NFLX Week 3 – Thursday, Aug. 26

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Last Updated on Thursday, 26th Aug 2010, 

Written by BetRepublic

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The NFL sends four teams into action tonight; three of them are legitimate contenders for Super Bowl XLV. The other? Well, they’ve got a $50 million dollar man making his first start under center that may just draw more attention tonight than Manning, Brady and Rodgers combined.

ST LOUIS at NEW ENGLAND
Line: Patriots -8
Over/Under: 38.5

Since meeting in the Super Bowl after the 2001 season, to say these two teams took different paths is a gross understatement. The Pats have been to the playoffs six of the past eight seasons while the Rams have amassed exactly six straight-up wins in the past three years combined.


First overall pick Sam Bradford is one of the pieces second-year HC Spagnuolo hopes will change the tide for St. Louis and he’ll get the start tonight, but he’ll face a stingy defense that held Atlanta to just 266 yards of offense in Week 2 (98 rushing, 168 passing).

HC Belichick has spent extra time with his young defensive unit during camp, trying to have as much influence as possible. QB Bradford is 12-of-27 (44.4-percent) for 81 yards, and has a 51.6 passer rating but this will be his toughest assignment yet.

QB ROTATIONS
Expect to see Bradford for the entire first-half and QB Keith Null in the second. New England will go Tom Brady-Brian Hoyer, but with the way Brady has played (15-of-20, 152 yards, 1 TD) perhaps Jeff Rowe could get some work.

OVER/UNDER
New England has played over the total in each of its preseason games this year, was 3-1 O/U in 2009 and in the past nine years has mark of 14 overs and 4 unders in the final two weeks of the preseason combined.

PREDICTION
While the Pats are a dominate force in the league, this franchise is not motivated by preseason wins nor by beating up on inter-Conference doormats. We think the line is an overlay and side with the underdog tonight.
BetRepublic.com Pick: Take the Rams

INDIANAPOLIS at GREEN BAY, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Packers -4
Over/Under: 44.5
It’s not often that Peyton plays second fiddle but hey, this is preseason! Manning and Rodgers are expected to play for the first-half in what is the first preseason meeting between these two since 1996.

August has not meant much to Colts the past while so trying to determine Packers HC McCarthy’s motive is a good place to start `capping this game.

- McCarthy usually fire around .500 in the preseason since taking over in `06. So far he’s 1-1 SU/ATS.

- QB Rodgers has a 154.0 passer rating in the first two games, completing 20-of-24 passes for 275 yards with three TDs and zero turnovers. Think we’ve seen enough there, too.

Green Bay’s chief areas of concern on offense are protecting the QB and opening holes for the running game. The Packers carried the ball 39 times for 174 yards at Seattle and against a rushing D that ranked 24th last season it only stands to reason that we’ll see another overdose of the run.

There are a lot of trends pointing towards the "Over" in this contest but our opinion is that this game stays below the posted total.