On Halloween this year NFL teams will be kicking off their Week 8 games of the 2010 season. The mid-season mark has given us some bullet proof evidence of which teams can really deliver one wagers and which struggle to cover the spread. Up to this point, The Detroit Lions and New York Jets have the best ATS records at 5-1 each, while The New Orleans Saints sit at the bottom with a 1-5 ATS record. We have the rundown on the top matchups for this weekend to bump your bankroll up a notch.
Green Bay Packers @ New York Jets (-6)
Sunday, October 31 – 1:00 PM
The New York Jets come into this game with a 5-1 record, and after a stumble in their first game with a loss to Baltimore, they have looked very much like the Super Bowl contenders experts expected this season. LaDanian Tomlinson has been revitalized and has run for 490 yards and 5 TD’s this year. Mark Sanchez, although marked with a poor passer rating of 86.4, has been able to lead his team to victories with 1100 yards and 9 TD’s on the season.
The Jets’ defense has been most impressive allowing just 90 yards per game on the ground. However, the defense is ranked just 22nd in pass defense and when facing a gunslinger QB like Aaron Rodgers they will need to step up their game if they want to shut him down.
The Pack is a beat up crew and they have had some troubles in the past few games. With back-to-back losses to Washington and Miami, games in which Green Bay was favored in, The Packers were unable to generate enough offense for a win. For all of Aaron Rodgers’s skill, he is lacking solid support around him to let his ability shine.
Betting Trends
Green Bay is 11-5 SU in the last 16 games and has gone UNDER the total in 4 of its last 5 on the road. The Pack is just 1-7 in its last 8 games against The Jets and 1-4-1 ATS in the last 6 against them. For The Jets, the total has gone OVER in their last 5 games and they are 4-1-1 ATS when playing Green Bay.
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Minnesota Vikings @ New England Patriots (-4 ½)
Sunday, October 31 – 4:15 PM
Many critics of the New England Patriots doubted their chance of success without Randy Moss in the receiving core. However, with an overtime 23-20 win over The Ravens two weeks ago those critics have, for the most part, been silenced. Tom Brady is still looking good and his receiver core doesn’t look like it has suffered much loss either.
The Pats’ defense is looking really strong at this point as well. Jermaine Cunningham has fit into his position at DE excellently and is playing like a pro bowler. The defense has been making progress all year and should be well developed for this game against the Vikings.
The Vikings have been a disappointment to their city this season. After a great run for the Super Bowl last year the team is looking like they may not even make the playoffs this season. Brett Favre is having little success and the team seems to manage a loss out of every close game. Sadly, the team is loaded with talent and yet they are struggling to put it all together into one great talent. One thing is for sure, Randy Moss will show up to play against his old team, but it will take more than that to beat The Patriots on their home turf.
Betting Trends
Minnesota is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games and 0-5 SU when playing on the road. New England is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games and 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 at home. In the last 5 games between these 2 teams the total has gone UNDER 4 times.
Pittsburgh Steelers (-1) @ New Orleans Saints
Sunday, October 31 – 8:20 PM
The Steelers are coming of a very controversial 23-22 win in Miami last week – a game in which the referees made a questionable judgment call on a fumble in the end zone allowing The Steelers to kick the game winning field goal. However, Miami was given the ball with two and a half minutes left in the game and the offense failed to even make a first down. Miami played a phenomenal defensive game, especially on the run, and yet Pittsburgh managed to pull out a win. The return of Ben Roethlisberger has brought a whole new element to this team’s offense and they now sit with the best record in football along with The Jets and New England. The Steeler defense is now ranked first in the league against the run, but seeing as New Orleans is a pass-first team they may have to do a little adjusting before this game.
Drew Brees had a horrendous day against Cleveland last week as he threw 4 interceptions of which 2 were returned for Browns’ TD’s. The Saints are going to need to manage some kind of running game against The Steelers’ defense, otherwise Pittsburgh will have no problem covering Saints receivers. With LB LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison coming at Drew Brees from the line, it could spell trouble for the Saints’ offense.
Betting Trends
Pittsburgh is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games has gone OVER the total in 5 of its last 7. New Orleans is 1-6 ATS in the last 7 games 14-5 SU in its last 19 at home. The Saints are 1-3-1 in their last 5 games against Pittsburgh.
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