by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
With the upcoming match between the Oakland Raiders (4 – 12 SU, 6 – 10 ATS in 2007; 1 – 2 SU, 2 – 1 ATS in preseason) and the Seattle Seahawks (10 – 6 SU, 9 – 6 – 1 ATS in 2007 regular season;2 – 1 SU; 2 – 0 – 1 ATS in preseason), the Hawks are oddsmakers’ favorite at -3, Total 35, according to BetUS.com. Still, this may be a hard decision to make when placing an online sportsbook wager.
Considering some of the more recent football betting trends may help when placing a bet online. For example, in the last 16 pre-season games, the Raiders have played 13 unders. Oakland played six of their last seven games over the total, lost nine of the last 11 games SU, played the last four road games over the total, and have covered three of their last nine games. In the case of preseason games, Oakland won and covered nine of their past 12 games and have played 13 of their last 16 games under the total. Let’s not forget that Oakland gave up 4.8 yards per rush last year, making them 32nd in league.
The recent addition of JaMarcus Russell to the team certainly adds grit to the team. Russell was the top choice in last year’s NFL draft, but missed training camp entirely last year. Having more playing time in this year’s game should put the team where they should have been last year. So why will he and the rest of the first-team offense be left out of Friday’s game? Apparently the Raiders don’t like to win. If there is anything to be gathered from last year’s performance, it’s that the Raiders will need all the offense they can get. If the best offense is a good defense, then you should turn your vote to Seattle.
Seattle is 7-3 ATS in their last ten games, and has played five of their last seven games over the total. Finally, Seattle has played nine of their last 12 preseason games over the total. The Hawks cut Shaun Alexander, after a slew of injuries this year, and added Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett to the roster. Following the change up, Seattle have rushed 565 yards in their three preseason contests, 241 of which were against the Chicago Bears.
There are a few factors that work against Seattle to consider, such as Matt Hasselbeck having to rest his back that has been tight since August 8th. He will start the opener, having played just two snaps since last January’s playoffs. This is a risky play on Seattle’s part, and hopefully Maurice Morris and Leonard Weaver will provide Seattle with enough to pull them through.
We’re confident, however, that the oddsmakers know what they’re doing in this game with the Seahawks listed as a three point fav, the total posted at 35 points. Seattle should prove to be the best choice when placing an online wager.
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