The San Diego Chargers (3-1) have a chance to knock off a division rival and put up their third of the season when they take on the Denver Broncos (1-3) at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Sunday.
Jonny “Bones” Jones defends his UFC light heavyweight title for the first time this Saturday at UFC 135. In Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, he faces the toughest, meanest, most experienced opponent of his career.
Sports betting players should be treated to an exciting matchup in the NBA on Saturday night, as the Utah Jazz will try to extend their winning streak against a Denver team that could be worn out from a tough game the previous night. Can the Nuggets find the energy to overcome the odds?
Warriors vs. Nuggets (-14)
(O/U) 233
December 1, 9:00 PM ET
The Golden State Warriors (6-10 SU, 9-7 ATS, 9-7 O/U) may not have the glowing straight up (SU) record or title contending hopes that the Denver Nuggets (12-5 SU, 9-8 ATS, 8-9 O/U) have shown this season, but when it comes to covering the NBA lines, few teams have been as hot solid as the Warriors over the last two weeks.
Saints get signature win and look like an elite team:
The New Orleans Saints took on the undefeated New York Jets this past Sunday and came away with a 14 point victory as 7 point home favorites. It appears that no one can stop the balanced offense of the New Orleans Saints, not even Rex Ryan’s attacking 3-4 defense. Drew Brees didn’t have a big day numbers wise as he only threw for 190 yards and one touchdown but he made the big play in crunch time. With Pierre Thomas back healthy the Saints were able to show that the Saints are not just a passing team.
Denver Nuggets (33-16 SU, 28-20-1 ATS) at Washington Wizards (10-39 SU, 18-30-1 ATS)
Friday, February 6
BetUS NBA Odds: DENVER -7, Total 205.5
Here are some of the NBA pro basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
Obviously the Chargers are a testament to the “never say die” attitude, as they looked well out of the division race but were playing hard anyway, just in case Denver would falter. The Broncos, not being a very good team, did just that. So that opens things up for a winner-take-all showdown that will decide the AFC West title, and will be the “Flex game” that NBC televises on Sunday night.
The Buffalo Bills (6-8 SU & ATS) have simply gone into the tank in the AFC East. On Sunday they will try to take a step toward finishing the season at the .500 mark when they visit the Denver Broncos (8-6 SU, 4-9-1 ATS), who need only to win this game to wrap up the AFC West, in NFL pro football online betting action that is slated to kick off at 4:05 PM ET at Invesco Field at Mile High (natural turf) in Denver.
Week 15 of the NFL sports betting season offers up a fantastic AFC/NFC football betting battle when the AFC West leading Denver Broncos (8-5, 4-8-1 ATS) invades Charlotte, NC to square off against the NFC South leading Carolina Panthers (10-3, 7-5-1 ATS); kick-off is slated for 4:15 ET
The Denver Broncos (7-5 SU, 4-7-1 ATS) have solidified their lead in the AFC West. On Sunday they will take a step closer to the title as they host the Kansas City Chiefs (2-10 SU, 6-6 ATS) in NFL pro football sports betting action that is scheduled to get underway at 4:05 PM ET at Invesco Field (natural turf) in Denver.
The Denver Broncos (5-4 SU, 2-6-1 ATS, 5-3-1 O/U) won their last contest, beating the Cleveland Browns 34-30 on Sunday, but have struggled on defense all season long. The Atlanta Falcons (6-3 SU, 6-3 ATS, 4-5 O/U) have been the most pleasant surprise in all of football this season and come into this contest riding a two-game winning streak in the BetUS Sportsbook.
The Denver Broncos travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns in the first Thursday night game of the season! Okay, the first game of the season was on a Thursday night, but this is the first real Thursday night game. The key for sports betting fans in this game is to realize that the Browns will be starting Brady Quinn as opposed to Derek Anderson. As far as I know, the change was made out of desperation. How will it affect this Browns’ team?
Two teams who have been disappointing of late will clash in a Thursday night NFL showcase, as the Denver Broncos (4-4 SU, 1-6-1 ATS) visit the Cleveland Browns (3-5 SU, 5-3 ATS) in an AFC encounter that is slated to kick off at 8:15 PM ET at Cleveland Browns Stadium (natural turf) right next to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame.
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.
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)
The 2008 NFL betting season is around the corner! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting.
