Well, Week 1 was a tough one to take. Seattle conceded with under a minute left on the clock to blow our four point play out the water and Philadelphia missed a 44 yard field goal to potentially beat the Falcons. Moving on wards and upwards lets get stuck into Week 2.
Oakland Raiders vs Baltimore Ravens
Last week at home to Bengals the Raiders didn’t manage a play in the opposition half of the field until the 4th quarter, yes you did read that right. Losing Derek Carr fairly early on was a blow but even with him starting they looked terribly weak. He is back for the visit of the Ravens but they looked so terrible that I can’t see it making a massive difference. The Ravens blew a chance to beat the Broncos last week and their offence was poor in the main but when I look at these two teams the only side I see improving with the assets that they have is Baltimore.
The Raiders let Andy Dalton pass for 269 yards and to add to their worries they don’t have Nate Allen and Charles Woodson hurt his shoulder but he’s pushing to play even if not totally fit. The Ravens will have to play without linebacker Terrell Suggs who is a very prominent player in their defence. Even without him the defensive line should be able to pressure Carr like they did to Manning and cause disruption to the Raiders offence.
In the head to head between these two Baltimore have come out victorious in 10 of their last 11 match ups.
To summarise I can see Flacco having a much improved week against a struggling to say the least coverage team and Steve Smith Jr getting some serious yards.
3pt Baltimore Ravens Alternative Handicap -4 @ 4/6
(-3pt)
Washington Redskins vs St Louis Rams
As we well know the Rams put a fantastic performance last week to upset the Seahawks. Even though it was a high scoring game I was really impressed with the Rams defence. I thought they would maybe go inside their shell on the big stage but I couldn’t of been more wrong. The Seahawks weren’t able to establish any sort of running game, even with the beast that is Lynch, and with the Redskins having no where near that caliber player on their team they face one hell of an uphill battle on Sunday. The Rams managed six sacks on Wilson and against an offensive line that is one of the worst in the league it could be a massacre.
On the other side of the field the Rams looked great with the ball. They put up 352 total yards with a whole host of players getting receptions throughout, this will look to pour more misery on an already very down heartened coverage for Washington. One player that could have a massive day is Tavon Austin, he is unbelievably quick on his feet and has more talent in his big toe than I have in my whole body. On the Redskins offence, Cousins will somehow have to find a target man which he can consistently rely on but I can’t see anyone who fits the bill especially as DeSean Jackson will not be playing.
I am really liking the chances of the Rams this week and I expect them to run out comfortable victors.
6pt St Louis Rams Money Line Win @ 5/8
(-6pt)