Posted on 8/15/2007 4:56:34 PM

Football Betting - NFL Opinion 2007 – NFC Quick Hits

By Tim Furious

The NFC, as always, is as wide open as Lindsay Lohan’s nostrils on a Saturday night. Most teams are pointing towards the Saints and Bears to repeat as favorites, but anything can happen in the NFC. Here are a few notes from the lesser conference, and how they can impact on your NFL betting futures.

Atlanta Falcons

Warrick Dunn is back after back surgery sidelined him for the past month. The return is huge for a Falcons offense that will be missing its most important weapon in Michael Vick. Say what you will about Vick’s ability as a passer, but his rushing numbers kept the flagsticks moving along with the Dunn and Jerious Norwood.

The Falcons are long shots to win the NFC South, let alone compete in the playoffs. But having Dunn back will help the locker room and help the team move forward as they will not have Vick’s unique services for the 2007 season.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles got destroyed in a pre-season game the other night against Baltimore. They lost backup running back, Ryan Moats, for the season and nobody at the quarterback position stepped up to fill the void left by Donavan McNabb. If those backups failed in getting it done against the second and third defenses, how will they fair against a teams top defense?

More importantly, this proves that Donavan must, absolutely, stay healthy this season for the Eagles to have a chance. Without Jeff Garcia as a backup, this statement has never been more true than it is right now. The defense is aging, and the Eagles, remain a competitive +175 to win the NFC East.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals lost two key starters in Oliver Ross, the starting offensive tackle, and Chike Okeafor, a starting linebacker. This is not a good sign for a young team that is in need of its veterans to produce. The bigger concern is Ross, who will be replaced by rookie Levi Brown.

The learning curve suddenly becomes much steeper, faster and more urgent for the rookie Brown who was taken fifth overall by the Cards in the 2007 Draft. Levi Brown will suddenly be charged with protecting Matt Leinart and opening gaps for Edgerrin James. The saving grace in all of this is that he has Russ Grimm, one of the best offensive line coaches in the business, showing him the ropes.

Okeafor was a key in the Cardinals new 3-4 defense. He moved to strongside linebacker and coach Wisenhunt was intent on using his immense pass rushing skills to make him the “Joey Porter” of this defensive attack. Filling his shoes will be a difficult task for a linebacker corps that lacks true depth.

Perhaps even more intriguing than the injuries is that Matt Leinart was able to reach a tentative custody agreement with the mother of his 10 month-old child. The agreement will last through the NFL season, and it will not become a huge distraction for the young quarterback who has enough on his plate.

Luckily for the Cardinals, they play in the easiest division in the league and have the easiest schedule of anyone in the NFL. That is why the +300 odds to make the playoffs - straight up or as a wildcard - should be justifiably tempting regardless of those injuries.

New York Giants

The Giants looked like football midgets in the pre-season, and it is a definite foreshadowing of the season to come. The Carolina Panthers top line decimated the Giants defense, which had no Michael Strahan. The face of the franchise for the past few years is likely to retire, and without him the team is going to get torn to pieces.

This Giants team is ranked behind the Redskins, Cowboys and Eagles in the eyes of the oddsmakers to escape the NFC East into the playoffs. A smart, betting man would tend to agree.

St. Louis Rams

The Rams offense is unquestionably productive. But their defense is what needs the most help. In a test against the Minnesota Vikings vaunted running game, Rams rookie Adam Carriker stood apart from the rest while helping to hold Adrian Peterson to a mere 33 yards on 11 carries.

Adam Carriker, their first round selection, helped stuff the run from his defensive end position. Carriker is a big boy who can make plays, and coach Linehan has a strong defensive weapon if he can hone the young man’s skills.

Carriker is going to be called upon to help shore this defensive unit in the face of their offensively potent division rivals. These long shots to make the playoffs may have a head butting chance if Carriker comes through.

Check back to the BetUS.com locker room as we bring you the latest news on the NFL pre-season. Yeah, it’s a tease. But it just means we are getting closer to what we all really love. Life is good. Football betting is better.

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