2007-08-10

Saturday offers up a big betting board of seven NFL Preseason games, starting at 7:30 PM ET. The NFL Network will bring one of the games, Washington visiting Tennessee, live and in-color to your living room. That contest is generating plenty of interest from the wagering public at Sportsbook.com. See which way they are leaning on that game, as well as the rest of the action as we take a look at the top trends and tidbits for Saturday’s NFL Preseason slate.

Green Bay at Pittsburgh (-6.5, 35.5) - 7:30 PM ET
* The early returns see as much as 72% of the betting public at Sportsbook.com backing Green Bay as the sizeable underdog in this contest.
* These teams have met twice in the preseason, but not since 1996. The Packers won both of the contests, including 36-13 at Pittsburgh in 1995.
* Green Bay is 0-5 SU & 1-4 ATS as a road underdog of 7 points or less over the L3 preseasons.
* Green Bay is 7-2 UNDER the Total in non-conference games over the L3 preseasons.
* Including last week’s 20-7 win over New Orleans, Pittsburgh has gone UNDER the Total in five straight preseason games.
* Pittsburgh hasn’t been favored by as much as 6-1/2 points in exhibition games since 2002

Jacksonville (-2.5, 34) at Miami – 7:30 PM ET
* Sixty Percent (60%) of the betting action coming in has been sided with Jacksonville. This has moved the line from an opening spot of Miami –1, to Jacksonville –2.5.
* JACKSONVILLE is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) against conference opponents in its franchise preseason history.
* Since 2002, Jacksonville is 5-3 SU & 6-2 ATS when playing on Saturday in the preseason.
* Jacksonville hasn’t been a road favorite in the preseason since 2001 at Dallas, a 27-17 loss.
* Miami is 2-4 ATS revenging a loss in the preseason since 2002. The host Jaguars won a year ago, 31-26 in week one.

Kansas City at Cleveland (-3, 34.5) – 7:30 PM ET
* The money at Sportsbook.com on this game is siding with Cleveland at a 60% clip.
* Cleveland has been one of the league’s best preseason teams in recent years, going 8-4 SU & 9-3 ATS since 2003.
* Cleveland is on an impressive run of 6-1 ATS at home in the preseason.
* Kansas City has lost six straight games on the road in the exhibition campaign, both straight up and against the pointspread
* Kansas City is 5-1 OVER the total as a road underdog over the L3 preseasons.

Washington at Tennessee (-3, 35) – 8:00 PM ET, NFL Network
* This game has the greatest percentage of action coming in on any team on the Saturday night board. Washington is the flavor of choice among the betting public, receiving 83% of the attention.
* Tennessee has lost all four of its preseason home game over the past two years, both straight up and against the number.
* Tennessee is 5-1 UNDER the Total in its last six home preseason games.
* The Titans are 9-4 SU & 8-4 ATS since 2002 in preseason games with a pointspread in the +3 to –3 range.
* Washington had the NFL’s worst offense in the preseason a year ago, scoring just 6.8 PPG. Not surprisingly, the Redskins lost all four games SU & ATS.

Carolina (-1, 34.5) at New York Giants – 8:00 PM ET
* The Giants-Panthers contest has seen an unusual pointspread move, similar to that of Friday’s New England-Tampa Bay game. In this one, 55% of the action is in on New York, yet the opening line of NY –2.5 has shifted to where Carolina is now the one point chalk.
* Carolina and New York both won all four of their preseason games in 2006. The difference being that the Giants were 4-0 ATS while the Panthers were just 2-2 ATS.
* The Giants last hosted Carolina in the preseason in 2005, winning 27-20 as a 3-point underdog. However, prior to that, Carolina had won four straight in the series, both SU & ATS.
* Carolina is 11-2 ATS (+8.8 Units) against exhibition conference opponents since its franchise inception.
* Despite winning all four games last year, the Panthers gained fewer total yards per game on offense than just one team, Kansas City.

Chicago (-1, 32.5) at Houston – 8:00 PM ET
* The betting public seems to be treating this game properly, an exhibition contest. Despite oddsmakers setting Chicago as the road favorite, 57% of the action at SB backs the Texans.
* Saturday’s game marks the first time that Chicago will take on Houston in a preseason game.
* The UNDER has been the flavored total of choice in the last three exhibition campaigns for the Bears, going 9-4.
* Chicago is 4-8 ATS in its L12 exhibition games where the line was in the +3 to –3 range.
* Houston has won all of its last three games outright and ATS as a home underdog in the preseason.

Arizona at Oakland (-1, 35) – 10:00 PM ET
* Heavy action has come in on Arizona for this late night west coast affair. Believing HC Ken Whisenhunt’s plan for using QB Matt Leinart beyond normal starter week one workloads, 78% of the public is backing the Cardinals.
* OAKLAND is 8-1 UNDER (+6.9 Units) in all preseason games over the last 3 years.
* OAKLAND is 6-0 UNDER (+6.0 Units) as a favorite over the last 3 preseasons.
* Since 2002, Oakland is 0-4 SU & ATS when playing on Saturday night in the exhibition campaign.
* Since 2002, Arizona is 9-4 ATS as an underdog in the preseason.