Posted on
5/2/2008 8:39:35 PM
AFL Football Betting – Chicago Rush vs. Tampa Bay Storm
By Mike Rose
Last Monday night’s ESPN2 AFL telecast between the undefeated Dallas Desperados and Philadelphia Soul was supposed to be a great one. However, it failed to deliver but this week’s non-conference battle between Head Coach Mike Hohensee’s (7-2) Chicago Rush and Head Coach Tim Marcum’s (3-5) Tampa Bay Storm should be a good one. The Rush enter this weeks contest firmly entrenched in the #1 spot in the Central, and as the overall #1 seed in the American Conference. They’re 5-4 ATS overall, and 3-1 SU and 2-2 ATS on the road. They’re coming off a solid 65-52 road win and cover at Colorado as seven-point road favorites. Tampa Bay earned a season saving win at Orlando last week when they upended the Predators 48-41 as six-point road underdogs. The win snapped a five-game losing streak. They’ve lost two of their three home games this season, and carry a 1-2 ATS mark as well.
Chicago completely retooled its offense this past off-season opting to bring in veteran QB Sherdrick Bonner to run their offense. He’s missed a number of games due to injury and personal reasons, but QB Russ Michna has filled in admirably and comes into Week 10 ranked the #1 QB in the league in terms of QB rating at 127.7. The Rush currently own the third best scoring offense ringing up 59.7 PPG, and the units coming off its third highest output of the season last week at Colorado. The defense is currently ranked second in the league surrendering a shade over 46 PPG to its opponents.
The Storm picked up an enormous win for their confidence last week when they upended the Predators in the first “War on I-4” installment. They had lost their previous two games at home in inexplicable fashion to both Arizona and New York. This club is a lot better than its 3-5 SU mark suggests, but it won’t be easy for them to get back to .500 with games against the Rush and VooDoo the next two weeks. They’re currently the 11th ranked team on offense averaging 54 PPG, and the 10th ranked scoring defense allowing its opponents a tad under 57 PPG. Both units will be put to the test against a stout Chicago team.
Oddsmakers tagged Chicago 5.5-points better than the home team Storm with the ‘total’ set at 107. BetUS.com has all the AFL action your heart desires, so be sure to login and get your wagers down in what should be a heated non-conference battle.
Chicago failed to cover the chalk on the road the first time they paid a visit to Florida this season (@ Orlando), and it looks as if it’ll be a chore to get the job done in this spot as well. Tampa’s the healthiest they’ve been all season long, and they can’t lose anymore home games if indeed they want to qualify for the post-season. This will be the first meeting between these team since 2004, and the all time series is tied at one a piece. Chicago might be 13-5 SU and 12-5-1 ATS its L/18 road games, but the Storm were 6-1 SU their L/7 home games before dropping back-to-back game sin Week’s 8 & 7. Total players take note: The Over is 6-1 in Tampa’s L/7 home games.
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