Categories
NFL

St. Louis Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers FREE NFL Preview & Betting Pick

Rams vs Buccaneers Betting / Handicapping

Like two octogenerians on a park bench trying to one-up each other with stories about their health problems, the Rams and Bucs will battle on Sunday in Florida, with the only thing riding on the outcome the possibility of the winning team actually finishing .500 (or in St. Louis’s case, possibly a hair above) this season.

St. Louis Rams (6-7-1) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8)
Sunday, Dec. 23
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
1 p.m. EST
Spread – Bucs -3.5 at SportsBettingOnline.ag
O/U – 43.5

Matchup | Preview

Check Out Ray’s NFL Plays Today!

The Rams come in nursing a five-game winless streak, the only actual highlight being a tie against the 49ers a few weeks back.

Tampa Bay sees that and raises – the once-contending Bucs have lost only four in a row, but for six straight games have been scoring fewer points than they did the previous week.

Where to start?

St. Louis’s chances of staying in the playoff conversation in the NFC were tossed to the curb at home last Sunday when the Rams were somehow stunned to learn that the Vikings planned to give the ball to Adrian Peterson every now and then. Peterson averaged just short of nine yards per carry, finishing with 212 on the day, and the Rams found themselves with an empty oxygen tank.

CLICK GRAB OUR BEST Expert NFL Picks for 2012 FOOTBALL GAMBLING season!

When the playoffs get under way in early January, the Rams will be watching on TV for the eighth straight season.

The good news for the Rams is that the Buccaneers have no one on their current roster that resembles Peterson, although LeGarrette Blout can be a load to bring down at times. And the Bucs have their own issues after being slapped around, 41-0, in New Orleans last Sunday.

Josh Freeman and backup Dan Orlovsky combined to throw for 319 “we’re way behind so what the hell” yards against the Saints, but the horses left the Tampa Bay barn when Freeman threw four completions to Saints defenders. When he was pulled, it was viewed as a mercy killing.[soliloquy id=”82219″]

No one expected anything like this a month ago. The Bucs were riding relatively high after their fourth straight victory, a 27-21 division win over the Panthers. But by then the offensive arrow was already trending down.

The Bucs had scored 42 against Oakland and 34 against San Diego. But TB struggled offensively in losses to Atlanta, Denver and Philadelphia before last week’s offensive/defensive collapse in the Big Easy.

NFL rules require that this game be played, but it’s doubtful that either team will have too much invested emotionally.

THE PICK – St. Louis has scored more than 23 points in a game only three times this season, and the Bucs haven’t scored a point in seven of their last 10 quarters. If you like the side, this one appears to have field goal game written all over it, so the half-point is valuable.

And 43.5 is a generous total, and will probably go down a bit in the final few days, so if you like the under, buy now.

By Lawrence Paul

Lawrence Paul is back in the saddle as a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. He's got an AMAZING knack for predicting when a team will have a letdown! Stick with our resident gambling experts sports betting tips all season long!