Preseason Updates – August 19, 2010
So we know for sure that Brett Favre is back for his 20th season in the NFL. The Minnesota Vikings are paying Favre an extra $3.5 million to come back, bumping his 2010 salary to $16.5 million, plus added incentives. Vikings coach Brad Childress even picked Favre up at the airport. Now you know why quarterbacks are the feature attractions when it comes to football betting.
But will Favre play this Sunday? We’ll touch on that issue as we preview Week 2 of the NFL preseason; but first, we’re going north of the border.
Thursday: Indianapolis vs. Buffalo (7:30 p.m. ET)
The Bills are playing at their home away from home, Rogers Centre in Toronto, so that technically makes them 3.5-point “home” favorites on the NFL odds. The Colts are notorious for honking the preseason; they’re already 0-1 SU and ATS this year after losing 37-17 at home to the San Francisco 49ers (-3.5). That leaves Indy at 1-4 SU and ATS in exhibition play under Jim Caldwell after going 3-15 SU and 5-12-1 ATS the previous four years under Tony Dungy. Buffalo has a new coach in Chan Gailey, but their preseason started with a 42-17 road loss to the Washington Redskins (-4.5).
Friday: Philadelphia at Cincinnati (8:00 p.m. ET)
The new era for the Eagles got off on the right foot with a 28-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, although Jacksonville cashed in as a 3-point home chalk.
The Eagles saw rejuvenated QB Michael Vick go 11-of-17 for 119 yards and a pick, plus 50 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Bengals are now 1-1 SU and ATS after dropping the Denver Broncos (+3.5) 33-24 at home; QB J.T. O’Sullivan went 7-of-15 for 118 yards and should continue to receive playing time over third-stringer Jordan Palmer, who was not so hot in the Hall of Fame Game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Saturday: Dallas at San Diego (9:00 p.m. ET)
The Cowboys were happy with QB Stephen McGee’s work in the HoF opener; in Week 1, it was Matt Nichols getting plenty of burn, but he threw a pair of picks in a 17-9 loss to the Oakland Raiders (+3 road dogs). Coach Wade Phillips told reporters on Wednesday that Tony Romo and the rest of the starters would get more snaps against San Diego. The Chargers won their preseason opener 25-10 at home over the Chicago Bears (+2.5). Billy Volek (7-of-14, 77 yards) was sturdy as always, but it was six sacks from the defense that got the job done. San Diego is now 9-4 SU and 8-4-1 ATS in the preseason since Norv Turner took over as coach.
Sunday: Minnesota at San Francisco(8:00 p.m. ET)
What Favre wants, Favre gets. He used Week 2 of the 2009 preseason as his personal training camp and played most of the way in a 17-10 win over the Houston Texans (-3 at home). Favre says he wants to play this Sunday, so there’s a good chance we’ll see Ol’ No. 4 in action against San Francisco. If not, the Vikings still have Sage Rosenfels, who threw three TD passes in a 28-7 win over the St. Louis Rams (-2.5 at home) and appears to be getting showcased for a possible trade. The 49ers have a veteran QB of their own trying to make a statement in David Carr, who went 9-of-11 against the Colts for 98 yards and a TD.
Monday: Arizona at Tennessee (8:00 p.m. ET)
Jeff Fisher is a savvy coach, and he doesn’t like losing – even in the preseason, where the Titans are still 16-10 SU and 15-10-1 ATS over the past six years despite losing 20-18 to the Seattle Seahawks (-3.5 home faves) in their exhibition opener. That was Pete Carroll’s first game as Seattle’s coach, and he no doubt wanted to make a good impression in front of the fans. As for the Cardinals, they scored all their points in the fourth quarter of a 19-16 win over the Houston Texans (-2.5 home faves), overcoming two picks by Derek Anderson. Keep an eye on the local papers to see if promising third-stringer John Skelton from Fordham will get more action on Monday after engineering the winning drive.
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