Thanks to Ike the Texans will tackle the Titans with the benefit of an extra wink of rest. And if you are winless in the NFL, that’s a nice handicapping combination. That’s confirmed by the fact that teams in this league that have yet to win a game are 32-19-1 ATS when taking points with the benefit of an extra week to prepare. More important, Houston needs this game like blood given Tennessee’s 2-0 start to the season. Jeff Fisher wears a label as a good dog. When laying points against winless teams he is just 2-6 ATS in his NFL career, including 1-6 as a single-digit favorite.Titans drop to 1-7 ATS as September chalk against avenging division foes here today. Texans get back in the mix of things today.
Intent on making more than a point, the man on a mission stamped himself with a stirring two-point conversion to steal last week’s game away from San Diego. Mike Shanahan’s job this week will be to keep his team at the same level they were during the Charger game. That may be a problem considering the Broncos are in the middle of a season opening division sandwich. To that extent they are 0-8 ATS in this role (division games before and after with a non-division game in the middle). They are also just 2-9 ATS at home off back-to-back SU and ATS wins. The Saints will gladly comply, sporting a 7-0 ATS mark as road dogs of more than 3 points off a loss when taking on an opponent off a SU and ATS victory. With New Orleans boss Sean Payton 6-1 ATS in his NFL career as a dog against .500 or better opposition, look for venue to turn into Mile Sigh today.
Carolina Plus Over MINNESOTA
The Vikings were many a ‘Wise Guys’ choice to win the NFC North Division while making their way to the playoffs. A strengthened defense with a powerful running game made for solid reasoning. Missing from the equation, though, is a quarterback. When they go down this week it’s safe to say Tarvaris Jackson will be carrying a clipboard sooner than later. The Jackson experiment aside, the Panthers have capitalized on the return of QB Jake Delhomme, vaulting to a 2-0 start sans the services of his best WR Steven Smith. Like the Terminator, Smith’s back this week and these Cats
are lovin’ it. The most mind-boggling stat of all is at work here as Carolina is 20-1 ATS as a non-division road dog against .550 or less opposition in their franchise history, including 20 wins in a row! With Game Three winless favorites of less than 5 points just 3-19-2 ATS since 1990, you’d be wise to join the guys who realize Carolina is a live Road Cat!
Last Week: 1-1 Season: 2-2