CAROLINA PANTHERS @ DETROIT LIONS 
Vegas Line: Panthers + 7
Rob’s Line: Panthers + 4.5
There you have it. My pick is the Panthers plus seven. Yes, I could keep this extremely short because I’m not going to deviate away from that as a 2.5 point differential is big. The spread does look rather inflated in favour of Carolina and if for no other reason than just four days after this contest, Detroit host Green Bay on Thanksgiving, a game that looms even larger for them in light of their 37-13 loss in Chicago last week.
Quarterback Matt Stafford is apparently battling a finger injury which, if true, does probably tell you why he threw four interceptions last week, matching his total for the season. He threw the ball a staggering 63 times against the Bears, completing 33 passes, but he had little choice with his team 20-0 behind a minute into the second quarter.
The Lions’ running attack, without Jahvid Best, is anaemic and Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams aren’t going to frighten anybody. That said, the Panthers are only 28th defending the run, so they may together crack the 100 yard barrier this week.
How do you fathom the meltdown the Panthers experienced at home to the Titans last week? Could the whole thing really be blamed on them coming back after a bye week? The 30-3 scoreline truly shocked me and not just because I had Carolina to cover the spread by a field goal as one of my bets of the week. I can’t imagine an NFL team are going to be that underprepared two weeks in a row and it was good to see quarterback Cam Newton come out straight after the game and call the defeat “embarrassing”. Thanks Cam, it felt the same for me too after talking you up as a can’t-miss bet. I was a little bruised by that, but am bouncing straight back on to the Panthers bandwagon again this week.
With Detroit ranked 27th against the run, it does open up holes for Newton to exploit his own athletic ability when rolling out of the pocket and while the prospect of Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley both facing you is like Darth Vader and the Emperor together, Newton has the tools to make some useful yards on the ground.
The rejuvenated Steve Smith, with whom Newton has really connected this season, barely turned up last week, but he was only joining in on the team act so bless him, eh?! Detroit ranks fourth against the pass so he’ll really have his work cut out.
After what should have been a finger burning exercise last week, I’m undeterred and like Carolina a lot here. What I’ve not mentioned is that, after hosting the Packers next Thursday, the Lions travel to New Orleans the week after so, while teams shouldn’t look ahead of themselves, I’d bet my bottom dollar they are.
Dare I say this, but the Panthers look unmissable this week with a touchdown start.
http://www.sportingopinions.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment