NFL Pro Football 2009 Preseason Week 4 Picks early games

NFL Pro Football 2009 Preseason Week 4 Picks

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Fearless Rick's NFL Preseason Week 4 Picks - Early Games

Rick Gagliano | September 3-4

All times Eastern - Click here for late games.

6:30 pm Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills (-3, 33 1/2) - At least the Bills and Lions will be tied for first in something: being the first two teams to complete their preseason schedules. Actually, the Lions haven't looked bad in 1-point home wins over Atlanta and Indy, though note that the only loss was on the road - at Cleveland - and Buffalo's only win was at home and that's where they are tonight.

The Bills' offense has looked shabby, but with first-stringers taking most of this night off, a plus for Buffalo, whose second unit is probably better than their #1's at this juncture. Both teams stink, but the Bills fans will rally their troops.

PREDICTION: Bills 17 Lions 10

7:00 pm Philadelphia Eagles at New York Jets (-3, 37) - With Michael Vick playing the second half, one would think the Eagles should be afforded a slight edge, though the sharps in Vegas don't see it that way. Still, any amazement by Mr. Vick could lead to an outburst of scoring, so we'll take a stand with him. Is it wrong to say we're taking the Eagles because they're the "dogs"?

PREDICTION: Eagles 21 Jets 20

7:30 pm Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons (-3, 35 1/2) - This would be a great game if the starters were going toe-to-toe, but we're going to get heavy doses of second and third units here, so the prudent thinking says go with the homers. Falcons have solid backup QBs in Chris Redman and D.J. Shockley, while the Ravens will hand the ball to Troy Smith, who has turned out to be a complete bust in the NFL. He may lose his #2 spot to John Beck, the sharp-shooter from BYU who has a strong arm and good sense of the game.

Despite Beck's presence, he will not be able to undo the damage done by Smith. Also, second string running duties on the Ravens are likely to be handled by Willis McGahee, who hasn't looked very good in two years.

PREDICTION: Falcons 31 Ravens 17

7:30 pm New York Giants (-3, 36) at New England Patriots - OK, no Brady, no Eli, so why watch? And why are the Giants 3-point favorites on the road? Tedy Bruschi's retirement. The death of former Patriot RB John Stephens? The return of Osi Umenyiora to the Giants' front four?

Those sound like reason enough, but add to the list the name Andrew Walter. Who is Andrew Walter, you ask? We wondered too. He's Brady's backup, a 4th year pro out of Arizona State, who will likely play almost the entire game, whereas the Giants can rotate in David Carr, Andre Woodson and Rhett Bomar, probably in that order. The G-Men have them outnumbered 3-to-1, which should be close to the money line here.

PREDICTION: Giants 23 Patriots 10

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7:30 pm Indianapolis Colts at Cincinnati Bengals (-3 1/2, 36 1/2) - Is this a good idea, taking the Bengals at home against the mighty Colts? Well, since the Colts won't have their best weaponry on display - Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne - that would seem like a reasonable condition. However, the Bengals won't have Mr. 85 or Mr. Palmer either, and are still breaking in SF retread J.T. O'Sullivan, while the Colts will play Jim Sorgi and Curtis Painter, who has the look of a guy gunning for the #2 spot.

We'll see plenty of Painter, and lots of errant throws by J.T. QBs with initials instead of real first names haven't done well since the days of Y.A. Tittle. Just ask J.P. Losman.

PREDICTION: Colts 24 Bengals 17

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7:30 pm Washington Redskins at Jacksonville Jaguars (-6 1/2, 35) - There's usually a reason for a team to be more than a 3-point favorite in a preseason game and the only one I could discern for this tilt was that Washington's backups - Todd Collins and Colt Brennan - aren't exactly ready for prime time. The Jags are starting backup QB Todd Bouman, who's not exactly the second coming of Sammy Baugh, so I'll have to take a stand against the fat, ugly spread, especially since the Jags are 0-3. Yes, the 'Skins are only 1-2 and have scored only 41 points, but their defense is sound and this game doens't really matter much except to the guys who are on or near the chopping block. Best way to play this one is UNDER.

PREDICTION: Redskins 14 Jaguars 10

8:00 pm Kansas City Chiefs (-1, 36 1/2) at St. Louis Rams - Wait, wait, wait a darn minute. The Chiefs are favored on the road? In a dome? Are the Rams really that bad, even in their second depth? This line is a shocker, especially since it opened with the Rams a 3-point favorite. News that matt Cassell has suffered a knee injury which could sideline him for a few weeks has all eyes on KC QBs Brodie Croyle and Tyler Thigpen, neither of whom have distinguished themselves in their brief careers.

The Rams hand the ball to #2 Kyle Boller and #3 Keith Null, who don't impress either. If anything is thrown in the vicinity of Ronald Curry, look for him to have a big night. The Chiefs have improved defensively and the idea that Croyle and Thigpen may be auditioning for the stating job makes this one a gimme. Yes, the Rams - 2-14, just like the Chiefs last year - are really THAT bad.

PREDICTION: Chiefs 27 Rams 17

8:00 pm Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints (-3, 36 1/2) - This should be a solid contest even though the starters will sit out because both teams are deep, with plenty of talent on their respective benches. Both teams are 3-0 and the coaching staffs probably will have some pride invested in their subs, so this one should be played hard, start to finish. The Saints are scoring at a 33.3 ppg clip and have allowed only 28 points in their 3 games. Is this really the Saints? Is the defense that improved? Maybe so, but we don't need them to be quite that good because the offense should take care of business here.

PREDICTION: Saints 33 Dolphins 21

All times Eastern - Click here for late games

Copyright 2009, 2010, Rick Gagliano, Downtown Magazine. All rights reserved. Downtown Magazine is located in the Uinted States of America and is not affiliated with the National Football League or the NCAA. For more information, contact us here. Use of this site is for entertainment purposes only.

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