NFL picks of the week include the Patriots vs. Bengals and Bodog previews that plus the Raiders vs. Titans. Late breaking NFL injuries are in as Michael Bush, Laurence Maroney, and Julian Edelman are all out.
With the New England Patriots at home NFL odds have listed them as -5 favorites, but the Cincinnati Bengals have more than enough firepower to hang with and even beat the veteran squad.
Wideout Chad Ochocinco has Terrell Owens to help him drive quarterback Carson Palmer nuts, not to mention downhill runner Cedric Benson at running back. Then there’s rookie tight end Jermaine Gresham, whom Palmer went to early and often all preseason.
Considering the Patriots are thin at corner and are missing defensive end Ty Warren, all the Bengals weapons should be able to plow through the Pats D against the NFL Odds.
But can the Bengals stop Tom Brady? He’s one year removed from rehabbing his knee, and has a motivated Randy Moss and a healthy Wes Welker to throw to. The only weakness for the Pats offense is at running back — Lawrence Maroney is hurt and 34-year-old Fred Taylor is his primary runner. But what does that matter when your quarterback can consistently move the ball from five-wide formations? The Bengals will have to bring the pain to stifle the Pats’ arial attack. Something they proved to be capable of in 2009.
“They do bring a lot of pressure,” Brady said. “We played them in the preseason last year and they were really good. I thought we came out of that game thinking, ‘Man, that team really played us hard and had a really good defense.’”
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After starting the 2009 season 0-6, the Tennessee Titans were probably happy to see the Oakland Raiders scheduled to visit LP Field to open their 2010 season. However, despite NFL Odds listing Tennessee as -6 favorites in the Bodog Sportsbook, this isn’t the same hopeless Silver & Black.
Gone is the bust that was quarterback JaMarcus Russell — he’s sippin’ on sizurp at home. They have finally have some stability after bringing back head coach Tom Cable. And they drafted a football player, not just a track star, in linebacker Rolando McClain.
And with vets like defensive end Richard Seymour and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha Oakland appears to finally have a roster that will compete on Sundays.
An Oakland cover and even a win is not out of the question. The Titans are 3-8 against the spread versus the AFC in their last 11 games, and the Raiders should finally be able to move the ball through the air with solid vet Jason Campbell under center. The biggest hurdle Oakland faces on Sunday is slowing down superstar running back Chris Johnson. The Raiders run defense was ranked 28th in the league last year.
“He’s probably the best there is in this league,” Cable said. “He has tremendous guys blocking for him … he’ll be a heck of a test.”
The Raiders have issues in their own backfield. RB Michael Bush has been listed as questionable with an injured thumb, it will be surprising to see him play as he did little in practice Thursday and Friday. This means a heavy workload is in store for Darren McFadden, unfortunately he has proven to be better as a change-of-pace than an every-down runner.