Home

Buy Sports Picks

Free Sports Picks

Sports Betting Forum

Members Login

Article Archives

Contact Us

Leaderboard

Who's Hot

Recent Results

Vikings vs Browns Spread

It was another rollercoaster offseason for Brett Favre, going back and forth with the Minnesota Vikings as to whether or not he would come out of retirement. Finally, after one preseason game, Favre made the decision to return to the league and to make one final Super Bowl run. He leads the Vikings into Cleveland this Sunday to take on the Browns, another team with a quarterback controversy. The odds currently have listed the Vikings -4 over the Browns with a total set of 40 points.

Minnesota went 10-6 last season to win the NFC North. Gus Ferotte and Tarvaris Jackson each took their turn at quarterback throughout the season, with Jackson getting the nod in their home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the opening round of the playoffs. Minnesota felt they needed someone else at quarterback to take them to the next level, so they brought in Sage Rosenfels from Houston. Jackson and Rosenfels were in a heated battle for the starting job clear through the first preseason game, where it appeared Sage had the upper-hand. But when Favre announced he was coming out of retirement, both were forced to step aside. Favre enters his 19th season in the league and he’ll make his 270th consecutive start Sunday, one of his many NFL records. He won’t be asked to do too much, because the Vikings have Adrian Peterson in the backfield. Peterson rushed for a franchise-record 1,760 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2008. Bernard Berrian led the receiving corps last year, totaling 964 yards and seven touchdowns. But there are other weapons outside in Sidney Rice, Visanthe Shiancoe and Bobby Wade, not to mention rookie Percy Harvin. The Minnesota defense is one of the best in the league. They allowed an NFL-low 76.9 rushing yards/game last year and recorded 45 sacks. Don’t expect much of a drop-off in 2009.

Cleveland got worse as the season progressed last year en route to a disappointing 4-12 campaign. The Browns scored just one touchdown in their final six games, all losses, including getting outscoring 45-0 in their final two contests. That led to the firing of Romeo Crennel and the hiring of Eric Mangini, who was Favre’s head coach in New York last season. Mangini waited as long as he could before naming Brady Quinn the starting quarterback for Week 1. Quinn threw for 518 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in his three starts last year, and the Browns hope he can become the franchise quarterback they were looking for when they drafted him as the No. 22 overall pick in 2007. If something were to happen to Quinn, then Anderson is a more-than-capable backup. The running game will be led by veteran Jamal Lewis and rookie James Davis. Lewis averaged just 2.6 yards/carry in the preseason, while Davis put up 7.8 yards/carry on 24 attempts. Look for Davis to become Lewis’ eventual replacement as the starter. With Kellen Lewis being traded away to Tampa Bay, it will be very important for WR Braylon Edwards to return to Pro Bowl form and to stop dropping critical passes. Mangini has already put his stamp on the defense, replacing Andre Davis with Eric Barton, Willie McGinest with David Bowens and Corey Williams with Kenyon Coleman.  He also let Sean Jones go in free agency, picking up former Jet Abe Elam via trade to take his place.