Ostrowski: Week 4 Vegas Perspective
By Joe Ostrowski-
(CBS) Eli Manning-to-Larry Donnell doesn't make you forget John Elway-to-Shannon Sharpe or even Philip Rivers-to-Antonio Gates, but Thursday night provided a really fun half as Giants tight end Donnell amassed three touchdowns. Well, it was really fun unless you had Washington -3 or were facing Donnell in fantasy football.
The Giants' rout of the Redskins also continued an early season trend in the NFL. Road teams are now eight games above .500 against the spread. Let's break down the Vegas perspective in Week 4 of the NFL.
Sharp (expert) money
(Last week: 0-3; season: 2-4)
Packers (-2) over the Bears
49ers (-5) over the Eagles
Public money
(Last week: 2-1; season: 2-3)
Falcons (-3) over the Vikings (91 percent)
Colts (-7.5) over the Titans (84 percent)
Line moves
After a pair of primetime road wins, the Bears opened as home favorites against the Packers. There was so much sharp action on Green Bay that the line has moved 3.5 points.
Our memories are short with sports. Last week, the Colts were terrific, and the Titans were trounced. So at some shops, Indianapolis has gone from 6.5- to 9-point favorites against Tennessee.
My picks
(Last week: 1-2; season: 4-2)
New Orleans (-3) at Dallas
Jimmy Graham is going to beast on Sunday night. after three weeks, 254 yards and two touchdowns have been considered a slow start by Graham standards. The Cowboys defense has allowed 290 yards and four scores to tight ends. That doesn't include Jared Cook's wide-open touchdown drop last week. It helps that a Saints road game is on turf.
Pick: Saints -3
Detroit (-2) at New York Jets
New York is the best in the NFL against the run. Detroit is second-best. So what is the Jets offense supposed to do? We saw how the Lions' defense treated Aaron Rodgers, now they get Geno Smith as the calls for Michael Vick get louder and louder.
Pick: Lions -2
Green Bay (-2) at Chicago
The time is here to learn about the Bears' improvements on defense. Giving up 21 points per game with this offense is a nice start for Chicago, but it's impossible not to point to the scoring ability of the competition. The Bears are 26th in rushing yards allowed. It's a matter of when, not if, the Packers offense explodes this year.
Pick: Packers -2
Survivor picks
(Last week: 2-0; season: 4-1)
It's quickly shaped up as a season to go against the Jags and Bucs. If you don't mind taking a road team, Pittsburgh goes to Jacksonville next week. But there are three other teams that are favored by a touchdown for Week 5, so here's what I'm going with now.
1) Charges over Jaguars
2) Steelers over Bucs
Joe Ostrowski is a host, producer and update anchor at 670 The Score. He hosts the Fantasy Nerd Herd show on Friday from 10 p.m.-midnight along with Adam Harris that you can here by streaming here. Follow him on Twitter @JoeO670 and feel free to ask him fantasy football questions.