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The odds are on the guests this whole week, for a good reason. Nobody in their right mind believes that the team without their starting QB, running back and tight end can resist the Falcons. Adrian Peterson was the best rushing back of the league in the last few seasons, and the backbone of the Vikings' offense, who scored only 16 points in two matches after his suspension. To make things better, last week, they lost the QB Matt Cassell and Kyle Rudolph, too. So, they'll send substitutes on the three most important positions in the offense today, and they're supposed to match the team that scored 34.3 points? No way. True, the Falcons aren't the same team in home and away matches, but they're experienced enough to use this chance. They're in a tough division with the Saints and the Panthers, so every win is super important, and they'll hardly get a better situation to get an away match than this one. Last week, they crushed the Bucks, and tonight, they're stronger with the second receiver, White, so I don't expect them to have too many problems in the offensive, and they're definitely capable enough on the other side of the field to slow down the offense lead with new players and a rookie as a QB. All things considered, the Falcons' win with at least one TD advantage seems pretty likely. Details

I think the Lions are the worst possible matchup for the NY team. Their defense looked great so far, and they're the best exactly where the NYers would like it the least, stopping the rushing yards. Jets' offense is based on ground play where they try to control the rhythm and keep the result long enough for something to "click", whether it's a good drive or a ball taken from their own defense. I believe the Lions are good enough in the defensive to keep the home team further away from the end zone, and at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd force the Jets to lose a ball here and there, especially their QB Smith whose hands aren't the safest in the league. The Lions are pretty good in the backfield, there's the versatile Reggie Bush and the strong Joique Bell. True, the Jets are good against the rushing yards, too, but their decimated secondary will hardly deal with the best receiver of the league, Calvin Johnson (19 catches, 329 yards, 2 TDs), and his partner Golden Tate (16,201) is also worth the mention. All in all, the Lions are a much better team, especially in the offensive, and besides the outcome, a good try is the home team's under (21.5). Details

I can`t agree with the odds set for this game. True, the Giants have been far from great but the Redskins are in the same shoes. In fact, the visitors have the momentum as they are going into this game after a convincing win over the Texans, the very same Texans that Washington lost to in the first week. Even if I ignore that, I can`t ignore their situation with injuries as the Redskins are missing some crucial players (including their quarterback RGIII) in both offense and defense, and some of those that will play are far from the right form as they did not have enough time to recover. In addition, the Redskins emphasized they have been preparing for this game during their training camp, just like the Giants, but I doubt this will be of big use to both teams considering the things that happened in the first two weeks (injuries, new systems. In addition the Giants have experience working for them, and I primarily mean Manning, who is familiar with games on Thursday, unlike Cousins on the other end, and the visitors` defense seem more assured than that of the Redskins. In short, the visitors have a better, or at least more experienced QB (two titles), better defense, head-to-head, momentum and it is obvious that the players at the FedEx Field are not a problem as they have lost only 2 in last 8 games. Details

If the latest info is true, this margin is completely missed. It could have had sense if DeAngelo Williams didn't come back to practice on Friday and is expected to play. This means Tolbert will be the third running back again, and it takes those few running yards he got last week when Williams was missing won't matter. Tolbert was a rough guy the Panthers regularly used when they needed yards to get the first attempt again or go for a touchdown, so they simply gave him the ball or used him as a diversion. In the first match of the season, Tolbert had 7 rushing yards for 11 and two receptions for 6, and against Lions, when Williams was missing, he got negative yards in four assists (-5), and three receptions for 33. The value of the bet is reinforced with the chest wall injury that made him not finish the game against the Lions. Supposedly, he'll wear extra protection for that part tonight. Long story short, unless the Steelers' defense makes a colossal mistake, no way Tolbert will go over this margin. Details

I have no idea how the bookmakers got this margin. Montee Ball isn't near being the elite running back, nor is he playing in the system that depends on rushing yards, nor did he go over this margin in the first two matches, and he'll also face the best defense of the league. In the first two matches, Ball got 67 and 60 yards in 23 and 12 assists, and the Seahawks defense is definitely much better than the one in the Colts or the Chiefs. Besides, the Broncos lead by far in those matches and could afford to be more conservative, a luxury they won't have tonight. Compared to the last year, the Broncos fixed their offensive line, but I don't think that'll show in Seattle, where the most difficult away games are played. Last year in the finals, the Seahawks limited the Denver team to only 27 rushing yards (in 14 assists), and even though both teams had a few minor "cosmetic" changes, I don't think tonight will be much different. All in all, in the pass-happy system against the best defense of the league, I can't not bet on Ball with this margin. Details

Hats off to the Bills for the 2-0 start, but no way they're a better team than the Chargers. The wins against the broken Chiefs and the unconsistent Dolphins can't be compared to what the Californian guys did last Sunday when they completely outplayed the current champions. True, the Chargers aren't really the idea of consistency, either, but neither are the Bills who've been waiting for the playoffs since 1999, and despite all the euphoria, I don't think the drought will end with this season. The Bills have a decent defense and offense, but the Chargers aren't much behind. Actually, their offense is one of the best ones in the league. Philip Rivers is one of the best QBs in NFL without Lombardi's trophy, and the Gates is the best tight end going 10 years back. After a good game against the Seahawks, I doubt that the Chargers came to Buffalo just as a road trip. I think this is at least a 50-50 game, so the 2.5 points seems very favorable, and the brave ones can go for a clear two, as well. Details

I usually stay away from handicaps as high as this one, but I believe the arguments are strong enough to make an exception this time. Despite their clumsy start, the Saints are still one of the candidates for the title. They have the best offense in the league, led by a top 4 quarterback, just looking to vent their frustration on someone. The preview mentioned some problems for the Vikings, who are 50% weaker without Peterson. Cordarelle Patterson said everyone felt odd without Peterson, and they were playing at home. Superdome is another story altogether. The Saints never lost a match there last year, and averaged 35.1 point there in their last 10 matches. I definitely expect them to come close to that today, while the Vikings will dissolve as soon as things go sour, like they did against the Patriots last week. Anything other than a win by 14-20 points for the Saints would be a big surprise for me, while under on the away team (19,5) is not a bad option either. Details

After finishing the suspension match, Dwayne Bowe could be eager to play, but I doubt his night will be productive. Besides doing the fine, Chiefs' receiver was curing the quadriceps injury earned in the pre-season, and only started practicing full force this week, so he might have form problems, even more so because the match is played in Denver. Denver's altitude is a problem even for the players in top form. Coach Reid said he won't force Bowe ("We'll bring him in slowly. He didn't practice much in the last weeks because he had quadriceps problems before the suspension"). This means he won't have his usual role of the first or second receiver. Besides, Chief's offensive focus will be Jamaal Charles who was completely forgotten last week, even though he's definitely their best playmaker. When he was completely healthy and in full form, Bowe was under this margin last year in both matches against the Broncos, and unless the home team's defense makes a colossal mistake, I'm pretty sure he'll stay at least 20 yards under the margin. Details

Giovani Bernard could have a very productive night tonight, and a few facts work for that claim. The Falcons played the defense miserably, as could be seen last Sunday when they allowed 472 yards, and 139 of those were on ground. True, Dalton isn't Brees, but that works for the bet actually, because they depend on the backfield production even more. That's where Bernard comes, he impressed the Bengals in his rookie season so much that they decided to trust him with the position of the started, and fired the proven veteran Green-Ellis. Bernard won 48 yards with 14 rushing yards last week, but the Ravens' defense and the Falcons' defense can't be compared, so I think that the Bengals' RP will have a few more rushing yards of about 20 or more yards and easily go over this margin. Details

Reggie Bush is not your regular running back. He earns his pay through diversity, or in other words his catching ability which makes him a huge backfield threat. At the same time he was often criticized for being too soft during his career, avoiding to put his head down and going through the middle and not looking for contact with the 'beasts' on the front line. On the other hand, if you're good at something, why not use it? Bush is a fantastic catcher, both in the backfield or in any other part of the field. His style is well described by his figures against the Giants: 9 rushes for 15 yards, 6 catches for 49 yards. Of course, sometimes those figures are reversed, but I doubt we'll be seeing much of him going head on with one of the best defenses in the league. Coach Jim Caldwel said it himself that Joique Bell will focus more on penetrating through the middle, so one can assume Bush will be used more as a catcher or a diversion. As I said, the Panthers have the best defense in the league, and as I don't believe Bush will get 15 carries, this margin seems hard to cross for him. Details

Cam Newton has had a great season, he took the Panthers into the playoffs and I wouldn't be surprised if he succeeds in doing so, but I doubt he will be in full glory tonight. He's earned a rib fracture in pre-season which kept him out of the pitch until Friday. His appearance in this game was discussed quite a bit and he decided to clench his teeth. A small part of this decision was probably the fact that he's never missed a game in his career and he didn't want to end his run, just like the Panthers don't need him to throw like Manning to win games as they have one of the best defenses in the league and a great backfield duo. Since the Bucks also have a great defense, I doubt they will allow Newtown to have a major play, provided he can even throw a long ball with a fractured rib, and since i don't expect more than 20 attempted passes (with a 50-60 success rate), I highly doubt he'll go over this margin. Details

Frank Gore is probably no longer a running back he was 2-3 seasons ago, but it seems San Francisco still trust he still has what it takes to put up a good performance, which is no wonder as his last seasons was second best in his career. The 49ers veteran is facing what is probably the worst defense in the league. The players Dallas have signed this summer are just stunning, while the best indicator is the decision to return Ronald McLain from the retirement to replace great Sean Lee. In short, I wouldn't be surprise to see them as the worst defense in the league. The course of this game should benefit the 49ers' running backs getting good figures so I wouldn't be surprised if Gore played his best game this season. Details

Jordan Cameron became one of the NFL top tight ends last season. He caught 80 passes for 917 yards and 7 touch downs last season. He was targeted 117 times by the Browns' QBs, which is third highest number among tight ends last season. Many expect Cameron's stats to be even better this year.The offense-oriented coordinator Shannahan's system would definitely help him with that, and not having the best receiver in the league Gordon (suspended) will be good as well. In the two matches Gordon missed last year Cameron recorded 14 caught passes for 203 yards. I'm pretty sure his record tonight will be similar. Details

I think the bookies have gotten a bit carried away counting on the tempo of the game. It's true the Eagles are not a usual team to bet on limiting their opponents, but I still think the margin is off by a few points. The Jaguars have been one of the weakest teams in the league for several years and they were particularly unwatchable when they had the possession. Last year, they barely scored 15 goals per game and things won't be much better this season. This particularly refers to the period until their few crucial players return (Blackom Shorts). Chad Henne currently controls their attack and most experts doubt he will keep his job until the end of the season. Henne is not a bad QB but he's definitely not capable of pulling a poor attack like the one in Jacksonville. MJD is no longer in the backfield, their two main receivers are injured/suspended, and the rest of their players are of dubious quality. The Jags went over this margin in only 3 games last year, while they had games with 10, 19, 13 an 14 points throughout the season so I belie this season we won't see too many games with 3 TDs. Details

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Roy Hibbert was often bad in the last few months, sometimes even disastrous, but it seems he finally got his form. In four of the last six matches, he scored at least 14 points, and South Beach company still motivates him in a special way. Many people can probably still remember how the Pacers' center caused problems for the Heat in the last year's East finals, scoring 22.1 points per match. He didn't score less than 18 points in none of those seven matches (19,29,20,23,22,24,18), and he continued that trend on Sunday when he scored 19 points in 39 minutes, with 5/13 field goal and 9/13 from the free throws line. We should point out that Hibbo didn't play a brilliant match nor dominated like he sometimes did against the Heat in the past, but he reached those statistics anyway. It's obvious his athleticism can help him easily get good positions where it's easy for him to score of get free throws, and since Greg Oden is still not ready, I believe Hibbert will cause headaches to the physically inferior Bosh. Details

This margin should be a bit higher even in normal circumstances, but the absence of Sergio Ibaka makes it completely illogical. I have no doubt that at some point or the other coach Brooks will use Kevin Durant as the power forward, which should give him an even better chance for a rebound, which he often gets as it is. His average in the playoffs is 10.6 and he has failed to get in only two games, while he got at least 9 in 7 out of 13 games. Details

Serge Ibaka is one of the best defenders in the league, and is proving it in against the Clippers. He often covers Blake Griffin one on one, which wears him out considerably and gets him burdened by fouls, so he leaves rebounding to others, especially Durant and Westbrook. To spread out the Clippers in the paint he is constantly very far from the rim on offense, so he got only five offensive rebounds in this entire series, and 24 overall. IN his last six games, including four against the Clippers, he caught 7, 4, 6, 7, 6, and 5 rebounds, and I believe he will keep the under trend. Details

DeAndre Jordan dominated the series against the Warriors, but he is not doing so well against the OKC crew, which is only logical. Unlike the first series, where he had the advantage of height and athleticism over Lee and Green, here he has to fight the tough and strong Perkins, Adams and Ibaka, who certainly know how to guard their rebounds. In his first three games the Clippers center got 5, 8, 11 rebs, I believe he won't go over this margin tonight either. Details

Hat off to the Raptors for everything they did this season, but I don't see them as favorites in tonight's duel despite it being played in their arena that will definitely produce lots of decibels. If anyone knows how to quiet the audience down, it's Paul Pierce and his company, who played lots of games like these, and their hand won't shake in key moments. If they manage to keep up through three periods, I believe Nets will go through thanks to their experience and ability to offer more solutions in the offense. To be honest, the Raptors already surpassed all expectations rely on only two players, Lowry and DeRozan, who are playing the basketball of their career, but, I say again, if they miss the first few shots, they'll get nervous, and the most expensive team will know how to use that. Nets are made for the playoffs and matches like these, and I believe they'll show it tonight. Besides the outcome, over points for the guests (92.5) is definitely one of the decent options. Details