Leonard (Egp88) Fournette is the expected face of the Detroit Lions. That is, if the Lions are expecting anything from their first two preseason games. After that should come the Hall of Fame Game and the regular season kickoff. At that point, if they are not practicing for Week 1, or Week 1 should come much later than the scheduled start, they will be taking a serious hit to their confidence level and they might even be sent home.
This is especially the case with teams that have starting quarterbacks. Week 1 is the time when they get to see if they are going to develop into a quarterback rotation rather than a one-string operation. If they are really this good and are expected to be in the same boat or better than the Lions, then they should be able to perform much better than they did in their first two preseason games.
Then the Lions will have to face the Buccaneers and the New York Jets. If they are not really as good as they were in Week 1, then Tampa Bay could actually surpass them in the battle for the final spot in the playoffs. If that happens, then Detroit would have a very difficult time catching the Jets for the #2 spot since the division title and the Week 1 winner the Lions already matched up against the spot.
All in all, the Lions appear to be the betting public’s Pick of the Month. It is an excellent platform to be betting the money line as the Lions are the only winning team both through the air and through the ground. Their defense has not yet been tested by an offense so it is still a young and inexperienced group. However, their Week 1 loss to the Bears was a major wakeup call.
New York Jets: (2-5)
The Jets received the biggest defeat of the weekend for acquiring QB Tim Couch. Also, the Jets are still without profit as they are now 2-5 ATS. Couch was very average in his preseason debut to the tune of under200 combined yards in two games.
The Jets will have their work cut out for them this week as they host the Chargers. San Diego has proven that it can beat even the best offensive teams in the league. The Lightning Bolts are also capable of knocking off the Jets at any time in the season. We will see how high the jinx bursts this week as the Jets will be taking on the Bills for the first time.
Finally, we have the Jacksonville Jaguars. This is still a very strong team that has shown flashes of greatness. We saw what they were capable of doing during the 2003 season when they upset the Bengals for the Super Bowl. However, those flashes came at the expense of the Jets and the Chargers which ultimately ended their hopes of an invite to the big game.
We can expect another battle amongst old rivals in L.A. The two teams have yet to play so it will be a real test. We will likely see another close game this week too as the Chiefs are playing the Chargers this week and the Raiders will be in Seattle trying to take down the Seattle Seahawks for the right to become NFC West Champs.
With the games falling right now, The easy bet to make here is the Detroit Lions. They appear to have the edge on the defensive side of the ball and they should be able to handle the offense process as 6 + 3 points is a strong advantage. The Lions are also in the easier position of playing the Jets this week, which may or may not happen. Look for the Lions to stay in the picture as the clearly the more talented team here.