Posted
on 12/18/2007 4:39:45 PM
By: CappersPicks.com NFL Football Handicapping
Staff
NFL Betting Thursday Betting - Steelers vs. Rams
Pittsburgh
crumbled last week in a game where mother
nature was on their side. Now they take
to the comforts of dome when they look
horns with the St. Louis Rams. It’s
conceivable that Pittsburgh could fall
out of the playoff picture of they lose
the next two games, so winning is essential
to their cause. After roaring out of
the gates, their NFL betting faithful
have been burned as the Steelers tumbled
to 7-7 ATS last week against Jacksonville.
Pittsburgh Offense vs. St. Louis Defense
The potent Steelers offense ranks eighth
in the league, but is very hard to get
behind when they are on the road. Ben Roethlisberger,
who has done his past to rally this team
when the defense has faltered, struggles
immensely when away from home, averaging
195.5 passing yards per game. The secondary
in St. Louis is not nearly as poor as the
terrible St. Louis 3-11 SU record indicates.
They allow 218.3 passing yards, but play
well enough to shove more defenders in
the box, which will help with Fast Willie
coming to town.
The St. Louis
defense gets a free pass for last week’s debacle against Green
Bay. It was a milestone game for Brett,
and he has always gone bananas in those
game. Ben Roethlisberger will do well against
a depleted St. Louis line-backer corps
that can’t hope to contain Heath
Miller or Hines Ward underneath. But there
is no way the football betting investor
can get behind Pittsburgh on the road with
a line that is dancing all over the place.
St. Louis Offense vs. Pittsburgh Defense
The Rams have the chance to salvage the
season by playing the part of upstart this
weekend. Marc Bulger was simply uninspiring
against the Packers defense, but the Pittsburgh
defense is depleted. Clark Haggans, a key
part of the line-backing corps in Pittsburgh,
is out with a knee injury.
Bulger and the passing offense average
218.3 passing yards per game, but raise
the bar when playing at home to 245.0 yards
per game. The secondary for Pittsburgh
got carved apart by David Garrard, so bet
on Bulger doing the same, if not more to
this same defense. The Steelers have shuffled
some things around in their secondary,
which is a heavy indication that some backups
will be starting for them on Thursday night.
NFL Betting Trends
-Pittsburgh is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
-Pittsburgh is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
on the road
-St. Louis is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
-St. Louis is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 games
at home
-Total has
gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh’s
last 5 games on the road
Final Verdict
The Steelers have had a bad habit of disappearing
in big games, while St. Louis has been
a ghost all season. With Cleveland tapping
Pittsburgh on the shoulder, bet on Big
Ben propelling the Steelers to victory.
However, the questionable defense of Pittsburgh
will got rolled and ripped by Steven Jackson
and Marc Bulger for a few scores to keep
this game close. At this point in the season
it is hard to take the Steelers on the
road, especially with a two score spread
staring you in the face.
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-5) vs. St. Louis
Rams (3-11)
Thursday, December 20th --- Edward Jones
Dome, St. Louis --- 8:15pm EST
Opening NFL Betting Line: Pittsburgh -9
(45.5)
NFL Free Pick: Pittsburgh 24 St. Louis
20
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