NFL Football
2012-09-09 - St Louis Rams at Detroit Lions
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NFL Week 1
Sunday 9 September 2012 - Kick Off 1pm ET
6pm (British Time)
Preview
There were a lot of positives going for the Detroit Lions as they entered the 2011 season and they didn't disappoint the fans after a long period of poor teams and losing season. The Lions finished in the Play Offs, although bounced in the Wild Card Round, but now the fans want and are demanding more.
They face the St Louis Rams in the opening week of the season and the Rams are coming off a poor 2-14 season that saw them make changes throughout the Coaching staff and this looks a season of transition for them under Jeff Fisher.
I can't say a lot about the Detroit Offense as it is very good and may even be a little stronger than last season now that Mikel Leshoure is back from an injury to give them more depth at the running back position alongside Jahvid Best.
Matt Stafford was sacked 36 times last season, but the problem for the Offense were they looked a little one-dimensional without a running game and that is where Defenses are going to have a tough time taking away all the potential weapons Detroit have. It looks like a tough time for St Louis on the Defensive side of the ball in this game and it will be up to the Offense to try and keep them in the game.
The big problem for the Rams there is an Offensive Line that coughed up 55 sacks last season and will now be facing one of the more scary Defensive Lines in the NFL that had 35 of the teams 41 sacks last season. The likes of Clint Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch will get into the backfield and get into Sam Bradford's face in this one and it could be a tough time for the 3rd year Quarter Back.
St Louis can look to slow down the pass rush by using Steven Jackson to pound the ball as Detroit did allow 5 yards per carry last season, but there aren't too many playmakers in other positions and it could be a long day for the Rams in this one.
Head to Head
The last time these teams met was in the 2010 season and it resulted in a win for Detroit, at home, by 41 points in a blowout.
The previous two meetings had seen St Louis win the games, and cover the spread.
Other Interesting Trends
Detroit are 11-5 against the spread in their last 16 home games.
They have gone 7-2 against the spread in their last 9 games on the opening week of the season.
St Louis are 5-15-1 against the spread in their last 21 games.
They are 1-9 against the spread in their last 10 road games.
Prediction
I like the Detroit Lions to win this game and cover the spread for the following reasons:
First, Detroit look more than capable of putting up at least 30 points on the Rams in this one and I just don't believe St Louis have enough Offense to keep up with that kind of pace.
Second, St Louis have not been a good team to back on the road as the underdog and they are just 14-22 against the spread in that spot over the last five seasons.
Third, Detroit are 7-3 against the spread as the home favourite over the last couple of seasons.
Fourth, the Rams were just 1-4 against the spread as the road underdog when playing non-Division rivals.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Detroit Lions 31-16 St Louis Rams
