Sportsbook.com – Football Friday
Football bettors have the opportunity to wager on three more NFL Preseason games Friday night. Even if betting on preseason football isn’t your thing, it doesn’t hurt to pay attention to these games as you can gather important intel for your regular season wagers in addition to the numerous NFL futures offered.
With that being said, let’s take a quick look at all three games on Friday’s NFL betting board; numbers courtesy of Sportsbook.com.
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Jacksonville at Philadelphia Friday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
Sportsbook.com Line: Philadelphia -3 Total: 33.5
The Eagles prepare for the first season of the post-Donovan McNabb era and will be putting their trust in the arm of Kevin Kolb, who filled in admirably for the injured McNabb last year. Kolb inherits an array of young targets in wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson and tight end Brent Celek. Maclin (knee) and Jackson (back) have both missed practice time this preseason.
The Jaguars may have finished in last place in the highly competitive AFC South last season, but at 7-9 they were not far from making the playoffs. The Jags will have to improve upon a defense that ranked near the bottom in defending the pass. Offensively, David Garrard will try to build on the connection he established with wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker a year ago, while still relying heavily on the powerful legs of running back Maurice Jones-Drew.
The Jaguars have been successful on natural surfaces away from home. Consider this trend: JACKSONVILLE is 15-4 ATS (+10.6 Units) in road games in games played on a grass field since 1993. The average score was JACKSONVILLE 21.6, OPPONENT 18.1 – (Rating = 1*).
Also Eagles’ coach Andy Reid has been known to not take the early part of the preseason all that seriously: PHILADELPHIA is 4-13 ATS (-10.3 Units) in the first two weeks of the pre-season since 1993. The average score was PHILADELPHIA 15.5, OPPONENT 20.5.
Buffalo at Washington, Friday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
Sportsbook.com Line: Washington -3 Total: 32.5
The Redskins camp, their first under two-time Super Bowl winning coach Mike Shanahan, has been one of the more intriguing ones so far. The saga of Albert Haynesworth, who finally passed his conditioning test, and the addition of Donovan McNabb to replace Jason Campbell, who is now in Oakland, has been fun to watch.
New Buffalo coach Chan Gailey is looking to Trent Edwards to lead his offense this season. Edwards will face competition from both Brian Brohm and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Whoever ends up as quarterback will be happy that the Bills finally came to terms with first round draft pick C.J. Spiller out of Clemson. The all-purpose back could have an immediate impact on the Bills, who have a long way to go to catch up to their division rivals in New England, New York and Miami. On the defensive side, it remains unclear whether the Bills will have the services of Aaron Schobel, who can’t seem to make up his mind about whether and where he wants to play.
The depth of competition at quarterback for Buffalo could result in some inspired offensive play throughout the game, keeping things close. BUFFALO is 2-0 against the spread at WASHINGTON since 1993.
Kansas City at Atlanta, Friday, 8:00 p.m. EDT
Sportsbook.com Line: Atlanta -3 Total: 34.5
The Chiefs have gone to the Patriot well once again, adding coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel, who were instrumental in bringing three Lombardi trophies to New England under Bill Belichick. Weis will be designing plays for Matt Cassel, whose numbers dipped last season, his first with the Chiefs, after enjoying remarkable success in 2008 filling in for the injured Tom Brady.
The Falcons missed the playoffs a year ago, but did post a respectable 9-7 record with second-year starter Matt Ryan under center. Atlanta’s porous pass defense will have to improve in order for them to compete for the division title with the defending Super Bowl champion Saints.
Ryan and the Falcons are out to prove that they are more like the team that made the playoffs two seasons ago than the one that played inconsistently in 2009, and that winning attitude could very well show itself in the preseason.
The following Power Trend illustrates the road struggles of the Chiefs: KANSAS CITY is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) as a road underdog of 3 points or less since 1993. The average score was KANSAS CITY 13.6, OPPONENT 21.8 – (Rating = 1*).
