The NFL Blog: 2010 Week 1 Betting Lines

There is always more unknown going into week 1 than at any other point in the season. Final cuts, holdouts, injuries and suspensions have things more uncertain than ever heading into opening week. Things should be very interesting.

Thursday Night’s Game

Minnesota (+4.5) @ New Orleans
Pick: Saints win but Vikings beat the spread
Comment: These early next year rematches are always weird. New Orleans may be inspired by the crowd and the ceremonies. Either way, that offense doesn’t really need to be inspired. I’m guessing that New Orleans’ defense will be less fortunate this season, and they will open the year missing a few key pieces due to injuries. On the other side, Favre should be a bit rusty and he could get hurt at any time.

Sunday’s Early Games

Denver (+3) @ Jacksonville
Pick: Jags cover
Comment: I don’t like either of these teams but I absolutely hate Denver. How much superfluous coverage will this seemingly boring and inconsequential game get simply because Tim Tebow will be making his NFL debut at Jacksonville? Denver wasn’t looking good to begin with and they have several injuries. However, the Broncos have won 3 straight openers, all on the road. The Jags meanwhile have lost 3 straight openers and 3 straight home openers.

Oakland (+6.5) Tennessee
Pick: Titans win but Raiders beat the spread
Comment: It’s always interesting to see how the Raiders look in week 1. They’ve actually won their last 2 road openers, while Tennessee has lost 3 of their last 4 home openers. It should be interesting to see what kind of a difference a reasonably adept QB will make for the Oakland offense. The Titans should be okay as long as they don’t make a lot of mistakes.

Cincinnati (+5) @ New England
Pick: Patriots win but Bengals beat the spread
Comment: New England’s secondary is on life support before the year has even begun, but the Pats have won 6 straight openers and their last 8 home openers. Cinci is 13-9 against the spread as a road underdog since the start of the 2006 season.

Cleveland (+1.5) @ Tampa Bay
Pick: Bucs cover
Comment: Whoever loses this game is going to be bumming because there don’t figure to be all that many winnable games on the schedule. The Browns haven’t won their first game since 2004. I guess I’ll take the Bucs because they are at home.

Indianapolis (-2) @ Houston
Pick: Colts cover
Comment: The Colts are 15-1 all-time against the Texans.

Detroit (+6) @ Chicago
Pick: Bears win but Lions beat the spread
Comment: I don’t really have a lot of good evidence as to why this pick makes sense. I just don’t like Jay Cutler and I pretty much expect him to make things close.

Atlanta (-2) @ Pittsburgh
Pick: Falcons cover
Comment: As a Falcons fan I was not happy to see Byron Leftwich go down for the Steelers the other day. I had been counting on his immobility being a key to the Falcons success since the moment Big Ben was suspended. I’m a little concerned about Dennis Dixon.

Miami (-3) @ Buffalo
Pick: Dolphins cover
Comment: The Bills are awful but in recent times they have been at their best early on in the season. Still, the Bills are awful.

Carolina (+7) @ New York Giants
Pick: Giants cover
Comment: This seems like a big spread but I think the G-Men will get off to a good start this year like they have the last couple of years. Since winning the Super Bowl, the Giants have started off 4-0 and 5-0. Also, revenge could be in the air. New York closed out Giants Stadium by getting punked 41-9 by the Panthers in week 16 of last year. Perhaps they will open their new stadium by thrashing Carolina.

Sunday’s Late Games

Green Bay (-3) @ Philadelphia
Pick: Eagles pull off the upset
Comment: There are always a couple of surprises and this is my surprise pick of week 1.

Arizona (-4) @ St. Louis
Pick: Cards cover
Comment: Do you kinda feel sorry for Matt Leinart? Me neither.

San Francisco (-3) @ Seattle
Pick: Niners cover
Comment: The positive talk concerning the Hawks has lessened considerably since the draft ended. If the Niners want to be taken seriously they need to win these sorts of games.

Sunday Night’s Game

Dallas (-3.5) @ Washington
Pick: Cowboys win but Skins beat the spread
Comment: This was one of the toughest games for me to pick. The Boys didn’t look so hot during the exhibition season, and this is one of the few true rivalry games remaining. Dallas has won 3 straight openers and 3 straight road openers. The Cowboys have also won 2 straight at FedEx Field.

Monday Night’s Games

Baltimore (+2) @ New York Jets
Pick: Jets cover
Comment: This has to be the toughest pick of week 1. Both teams are Super Bowl contenders in my opinion. I’m curious to see how the Jets play without Darrelle Revis. Isn’t it kind of weird that he’s going to be sitting at home rooting for the Jets defense to get lit up? I’d like to pick the Ravens but the spread is less than a field goal so I’m going to go with the home team. Speaking of that, are they really going to play NFL games on back to back days in this stadium? Has that ever been done before?

San Diego (-5.5) @ Kansas City
Pick: Chargers cover
Comment: Remember when Arrowhead Stadium was one of the most feared places in the NFL for opposing teams? That seems like a long time ago. From 2000-2006 the Chiefs went 34-14 at home. Over the last 3 years they have gone just 4-20 at Arrowhead. The Chargers have been known to come out of the gates stumbling, but KC has lost 4 straight openers.