Posted on
10/5/2007 10:53:03 PM
NFL Football Wagering - Miami Dolphins vs. Houston Texans
By Charles Jay
The Miami Dolphins will try to capture their first win of the season when they travel to Houston to face the Texans in a game scheduled for Sunday at 1 PM (Eastern time) on the grass field at Reliant Stadium. The NFL betting odds at BetUS have the home standing Texans listed at -6.5, with a posted total of 43.5.
Miami is 0-4 SU (straight-up) and 0-2-2 ATS (against the spread) on the season, and took it on the chin last week at home against the Oakland Raiders, dropping a 35-17 decision and giving Oakland QB Daunte Culpepper, who they had unceremoniously ditched during training camp, a sense of satisfaction. In that game, the porous Miami defense allowed the Raiders to rush for 299 yards.
Houston is 2-2 SU and 3-1 ATS, but was disappointing in its last outing, as it went to Atlanta as a 2.5-point road favorite and lost outright to the Falcons 26-16. with plenty of injuries to key players, including receivers Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones and running back Ahman Green, the offense has sputtered a bit. The Texans have traveled only 127 yards on the ground in the last two games.
Both teams have played three of their four games over the posted total.
These two teams met last year (October 1) in Houston, and Miami, which went to Houston as a 3.5-point favorite, wound up on the losing end of a 17-15 score, falling under the total of 40.
Miami has been working on a point differential of minus-10.3 points a game, scoring just 19.5 per contest and surrendering 29.8, which ranks it 29th in the league in that department. The Dolphins are also last in league in rushing yards allowed, giving up 199 a game on 4.9 yards per carry. On defense, Miami is allowing just 11.6 yards per point, which is substandard. QB Trent Green, who came over from Kansas City in a trade, has been 60% accurate but has made mistakes, throwing seven interceptions to go with his five TD passes. RB Ronnie Brown got off to a slow start, but has now rushed for 246 yards in his last two contests. Also…
* Miami is 1-4-2 ATS in its last seven games
* Miami is 3-5-2 ATS in its last 10 road games
* In games 1 though 6 since 2004, Miami is just 3-17-2 ATS, indicating very slow starts
Houston is in its second year under Gary Kubiak, a creative offensive mind who was an assistant with Denver. Matt Schaub, the quarterback Kubiak acquired from Atlanta, has been a success thus far, completing 74% of his passes for 1005 yards. Johnson, the Pro Bowl wide receiver who is listed as questionable, has gained yards in receptions in two games of action. The Texans, with several young stars on the defensive side, is sixth in the league in rushing yards allowed, with just 80 per game. Also.....
* Houston has covered five of its last six games overall
* Houston has covered four of its last five home games
* Houston has gone over the total in four of its last six home games
* Houston has gone over the total in seven of its last nine games overall
The Texans, the 6.5-point favorite in the football betting odds at BetUS, may have a slight technical edge in this matchup, though injuries on both sides of the ball (Zach Thomas for Miami, numerous offensive players for Houston) may have more of an impact. Make sure you check the status of these players in our injury report at BetUS.
The 2007 NFL betting season is here in full force! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The BetUS sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join BetUS today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLII and beyond!
(Charles Jay of TotalActionExtra.com is a member of the NFL too – which means "not for long" if you don't get results. He is now a regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room)