(The St Louis Rams can exploit the Cleveland Browns rush defense)
The St Louis Rams have won only one of their opening 8 games but that was against one of the elite sides in the destructive New Orleans Saints & the matchup away at the Cleveland Browns seems very favourable to their strengths. Both sides are dreadful defending against the run with the Browns ranked 30th & the Rams the league worst at 32nd but the Browns have both of their running backs, their star player Peyton Hillis, & backup Montario Hardesty likely to be out of this game meaning they won't be able to exploit the Rams weakness. The Rams have a frightening running back in Steven Jackson who's rushed for over 1,000 yards for the past 6 seasons, he's averaged 83 yards a game this year & will be looking forwards to facing the Browns who are missing safeties T.J. Ward & Usama Young plus cornerback Dimitri Patterson meaning if he can get past the cardboard cut out defensive line he could break some huge plays by charging through the backup secondary. The Rams injury prone quarterback Sam Bradford is a big talent but doesn't have a great corps of receivers to throw to, although trade from the Broncos Brandon Lloyd is already looking a real positive & they will expect to take advantage of the Browns injury hit pass defense. Without Peyton Hillis the Browns offense really is lightweight & with their problems defending against the run they can face a backlash after the Rams unfortunate loss to the Cardinals last week, at 5/4 the Rams should be backed & Brandon Lloyd can be bet at 9/1 to score the 1st touchdown of the game & 6/4 to score anytime, he had 11 last year & can add to his solitary score this year.
The New Orleans Saints v Atlanta Falcons game really is a marquee matchup between some classy sides that will be battling all the way to the end of the season trying to secure the AFC South title. The Saints led by pass machine Drew Brees are the very definition of a high powered offense with multiple receivers all getting into the game & a very decent running back partnership in Darren Sproles & Pierre Thomas. As good as the Saints offense is they've still struggled when on the road, only having won at Jacksonville whilst losing to Tampa Bay & the Rams in the past 4 weeks, the Georgia Dome is one of the real strongholds in football with Atlanta rarely losing when hosting a game. The Falcons started out a little wobbly with losses away to Chicago & Tampa Bay in the first 3 weeks but since have only lost to the unstoppable Packers & their traded up for rookie Julio Jones is starting to show what a weapon he is as a wide receiver with him & Roddy White providing exceptional targets for Matt Ryan. They also have one of the league's top tight ends in Tony Gonzalez & Michael Turner is great in the running game with 7 touchdowns already. Atlanta have really improved defensively giving up just 40 points in their last 3 games, the defense face an acid test here against the Saints but Jonathan Babineaux & Ray Edwardscan really get after the Saints strong side offense whilst John Abraham will be looking to get after Brees from the weak side. The bookmakers can't pick a favourite for this one with both sides priced up at 10/11 but we think the home advantage & Atlanta's momentum swings this one to them in what should be a great game.
(Matt Schaub knows how to run the ball & looks a top bet this week)
Elsewhere quarterback Matt Schaub looks to be overpriced at 9/1 to score a touchdown at anytime in the Texans game away at Tampa Bay, ok he's no Tim Tebow in terms of eunning it but he knows when to take off with two rushing TDs already for the year & with the Buccaneers defense looking out for superstar back Arian Foster he could get the opportunity for a little quarterback sneak. Other firms have Schaub priced a t 9/2 but Paddy Power offer the awesome 9/1 plus 50/1 for him to score the first touchdown of the game.
Selections:
St Louis Rams to beat Cleveland Browns at 5/4 (various)
Brandon Lloyd to score 1st Touchdown at 9/1 & score anytime at 6/4 (Ladbrokes)
Atlanta Falcons to beat New Orleans Saints at 10/11 (general)
Matt Schaub to score 1st Touchdown at 50/1 & to score anytime at 9/1 (Paddy Power) in Texans v Buccaneers game
Well Stephen Jackson did provide some trouble. but it was poor execution in the red zone and even worse play calling that cost the Browns this one. How much more can these fans really take.
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