NFL betting odds: MINNESOTA -4, Total 40
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
- MINN has covered one of its last five games
- MINN has won five of its last seven games SU
- MINN has played four of its last five games UNDER the total
- MINN has covered three of its last nine road games
- MINN has won four of its last six road games SU
- MINN has played six of its last eight road games OVER the total
- CLEV has covered one of its last six games
- CLEV has lost its last six games SU
- CLEV has played 15 of its last 22 games UNDER the total
- CLEV has covered ten of its last 15 home games
- CLEV has covered one of its last five home games
- CLEV has lost its last five home games SU
- CLEV has played eight of its last 11 home games UNDER the total
Obviously most of the attention in this one will be devoted to the return of Brett Favre, as the Vikings, who were only 6-10 ATS last year in the NFL betting odds, try to open up their passing game. Undoubtedly Favre will be able to make better use of first-round draft choice Percy Harvin than either of Minnesota's would-be signal-callers, Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson. Adrian Peterson looked sharp in the pre-season; in fact, he rushed for the second-most yards out of anyone in the exhibition schedule - 181 yards, including a 75-yarder against Houston.
The Vikings were the league's toughest team to run on in 2008, allowing just 77 yards a game and 3.3 yards a carry. It is reportedly likely that Pat Williams and Kevin Williams, the twin (but not related) defensive tackles who are most responsible for that, will be able to play in the opener, as they would be facing four-game suspensions for violating the league's substance abuse policy, but there is the possibility that a federal judge will hand down a decision this week. If there is a decision that is unexpected, that might slightly affect the NFL betting odds on this one, not to mention some of the fundamental matchup.
The Browns may not be able to run the ball against anybody. Jamal Lewis is still the "every-down" back, and he averaged just 3.6 yards a carry last season., He topped the 1000-yard mark - barely - but could be all worn out by this time. Meanwhile, as of early in the week, new coach Eric Mangini has not handed down the verdict on who is going to be the Browns' starting quarterback, as if to affect NFL betting odds, though everybody thinks it's going to be Brady Quinn
At least we can guess whose face Jared Allen is going to be in.
Even with Favre adding a new element to the situation, the Vikings' dynamic remains essentially the same - they control the line of scrimmage and the running game, on both sides. As long as Favre does not throw the game away as he has done many times in the past, we can see advantages being extracted by this Minnesota who can sufficiently defend Quinn or Derek Anderson. We're going to lay the points with the Vikings, the four-point favorite in the BetUS NFL betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: MINNESOTA -4 **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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