Eagles Rams Line


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One of the more enticing matchups in week 1 of the NFL is the Philadelphia Eagles going o the road to take on the St Louis Rams. The Eagles won the NFC East with a 10-6 record in 2010, but made an early exit in the playoffs. The disappointing loss has prompted the Eagles to go out and spend a lot of money to their team, and it’s Super Bowl or bust in Philadelphia in 2011. The Rams nearly made the postseason in the first year under rookie quarterback Sam Bradford, and are considered by many to be the favorites to win the NFC West this year.

Look at the odds for the game this weekend, oddsmakers have Philadelphia favored by 4-points over St Louis with the total set at 44.

Philadelphia Eagles:

The Eagles are locked and loaded behind quarterback Michael Vick, who resurrected his career in 2010. Vick stunned the NFL after taking over the starting quarterback job from Kevin Kolb. He showed a much more mature presence in the pocket, but still had the dynamic ability to escape the pressure and turn a lost play into a huge gain. The pressure will be on Vick to perform at an extremely high level this season.

The Eagles offense was pretty well stacked with running back LeSean McCoy and wide outs DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, but they went out and added former Giants receiver Steve Smith and Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown. Everywhere you look there is a playmaker on this side of the ball, but they have had trouble putting together an offensive line this preseason.

Defensively the Eagles landed prized free agent corner Nnamdi Asomugha, giving them quite a trio at corner with Asante Samuel and newly acquired Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. They also added some nice depth on the defensive line, signing end Jason Babin and tackle Cullen Jenkins.

St Louis Rams:

The Rams are one of those teams that I feel like is on the verge of really breaking out and becoming a force in the NFC. They have a ton of talented young players on both sides of the ball. The prized youngster is quarterback Sam Bradford, who threw for 3,512 yards with 18 touchdowns in his rookie season. Bradford did have 15 interception, but I expect to see that number drop now that he has a full year under his belt.

There are still some questions around just who Bradford will throw the football to. They went out and signed free agent wide out Mike Sims-Walker and are excited about rookie tight end Lance Kendricks. Other options include Brandon Gibson, Danny Amendola, Danario Alexander and rookie Austin Pettis.

While the passing game continues to improve, the Rams still feature one of the top backs in NFL is Steven Jackson.  For so many years Jackson was the only offensive option the Rams had, but now that teams must pay more attention to the passing game, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he had a career year in 2011.

Defensively the Rams allowed the 12th fewest points in 2010 at 20.4, and are expecting to continue to show progress on that side of the ball. They made a couple of big moves over the offseason, bringing in strong safety Quintin Mikell and outside linebacker Ben Leber. St Louis also used their first round pick on defensive end Robert Quinn, who should step right in and make some big plays up front.

Betting Trends:

St Louis is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 home games, but just 1-9-1 ATS in their last 11 games in Week 1.

Philadelphia is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games on turf, but finished up 2010 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games as a favorite.

Looking for some betting advice this Sunday? Check out what Steve Janus has to offer in his week 1 NFL picks.

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