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Injuries Impact NFL Week 2 Betting
9/17/09
So Week 1 of the new NFL regular season is in the bag and closed with a pair
of exciting Monday Nighters.
The New England Patriots eked out a 25-24 win over the Buffalo Bills but fell
well short of covering as 10.5-point home faves and a very late Darren Sproles
TD run allowed the San Diego Chargers to defeat the Oakland Raiders 24-20 but
wasn’t enough to allow the Chargers to cover as -9 road faves.
In the battle between the books and the sports betting public in Week 1, both
sides got their shots in. The players won the day on Sunday after the smoke
cleared late Sunday night. With Green Bay coming back to beat Chicago finishing
the day off nicely for sports bettors (pointspread covers by Dallas, Minnesota,
Philadelphia and Baltimore were also solid wins for the players). But the books
rallied back on Monday night with two big underdog covers.
The Patriots and the Chargers both saw a ton of betting action leading up to
their games, but many players watched in agony as almost from the opening
whistle it was clear neither big favorite was going to blowout their opponent.
So sports bettors
gave some money back to finish the week.
Let’s look at a few notable events that took place in Week 1 that could have a
bearing on Week 2 NFL betting action.
- Listed as a Pick’em prior to their season opener against the Carolina
Panthers, the Philadelphia Eagles had no trouble enabling their bettors to cash
in, hammering the hometown Panthers 38-10.
The impressive victory however came at a cost as Eagles starting QB Donovan
McNabb suffered a fractured a lower left rib.
As the team begins practicing for its home opener against the New Orleans Saints
this weekend—the game is currently off the board—it seems as if they are
preparing for the possibility that McNabb could be gone for at least two weeks.
Although head coach Andy Reid is quoted in the USAToday as saying McNabb is
“going to do everything he possibly can to play this week” the team is making
moves that say otherwise.
Firstly, the Eagles activated suspended QB Michael Vick from the exempt list,
setting the stage for the former Falcon pivot to practice with the team—Vick
won’t be able to see action until Game 3.
Philadelphia also acquired former backup QB Jeff Garcia who went 6-2 as a
starter when McNabb was injured in 2006.
According to ESPN, current No. 2 Kevin Kolb will take snaps with the first-team
at Wednesday’s practice and Vick and Garcia will also be “in the rotation” but
McNabb will not.
Is there a QB controversy brewing in the City of Brotherly Love?
Despite the McNabb injury, the Eagles’ odds to win the NFC East have actually
improved, moving from +240 in the preseason to its current +180, as bettors
liked what they’ve seen, even if McNabb is on the shelf for a couple of weeks.
- Week 1 began with the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the
Tennessee Titans in the Thursday Night opener and while the Steelers defeated
the Titans 13-10, they failed to cover at -5.
They also lost the services of hard-hitting safety Troy Polamalu who tore his
left MCL during the game.
However, the Steelers learned on Monday that Polamalu would not have to go under
the knife and will only require rest—he will be out between three and six weeks.
Their future odds remained stable as bettors mulled over what this injury will
mean. It will have an impact, so it will be interesting to see of bettors adjust
when betting single games with the Steelers.
Pittsburgh travels to play the Bears this week.
Speaking of the Bears, they received some tough news of their own. This team
began the regular season with great expectations, welcoming new QB Jay Cutler.
Unfortunately, their defensive leader, Brian Urlacher suffered a season-ending
wrist injury in the first quarter of the Sunday nighter vs. Green Bay.
The Steelers are listed as 2.5-point road faves for Sunday’s game and the Total
is set at 38. This game was at -2 before the season kicked off (SPORTSBETTING.com
has the lines up for every game of the 2009 NFL season with their Prospective
Bets) and the line has moved to -2.5, with heavy juice (-125) on the Steelers as
Pittsburgh money comes in.
Before training camp started, the Pittsburgh was listed at +450 to represent the
conference in the Super Bowl and they are currently at +400.
The Bears are currently listed at +1000 to take the NFC North.
Week 1 is in the books and now the battle turns to the Week 2 card.
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