The Ravens aren't as good as the line suggests, even at home. And the Raiders aren't that bad. A dog pick here.
Week Two is about finding the greatest value based on overreaction to the first week of games. Plain and simple, the teams that rolled on opening week won’t be as good and the team that got rolled won’t be as bad. The oddsmakers have had to make big adjustments based on what the public saw in Week One and what they think they are going to see in Week Two.
If this game were played last week, the Ravens would be favored by a field goal. Now they are favored by 10 points on top of that. Can you say overreaction?
Yes, I saw what the Raiders did on Monday night and it certainly wasn’t pretty. Aaron Brooks was sacked more times than he had pass completions. The defense could not stop LaDainian Tomlinson and allowed 27 points despite Philip Rivers throwing only 11 passes. The list goes on but the one good thing that did happen was that it was a huge wake up call. The offensive line was offensive but expect a much better effort even if it against one of the best defenses in the league.
One player that will make the line better is Robert Gallery because he won’t be there. He looked clueless and was beaten badly all night long. Taking his place is Chad Slaughter who is quicker, taller and has longer arms, all advantages going against the Ravens. Aaron Brooks will change part of his game as well. Brooks' mobility allows him to evade direct hits in the pocket, and he can still scramble for big gains. Designed rollouts are the key and we will see some of those on Sunday.
The Raiders defense was not as bad as it may have looked on the scoreboard. They allowed a respectable 303 total yards and after the first three drives, the unit made adjustments and allowed just 119 yards in the final eight Chargers drives. This game was still anyone’s contest after the third quarter before San Diego scored in its first possession of the fourth quarter and then added a meaningless touchdown late following an Oakland fumble at its own 10-yard line.
Look anywhere on the internet and you will see stories about the Raiders being the worst team in the league and Baltimore becoming a Super Bowl team. After just one week? If this was the situation in November, then yes I would agree with those points but definitely not after just one game. Over 2/3 of the public is backing the Ravens this week and that as we all know is deadly. They can have them and they can lay as many points as they want to.
Play on road underdogs that are coming off a home loss against a division rival in the first month of the season after finishing last season with two or more straight up losses. This situation is 27-7 ATS (79.4 percent) since 1983 and is 10-1 ATS (90.9 percent) over the last 10 seasons. This average point differential in those 34 games is -2.6 ppg which is the field goal spread that would have been in play if this game was taking place a week ago.
The Raiders may just end up 0-16 from what I've seen. 4 offensive plays, two runs for 3 yards and 2 fumbled snaps. And I thought that 2H last week was the worst I've seen a football team play.
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And I thought that 2H last week was the worst I've seen a football team play.
