Sports Picks & Predictions

10 Unit Play. Take #429 Over in New Orleans Saints @ Los Angeles Chargers (7:05p.m., Sunday, August 20 NFLN) Both teams put up a ton of points in Week 1 of NFLX action. The Saints posted 26 points against the Chiefs and the Chargers put up 34 points against the Rams. In that game at SoFi Stadium Easton Stick put up big numbers completing a lot of short passes. That is the recipe for success in preseason against backups. The Saints threw the football 38 times last week and all 3 of their quarterbacks played well combing for 3 touchdown passes. The last 6 times these teams have met, the over has hit in all of those games. We will not worry about who wins this game and just collect with the over.

2 Unit Play. Take #129 Los Angeles Chargers over Los Angles Rams (9p.m., Saturday, August 12 NFL Network JIP) Just do not believe Sean McVay should every be laying this many points in a preseason game. He is afraid to play his backups for fear of injury. This is a make or break year for Brandon Staley and getting off to a good start should be essential for the Chargers in 2023. It will start in the preseason and we will grab the points.

1 Unit Play. Take #102 Cleveland Browns +2 over New York Jets (8p.m., Thursday, August 3 NBC) We will go against the grain and grab the Browns with the points tonight in Canton, OH. Cleveland opened as a small favorite, but the line swung towards New York the last two days. Like the rotation of quarterbacks better for Cleveland in this game and feel Zach Wilson will not be up to task. With a total of only 33/34 points, getting the points with the underdog may come into play. The Browns have won 4 of their 6 preseason games in the last two years.

10 Unit Play. Take #417 Pittsburgh Steelers over Jacksonville Jaguars (7p.m., Saturday, August 20 local) Just not sure why Jacksonville is favored by this many points. Mike Tomlin has a solid NFL Preseason record of 35-24 and most of that has come in the last 5 years there were preseason games (13-3). Jacksonville is 0-2 and the oddsmakers must expect them to come out blazing in this game to rile up the fanbase. I don’t see that happening, as this is the third game of the preseason, and they have a veteran head coach and is not all that worried about winning these games. Pittsburgh has three solid quarterbacks for this game and the quarterback job is wide open. All will want to play well in this game to make the case that they should be the starter. Throw in a solid core of young wide receivers and I feel Pittsburgh will win this game straight-up. This matchup during the regular season has been dominated by the road team and the underdog and look for that to hold true in the preseason as well.

2 Unit Play. Take #125 Over in Seattle Seahawks @ Pittsburgh Steelers (7p.m., Saturday, August 13 NFL Network) This is a game that features two teams with major questions at the quarterback position. This total has jumped a couple of points and I think that sets up a strong play for the over. Both teams need to build confidence on offense and thus expect them to showcase their quarterbacks and allow them to move the football through the air.

1 Unit Play. Take #105 New York Giants over New England Patriots (7p.m., Thursday, August 11 NFL Network) The Patriots are resting a bunch of their starters and the Giants seem to indicate they will play a lot of their roster. Also throw in the fact that New York has a first year head coach with a lot of uncertainty at numerous positions. The line has swing way in the direction of the Giants and we will follow suit.

10 Unit Play. Take Green Bay Packers over Buffalo Bills (1p.m., Saturday, August 28 NFL Network) This is an absorb line for an NFL Preseason game and a complete overreaction to the Bills dominating performance last week against Chicago. No coach really wants to look this good in preseason and it would not surprise me if Sean McDermott pulled it back a little bit in this game. Green Bay has two capable backups in Jordan Love and Kurt Benkert. The latter played pretty well last week against the Jets, and he is capable to moving the football in this game. This is a ton of points, and we will grab them as the exhibition season comes to and end for both of these teams on Saturday.

10 Unit Play. Take New York Jets over Green Bay Packers (4:25p.m., Saturday, August 21 NFLX Network) NFL PRESEASON GAME OF THE YEAR. We will take the money line instead of the point spread since preseason no longer has overtime and 3 is not as much a key number in NFL Preseason compared to the regular season.

The Packers have issues at quarterback with Jordan Love injured and Aaron Rodgers not playing for fear or injury. They had to sign a quarterback off the street this week to suit up in this game and I just do not see them doing any better than they did last week against Houston. The Texans might have the worst roster in the league, and they still put up 26 points against the Packers and won that game by 19 points. The Jets were not that impressive on offense against the Giants, but their defense was allowing just 163 total yards. The Football Jets have a defensive minded rookie coach and that produced five sacks in the opening game of exhibition football. The Jets were able to move the ball through the air and if their quarterbacks can complete 65% of their passes in this game that should be good enough.

Best of Luck – Doc’s Sports

1 Unit Play. Take #129 Over in Seattle Seahawks @ Las Vegas Raiders (9p.m., Saturday, August 14) Both of these teams are known for defense yet neither team was very good on defense in the last few years. Love the quarterback rotations of each team and expect a lot of points to be scored in this game. Pete Carroll has a great preseason record, but the Raiders might have the better rotation. We will not worry about who wins this game and just collect with the over.

Best of Luck – Doc’s Sports

1 Unit Play. Take #117 Over in New Orleans Saints @ Baltimore Ravens (7p.m., Saturday, August 14) Baltimore has a solid preseason record and New Orleans has a quarterback competition. Therefore, I expect both teams to put up points in this game and we will try and collect with the over. Both Saints quarterbacks know they need to impress, and it will not surprise me if they get some reps against reserves.

1 Unit Play. Take #108 Atlanta Falcons over Tennessee Titans (7p.m., Friday, August 11) I like the quarterback rotations for each team, as the falcons and Titans have veterans who have played before in NFL action. The Falcons brought in an offensive minded coach in Arthur Smith, and he is very familiar with Tennessee having coached there for a decade. This is a first-year head coach playing at home for a team that has a lackluster fanbase. Expect him to create some excitement in this game and come out on top.

1 Unit Play. Take #102 Pittsburgh Steelers over Dallas Cowboys (8p.m., Thursday, August 5 FOX) You can never go wrong backing Pittsburgh in the preseason. Mike Tomlin wants to win games in the preseason, and they have gone 6-2 straight-up and against the spread during the preseason the last two years there were games. Both teams have some veterans in their quarterback rotation and look for the Steelers to go all-out as their backups quarterback rotations have not been established yet. Dallas never seems to win games on Thursdays and tonight should be no different.

1 Unit Play. Take #104 Buffalo Bills over Minnesota Vikings (7p.m., Thursday, August 29) We will take the points in this meaningless game as the 2019 NFL Preseason comes to an end on Thursday night. Coach Zimmer has an impressive record during the exhibition season, but this is too many points to be laying on the road. Buffalo needs to keep the fan base into this season and they will win this game straight-up tonight.

10 Unit Play. Take #260 Oakland Raiders over Green Bay Packers (8p.m., Thursday, August 22) The wrong team is favored in this game and we will gladly take the points. QB Aaron Rodgers is expected to play in this game but he was also expected to play last week and did not. Either way his limited action will not be enough to allow Green Bay to cover this number. Oakland has just three quarterbacks on the roster and they have looked impressive all exhibition season long entering this game at 2-0. Nathan Peterman looks like a different quarterback in Oakland and the Raiders have a major edge in the second and third strings. Green Bay opens the season with two divisional games and thus I do not expect them to show much in this game.

1 Unit Play. Take #432 Take Denver Broncos over San Francisco 49ers (8p.m., Monday, August 19 ESPN) This will be the Broncos third exhibition game and they have a defensive minded coach that likes to win these type of games. Denver is a home for the first time this year and they always have a great home crowd edge in a filled stadium even during the exhibition season. The 49ers cannot afford another quarterback injury and they played well last week against Dallas and I now expect a letdown in this game on Monday Night Football.

1 Unit Play. Take #418 Take Under in Cleveland Browns @ Indianapolis Colts (4p.m., Saturday, August 17) Everyone is on the Browns bandwagon, but I believe this total is a little inflated. Washington looked inept last week, and I do not see Indianapolis being that bad. The Colts will try and run the football on Saturday and that should chew up the clock and keep the score low. The Browns played aggressive on defense last Thursday and look for them to be a tough team to score points on again this week.

1 Unit Play. Take #414 New York Giants over Chicago Bears (7:30p.m., Friday, August 16) The Giants looked impressive in Week 1 of NFLX and people have jumped on the Daniel Jones bandwagon. Do not expect the Bears to play their starters much at all in the preseason, as that was the plan last year and that got them 12 regular season wins. The Giants went up and down the field against the Jets last Thursday gaining 7.4 yards per play. That will be good enough to earn them the victory on Friday in East Rutherford.

1 Unit Play. Take #408 Baltimore Ravens over Green Bay Packers (7:30p.m., Thursday, August 15) The Packers never seem to play as well on the road in preseason compared to at home in front of their sold-out stadium. Baltimore is never a bad play in the exhibition season going 30-15 (1 push) in 46 games under John Harbaugh. Lay the points in this game as the Ravens will win it by double digits.

1 Unit Play. Take #270 Arizona Cardinals over Los Angeles Chargers (10p.m., Thursday, August 8 NFL NETWORK) A new coach with a lot to prove after getting a huge upgrade after being fired as a college head coach is the basis for this play on Thursday night. Anthony Lynn has covered the spread in just 38% of his games as a head coach. The Cardinals beat the Chargers by 7 points in the first game of the 2018 exhibition season and I see a similar result tonight in the desert.

1 Unit Play. Take #265 Houston Texans +2 over Green Bay Packers (8p.m., Thursday, August 8) Disfunction seems to be occurring between the coach and quarterback in Green Bay. Coach BOB has a solid resume in the preseason going winning and covering the spread around 62% of the time.

1 Unit Play. Take #256 Detroit Lions over New England Patriots (7:30p.m., Thursday, August 8) The Patriots held out most of their players in game one of exhibition season last year. They trailed 17-0 in the game before a late rally gave them the victory. That will not be the case tonight in Detroit against a team that features a former head coach that is already on the hot seat. The Lions only have 3 quarterbacks on the roster and should be able to win this game by 7-10 points.

1 Unit Play. Take #258 Over in Washington Redskins @ Cleveland Browns (7:30p.m., Thursday, August 8) Just too many veteran quarterbacks for each team for this not to be a high scoring game and easily go over the posted total. The Redskins game in week one of NFLX totals 43 points and that is how we see this game going as well.

1 Unit Play. Take #242 Atlanta Falcons over Denver Broncos (8p.m., Thursday, August 1 NBC) Football gets underway on Thursday night in Canton, OH in a game that will likely feature a bunch of players that you have never heard of. The Falcons have a better quarterback rotation and less bodies and that should bode well for them to get the lead and hand on for the victory in the fourth quarter. Denver is very young at the quarterback position and I expect them to turn over the football. Take the points in this game.

1 Unit Play. Take #117 Buffalo Bills over Chicago Bears (8p.m., Thursday August 30) The Bears caught the Chiefs off guard last week with how well they played despite resting their starters. They will do that again, but Buffalo will be ready for them since nobody will be playing their regulars. The Bills still have a quarterback competition going and thus expect them to go all out in hopes of winning that starting job. Buffalo will win this game straight-up and getting points is just icing on the cake.

10 Unit Play. Take #266 Chicago Bears over Kansas City (1p.m., Saturday, August 25 NFLN) NFL PRESEASON GAME OF THE YEAR. Yes Patrick Mahomes made a great play last week against the Falcons throwing a pass 65 yards in the air for a touchdown. But that being said, he has not looked that great in camp this year and I have very little faith he will lead the Chiefs to a successful season this year. This is an important game for the Bears and their new head coach Matt Nagy. He is a rookie head coach playing his first home game and expect the Bears to show more stuff today than they have done all preseason long. Andy Reid is well under .500 as a coach in the exhibition season and I look for more of the same in this game. Chicago gets up early in this game and wins it by 7-10 points.

1 Unit Play. Take #424 Houston Texans over San Francisco 49ers (8p.m., Saturday, August 18) We used Houston last week as an underdog and that game was never in doubt as they won straight-up. The 49ers have a back-up quarterback competition, but I just do not believe either one of them is any good (Beathard/Mullens). Houston has a solid quarterback rotation behind starter DeShaun Watson and expect a similar game as was played last Thursday night against the Chiefs.

1 Unit Play. Take #406 Over in Pittsburgh Steelers at Green Bay Packers (8p.m., Thursday, August 16) QB Rodgers is expected to play in this game and that should increase the scoring. The overs hit most of the Thursday games last week and expect that trend to continue this week. Coach McCarthy just cannot help himself even in exhibition games and does not believe in pounding the rock whatsoever. Green Bay easily played over the posted total in Week 1 and expect more of the same this week. We will not worry if Green Bay can cover the spread and instead just collect with the over.

10 Unit Play. Take #274 Seattle Seahawks over Indianapolis Colts (10p.m., Thursday, August 9) Many experts have Seattle trending down this year and Pete Carroll is facing adversity for one of the few times during his Seattle tenure. Coach Carroll is 6-2 straight-up in his last 8 Week 1 exhibition games and they have coordinators on both sides of the football that want to make a statement in this game. Seattle went 4-0 last year in the preseason and they are 7-1 ATS the last two years in exhibition play. Indianapolis has a long legacy of losing during the preseason and that will continue on Thursday. Coach Frank Reich is coming off a Super Bowl win as a coordinator and he does not have the pressure to light it up during preseason play. Throw in the status of Andrew Luck and I am just not sold on their back-ups (Brissett, Kaaya, & Walker). Seattle wins this game by double digits.

1 Unit Play. Take #269 Houston Texas over Kansas City Chiefs (8:30p.m., Thursday, August 9) I feel that the Chiefs bit off more than they can chew this season. They ran off Alex Smith and have put all their eggs in the Patrick Mahomes basket. He has not looked good during camp and do not expect much from him tonight. Houston has a solid preseason quarterback rotation including a much better young quarterback in DeShaun Watson that what Kansas City has. Throw in back-ups Brandon Weeden and Joe Webb and expect Houston to win this game straight-up. Getting points just makes this an even stronger selection.

1 Unit Play. Take #242 Over in Chicago Bears vs Baltimore Ravens (8p.m. Thursday, August 2) Coach Harbaugh has a rock-solid preseason record but he is facing a rookie head coach and the Bears need to show something on offense this season. Therefore, we will focus our selection on the over/under. Preseason games in recent years have seen more scoring and thus you do not find many totals this low. I see this being a 20-17 game and that should be enough to collect with the over.

10 Unit Play. #259 Take New York Jets over New York Giants (Saturday 7 pm) NFL PRESEASON GAME OF THE YEAR. This game just means more for the Jets. Many people believe that they are tanking this season and if they get off to a bad start they will struggle to stay relevant for the 16-week regular season. The Giants are in panic mode at the present time suffering key injuries last week against Cleveland at the wide receiver position. They cannot afford anymore injuries to key personal over the next two weeks and thus I expect them to play this game cautiously. The Jets have been awful in their first two preseason games totaling just 13 points and expect them to play their starters a little longer in order to gain some confidence. Take the points and hope the Jets do not give the game away on offense with turnovers. If they do not I like our chances to cover this spread. Big underdogs have performed well most of the preseason and that trend continues tonight in the Subway Series. 

1 Unit Play. #429 Take New Orleans Saints over Los Angles Chargers (Sunday 8 pm) The Chargers looked awful in the second half against the Seahawks in front of a half empty soccer stadium. I do not see things getting any better in this game and we will gladly grab the points with the team that has a better quarterback rotation. New Orleans has a terrible preseason record of late going 0-9 but they should have won last week leading in the game for much of second half. They get over the hump on Sunday giving us the ATS victory as well. 

2 Unit Play. #417 Take Green Bay Packers over Washington Redskins (Saturday 7:30 pm) Green Bay had no business winning that game last week against Philadelphia but I also believe they should not be this big of an underdog against Washington. The Skins struggled against man to man coverage last week in Baltimore and should see a similar scheme against Green Bay this week. The Packers always seem to play well in Week 2 going 8-3 straight up in the last 11 years. 

1 Unit Play. #268 New York Giants over Pittsburgh Steelers (Friday 7 pm) The Steelers have already stated they are not going to play their top two quarterbacks in this game and thus expect to see a lot of Josh Dobbs in this game. Mike Tomlin used to care about the preseason but has done a complete 180 in recent years going 3-14 ATS in his last 17 exhibition games. The Giants have better talent at the quarterback position in this game and that will allow them to emerge victorious. Do not see many spreads over a field goal in preseason games but this one is well warranted.

1 Unit Play. #261 Take Denver Broncos over Chicago Bears (Thursday 8 pm) Two years ago I though John Fox would be motivated to beat his former team as he was fired in Denver of that year. He lost to Denver 22-0 and I am amazed he still has a job in the league. Both teams have quarterback issues but Denver has more experience as both Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch have started games in the regular season. Not sure Vance Joseph is an inspiring here for the Denver fans and thus expect him to want to make a statement in this game. 

1 Unit Play. #263 Take Philadelphia Eagles over Green Bay Packers (Thursday 8 pm) Doug Pederson ran the table in 2016 going 4-0 straight-up and against the spread. The Eagles have a decent depth chart for quarterback and I do not expect Rodgers to play much (if at all) for fear of injury. Coach McCarthy is just 4-7 straight-up in Week 1 of preseason play. QB Wentz is expected to play in this game and going 4-0 got Philadelphia off to a hot start last year and expect that formula to become evident in this game. 

1 Unit Play. #255 Take Minnesota Vikings over Buffalo Bills (Thursday 7 pm) Not much explanation is needed for this selection. Mike Zimmer is an absolute force in preseason going 11-2 straight-up and against the spread. I like the quarterback rotation better for Minnesota with Case Keenum and Taylor Heinicke both veterans who are familiar with the Vikings system. We are playing against a first year head coach in Sean McDermott but I do not believe this is as much a factor as it used to be. Not too often you find road teams favored in exhibition games but it is warranted here. 

1 Unit Play. #242 Take Arizona Cardinals over Dallas Cowboys (Thursday 8 pm NBC) For some reason the NFL decided to move this game to Thursday this week in hopes that the field will be in playable condition this year after the game was cancelled in 2016. Arizona has already stated that they will not play any starters in this game but that being said I like the quarterback situation better as they have some decent back-ups. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett is just 8-17 ATS in 25 preseason games. Take a shot with the underdog on Thursday night. 

10 Unit Play. #273 Take Tennessee Titans over Oakland Raiders (Saturday 8 pm CBS) The Raiders struggle to get fans and it will be even harder to draw fans for a Saturday preseason game that starts at 5 pm local time. Tennessee is coming off a disappointing performance last week against Carolina and expect them to play much better against a much lesser opponent on Saturday. Both teams have just three quarterbacks but I really believe all three of the Titans quarterbacks can move the football. Tennessee actually ran the ball well against a stout Carolina defense last week average 4 yards per carry with multiple back seeing action. As we saw last week with our San Francisco selection, it is just hard to lay this many points in exhibition play. A lot of people are high on Oakland this season but I am not one of them. One must remember that they lost six of their last nine games to close out the 2015 season. Take the points as we expect Tennessee to win straight-up and getting this many points is just icing on the cake. 

10 Unit Play. #429 Take San Francisco over Denver (Saturday 9 pm) This line is a clear overreaction to Denver’s performance last Thursday against Chicago. They dominated that game from start to finish but I just do not see that happening again on Saturday. Kubiak has been a head coach for 10 years and he knows how preseason works. San Francisco played much better than their 13-point output would indicate last Sunday against Houston. Their first string players dominated that game but turnovers did them in. Expect them to win this game straight-up and getting points is just icing on the cake. 

1 Unit Play. #419 Take Carolina Panthers over Tennessee Titans (Saturday 3 pm) We will again go with Carolina after a tough defeat last week when I touchdown was taken off the board for running off the field. The Panthers quarterback rotation is just too good not to win some preseason games. Bad calls did them in during Week 1 but that will not be the case on Saturday. 

1 Unit Play. #278 Take Los Angeles Rams over Dallas Cowboys (Saturday 8 pm ESPN) I do not like the Rams quarterback rotation much but this game just means so much more to them than it does the Cowboys. Dallas has quarterback injuries to worry about with their top guy and thus expect Dak Prescott and Jameill Showers to play most of this game. The fans in Los Angeles are excited for this game and that along will propel them to a victory.   

1 Unit Play. #262 Take Chicago Bears over Denver Broncos (Thursday 8 pm) Game just means more to coach John Fox, the former coach of the Denver Broncos. By winning the Super Bowl they year after John Fox left Denver, Coach Kubiak has nothing to prove in this game. Expect Paxton Lunch to struggle playing most of the second half for Denver, a team that did not have a very good offense last year. Coach Fox is 10-4 straight-up in Week 1 of the exhibition season during his 14 years as a head coach. Chicago dominated Week 1 last year beating the Dolphins by 17 points and expect a similar result tonight at Soldier Field. 

1 Unit Play. #257 Take Carolina Panthers over Baltimore Ravens (Thursday 7:30 pm) The Panthers have a rock solid three-man quarterback rotation of Cam Newton, Derek Anderson, and Joe Webb. All of them have experience playing in the regular season and they are better than all of their counterparts that the Ravens have. Baltimore was ravaged by injuries last season and expect them to take a cautious approach during the exhibition season. Would go higher but Coach Harbaugh has an impressive record in Week 1 of exhibition play. That being said, I expect the Panthers to dominate the second half of this game and win straight-up. Getting points in just icing on the cake. 

1 Unit Play. #262 Take Miami Dolphins over Atlanta Falcons (Saturday 7 pm) The Dolphins have jumped out to big leads in both of their NFL Preseason games yet sit at 0-2. Atlanta has very weak quarterbacks behind Matt Ryan and that will be their undoing in this game. Joe Philbin has a terrible preseason record, but he went all out to beat Dallas last year in Week 3 and expect a similar showing in this game. The combination of Ryan Tannehill and Matt Moore will allow Miami to get a lead and hang onto it this time! 

1 Unit Play. #252 Take Carolina Panthers over New England Patriots (Friday 7:30 pm) The Panthers have a miraculous 1 point victory last week against Miami and expect them to take care of business tonight in their final preseason home game of the exhibition season. New England still has major questions surrounding the status of Tom Brady and thus Jimmy Garoppolo needs playing time with the first string. He completed a ton of passes against New Orleans last week but not many of them were thrown down the field. Carolina has a much better defense than does New Orleans. Carolina has has revenge as New England pounded them last year in preseason play. 

10 Unit Play. #426 Take Green Bay Packers over Pittsburgh Steelers (Sunday 1 pm NFL Network) NFL Preseason Game of the Year. We have had good luck with the Steelers in the preseason in year’s past but things have changed in recent years. Pittsburgh should not be giving points to anybody let alone to a team as quality as the Green Bay Packers. Pittsburgh is 2-11 ATS in their last 14 preseason games (1 push). Green Bay moved the football well against New England they just had trouble finishing off drives in the red zone. You can expect them to work out those kinks and be much better today against Pittsburgh. Big Ben is a solid quarterback but after him things get much worse after that. Landry Jones have been given ample opportunity to see if he can play and the early results are that he cannot. Pittsburgh has been long known as the steel curtain defense but they are in transition to a cover-2 and did not perform well in either games against Minnesota or Jacksonville. Neither one of those teams are offense juggernauts. Getting points in just icing on the cake, as Green Bay will win this game straight-up. Finally this is a home game for Packer Coach Mike McCarthy, as he grew up in Pittsburgh and he is 7-2 straight-up in Week 2 Preseason games.

Best of Luck – Doc’s Sports. Your next update will be Thursday, August 27th for the final week of our NFL Preseason selections. 

10 Unit Play. #420 Take Over in Denver Broncos vs. Houston Texans (Saturday 8 pm) The Texans round out their preseason home stand on Saturday night with a games against Denver and a familiar face in Gary Kubiak. The former Texan head coach is returns to Houston with a much better quarterback in Peyton Manning who should see some action in this game. Denver put up 22 points in their preseason opening game against a much better defense in Seattle than they will face tonight in Houston. The Texans are coming off a victory against San Francisco last week putting up 23 points. Houston also have a quarterback battle brewing between Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallet and both will want to impress in this game. But the main reason for this stat is that Gary Kubiak teams are 24-9 going over the posted total in preseason game. Oddsmakers have yet to catch-up with the scoring in preseason games and we will again take advantage of a weak number. 

1 Unit Play. #412 Take Over in Baltimore Ravens @ Philadelphia Eagles (Saturday 7 pm) It is not very often that you see a total this high in the Preseason but it is warranted as Chip Kelly only knows one way to play offense. The Eagles put up 36 points in Week 1 despite not playing starter Sam Bradford and the Ravens scored 30 points in their game against the Saints. Both teams have a solid stable of quarterbacks (sans Tim Tebow) and I look for the offenses to control this game from start to finish and dominate the defense. 

1 Unit Play. #409 Take Miami Dolphins over Carolina Panthers (Saturday 7 pm) The Dolphins were in control against the Bears last week before the reserves gave away the game with turnovers. Expect Matt Moore and Ryan Tannehill to play more in this game and thus should be enough for Miami to win this game straight-up as an underdog. Miami was embarrassed last week with 4 turnovers whereas Carolina won a game they should not have against Buffalo. Play the Fins on Saturday night. 

1 Unit Play. #403 Take Buffalo Bills over Cleveland Browns (Thursday 8 pm ESPN) The Bills screwed us last week from a perfect 3-0 dominating the game against Carolina but giving up a late touchdown and conversion to lose by a point. That just makes this that much stronger of a play for us this week at Cleveland, a team we went against and won with last week. The same reasons apply this week with Buffalo, as they have an open competition for the starting quarterback position and you can bet all of them will try and make their case to be the man. Johnny Manziel played pretty well last week and thus I expect him to implode this week. Take the road team in this affair. 

10 Unit Play. #266 Take Buffalo over Carolina (Friday 7 pm) Rex Ryan does not have great preseason number or regular season for that matter but somehow he did not have to wait long to get another chance as a head coach once New York dismissed him. There is a quarterback competition going on in Buffalo and you expect all of them to play their hearts out hoping to make an impression on the offensive statff. That being said Matt Cassel, EJ Manuel, Tyrod Taylor, and Matt Simms are not rookies and have some experience in the league (the last two in the prior preseasons). Carolina has a decent quarterback rotation as well but I just think Buffalo and their new head coach want this game a little bit more. Coach Ryan has to implement a new 3-4 scheme on defense and they may blitz in a little in this game to so if they have any playmaking reserves. 

1 Unit Play. #260 Take Chicago Bears over Miami Dolphins (Thursday 8 pm) The John Fox Era gets underway in the Windy City tonight against Joe Philbin, a coach that is squarely on the hot seat. I believe that Coach Philbin needs to make the playoffs this season or he will be dismissed and I just do not have that much confidence in Ryan Tannehill. Joe Philbin is just 4-9 straight-up in the preseason and an even worse 3-10 against the spread. This is the 14th year that John Fox is a head coach and he is 9-4 straight-up in his first preseason game over this span. Yes Jay Cutler sucks but we likely will not see much of him in this game and Coach Fox needs to get this Chicago defense some confidence and thus expect some schemes to accomplish this. 

1 Unit Play. #257 Take Washington Redskins over Cleveland Browns (Thursday 8 pm) When I first saw the list of team quarterbacks for all 32 teams I told some fellow handicappers I really like the rotation that the Redskins have and thus we will use them to open up the preseason. Washington won three of their four preseason games last season and RG3, Colt McCoy, and Kirk Cousins all have some regular season experience and moments. These games are usually won in the second half and I see the Redskins dominating the second half in this game. Cleveland has a bad quarterback rotation and I am just not a fan of Johnny Manziel and Thaddeus Lewis. Hail to the Redskins! 

2 Unit Play. Take #241/242 Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota Vikings Over (8:00 PM, Sunday, August 9) The Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings will kick off the 2015 NFL Preseason when they meet in the annual Hall of Fame Game on Sunday night in Canton, OH. Historically this game has played under the total but tonight we see this one going over. Most think of the Pittsburgh Steelers as a defensive minded team but this years unit is rebuilding and the offense has a very explosive group of playmakers up and down the depth chart. The Vikings figure to be a run the ball first offense this year, especially with Adrian Peterson back in the mix but Teddy Bridgewater showed some promise as the 2014 season went along and the Vikings were actually a cash machine in the second half of the season, posting a 7-2 ATS record. Predicting the NFL Preseason is always a tough chore but we think there is some value in the over on Sunday night as we expect both teams to try and establish the pass early, putting points on the board throughout the first half in this one.

10 Unit Play. #265/#717 Take Dallas Cowboys over Miami Dolphins (Saturday 7 pm CBS 4 Miami) NFL Preseason Game of the Year. Both of these coaches are on the hot seat this year as both teams underachieved last year. The key points to making this a strong are as follows. 1) Joe Philbin does not care about preseason. He is 3-8 in his 2+ plus and 1-1 this season. Atlanta tried to give them the game in Week 1 and they still lost. He has a 2-9 ATS record and 0-2 in Week 3 home games. Dallas got QB Tony Romo back under center last week (threw a TD pass) and put up a ton of points in their loss against Baltimore. The Cowboys really should have won that game but gave up a couple of fluke plays (fumble TD & a punt return TD) and I really feel we are in good shape in they can prevent these type of scores tonight. This play is very similar to San Diego last year, as they were 0-2 entering Week 3. No team wants to go winless in the preseason especially when the owner is Jerry Jones. Thus I feel Dallas will give the extra effort to win this game straight-up. Getting points is just icing on the cake. 

2 Unit Play. #261/#711 Take Chicago Bears over Seattle Seahawks (Friday 10 pm) Yes the Seahawks pounded the Chargers last week (we had them) and now this is a complete overreaction facing a strong offensive team in Chicago. The rule of illegal contact being enforced this year is primarily due to the Seattle defense and thus I expect numerous flags to be thrown on Friday and most of them will benefit the Bears. Chicago has a strong offense and a suspect defense and that means this game will feature strength on strength. We will take the touchdown as this is an extraordinary amount of points to stock pile in the preseason. 

1 Unit Play. #428 Take San Francisco 49ers over Denver Broncos (Sunday 4 pm) Denver has been getting blown out in Week 2 of the exhibition season and we fully expect that trend to continue on Sunday. The Broncos lost last year by 30 points and by 20 points in 2012. San Francisco is opening up a new stadium and that will give them the little extra effort needed to win this game by 7 to 10 points. This will be another regular season rematch and thus I do not expect the Broncos to move it up-tempo and John Fox is just 4-8 in Week 2 on the preseason. 

1 Unit Play. #424/#524 Take Houston Texans over Atlanta Falcons (Saturday 8 pm) We won last week with the Texans and the under as they were shutout in an awful performance for new coach Bill O’Brien. I truly expect a much better performance out of them on Saturday night in their 2014 home opener. The Falcons are coming off a victory over Miami in Week 1 and that will likely be their only win of the 2014 Preseason since they went 0-4 in 2013 and 1-3 in 2012. Mike Smith is 8-17 straight-up in his coaching career. Houston was terrible last year and needs to get the fan base excited and I believe they will put forth a good effort on Saturday night. 

1 Unit Play. #408/#508 Take Oakland Raiders over Detroit Lions (Friday 10 pm) I like the quarterback rotation for Oakland and expect a big bounce back effort after they did not perform well in Week 1 putting up just six points against a defensive minded coach in Mike Zimmer. Jim Caldwell is back as a head coach and his record in the preseason is just 3-10 straight-up. Enough said, as Dennis Allen needs all the wins he can get as a head coach even if it is just preseason!

1 Unit Play. #410/#510 Take Seattle Seahawks over San Diego Chargers (Friday 10 pm) The Seahawks finally lost a preseason game last week with a storm delay in the first half against Denver. Expect them to bounce back in a big way on Friday night against San Diego. Both teams played teams in Week 1 that they will play during the regular season so I do not put much stock in San Diego’s victory or Seattle’s loss. 

1 Unit Play. #406/#506 Take New Orleans Saints over Tennessee Titans (Friday 8 pm) Never like to lay this many points in the exhibition season, but New Orleans played to win in game 1 and I see that trend continuing in Week 2. Rob Ryan was blitzing like a mad men (which he is) at the end of their game in St. Louis last week going all out to win in a game that came down to third and fourth stringers. Hard to take away much from the Tennessee – Green Bay game since weather played a role but playing in the Superdome is always a factor that greatly favors the home team. Drew Brees did not play in Week 1 and the Saints still managed to complete 27 of their 40 passes. New Orleans win this game by double digits. 

1 Unit Play. #404/#403 Take New England Patriots over Philadelphia Eagles (Friday 7:30 pm) The coaches are big buddies but we will side with the Patriots in this affair. Coach Belichick has a winning record in the preseason and I expect a much better effort out of New England tonight than they showed at Washington last week. QB Tom Brady did not play in that game but rookie Jimmy Garoppolo actually looked good and that should give the Patriots the edge in the second half. The Patriots only have three quarterbacks on the roster and that is always a bonus compared to teams that have 4 quarterbacks. 

1 Unit Play. #332/#282 Take Under 38 in Houston Texans @ Arizona Cardinals (Saturday 8:30 pm) The Redbirds played way under the posted total in their first three games of the exhibition season last year and expect history to repeat itself in 2014. Arizona is a team that wins based on their defense and thus the under is the only way to go with this selection. Bill O'Brien is a first year head coach but has a ton of NFL experience as an assistant coach and he knows how the exhibition season works and will not try to go all out in this meaningless game. 

1 Unit Play. #322/#274 Take Over 38 in Oakland Raiders @ Minnesota Vikings (Friday 8 pm) I really like the quarterback rotations of each team and this were a couple of teams I expect to play a bunch during the month of August. Oakland has a quarterback rotation of Matt Schaub, Derek Carr, Matt McGloin, and Trent Edwards. Minnesota has a quarterback rotation of Matt Cassel, Christian Ponder, and Teddy Bridgewater. This is very solid and I expect points to be put up in each quarter as this game goes way over the posted mark. 

1 Unit Play. #324/#270 Take St. Louis Rams -3 over New Orleans Saints (Friday 8 pm) What is selection comes down to is that I believe Rams DC Gregg Williams is still pissed off at the Saints and wants to revenge against them even if it comes in the preseason. QB Drew Brees is the best quarterback on the field but one must remember this is Week 1 of the exhibition season and thus we will not see much of him. Really not that impressed with the Saints back-ups and hey Kellen Clemens who played with St. Louis last year beat this Saints team during the regular season. QB Sam Bradford still has not proven much so and he was injured last year so expect the Rams to go a little extra trying to build his confidence by having him perform well.

2 Unit Play. #102/#242 Take Over in New York Giants vs. Buffalo Bills (Sunday 8 pm NBC) Football is back and Doc’s Sports is set to kick-off the 2014 season with a small selection from the opening game of the NFL preseason. Do not have a strong lean on the side but feel this game will follow a trend of recent years with preseason games going over the posted total. Buffalo would have went over tonight’s posted number in all 4 games last year. New York has a new offensive coordinator in Ben McAdoo from the Mike McCarthy Green Bay Packers tree and you can bet he wants to throw the football early and often. Despite this game being filled with back-ups I just believe these two teams will combine for 35+ points.