLAY: DENVER (+3) * (Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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After a long off-season, NFL bettors finally get their chance to get down on some pre-season action this weekend. On Saturday night, the Denver Broncos invade Reliant Stadium to pay a visit to the Houston Texans, coached by former longtime Broncos OC Gary Kubiak. Denver went 2-2 SU and ATS in the ’07 preseason. The Texans also went 2-2 SU (2-1-1 ATS) in their four exhibitions, but did score the most points of any team over the four weeks (104).
For the first time since 1999, the Broncos finished the regular season with a sub .500 record. QB Jay Cutler had a productive year in his first as a full-time starting field general. The Vanderbilt product threw for 3,497 yards and 20 touchdowns, but his 14 interceptions proved very costly in decisive moments over the course of the season. Perhaps even stranger was Denver’s lack of a running game.
RB’s Travis Henry and Selvin Young split the bulk of the work. Young was the better back, averaging 5.2 yards per carry, but neither reached 800 yards. He’ll be expected to carry the load this year by himself, as Henry has departed, and rookie RB Ryan Torain will miss the next three months due to injury.
Defensively, the Broncos are expecting an improved season out of their superstar cornerback tandem of Dre’ Bly and Champ Bailey, who only combined for eight interceptions a year ago. DE Elvis Dumervil has had two fantastic seasons with Denver, posting 21 sacks since being drafted by the Broncos in 2006. If the team is to have success rushing the passer, Dumervil must have another strong campaign.
On the contrary, 2007 was a huge success for the Texans. It was the first time in franchise history that they finished at .500, and showed rapid improvement in facets of the game that they historically struggled in. The much-maligned offensive line only allowed 22 sacks in 2007, the best mark in franchise history.
They should be even stronger this year with the addition of Chris Myers via free agency and Duane Brown through the draft. Kubiak will have a plethora of running backs to choose from, as there are six players that could make a case to be the starter even though Ahman Green appears to have the job as of this moment. All six won’t make the team, so expect to see a very heated competition from the Texans running backs.
On the defensive side, Houston has a very solid front seven, with potential Pro Bowlers Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans, and Amobe Okoye anchoring the bunch. The team really hasn’t addressed its need at safety, but could get decent contributions from rookie Dominique Barber (Minnesota) throughout the pre-season.
In their previous pre-season meeting in 2006, Denver knocked off the visiting Texans 17-14. The NFL Betting trends favor the Broncos in this match-up. In preseason games against the AFC South, Denver is 6-1 SU and 5-2 ATS their L/7. Houston is only 9-15 ATS in their preseason games. However, since Kubiak took over as HC, the Texans are 5-3 SU and 5-2-1 ATS.
Oddsmakers have installed the hosts as 3-point home favorites in this pre-season showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5. Last year, Houston’s games averaged almost 48 PPG, while Denver’s contests averaged right at the 34.5 BetUS sportsbook offers this ‘total’ at.
You can find these lines and all of the NFL Preseason betting lines at BetUS.com, so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!
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