Tennessee Titans - Buffalo Bills
NFL : Pre-Season : Hall of Fame Game
Sunday, August 9th 2009 - Kickoff 8:00PM ET

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NFL Betting – Hall of Fame Game Pick

NCAA football betting may be first and foremost on your mind, but the NFL preseason actually kicks off this Sunday when the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans clash at Canton in the Hall of Fame Game.

The Titans are favored by three points, but they’re hardly a slam-dunk pick. The preseason is a different beast and the Titans’ Super Bowl odds have nothing to do with the Hall of Fame Game.

Tennessee Titans (-3)

There’s plenty to like about the Titans’ offense; LenDale White and Chris Johnson are an outstanding thunder/lightning tandem and even Kerry Collins may have better luck in the passing game with new deep threat Nate Washington.

However, none of that information is relevant if those starters don’t play – and you can virtually guarantee they’ll see limited reps at most.

That means the Titans will probably turn to Vince Young. Some NFL prediction makers would think Young will excel, but I think Forrest Griffin’s UFC 101 odds look better than that. Young will be rusty.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills’ situation is different from Tennessee’s. They’ll likely sit their top two running backs too (Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson) but, whereas the Titans will rely on the likes of Quinton Ganther, the Bills have Dominic Rhodes as their third-string halfback.

He’s more like a second (or sometimes first)-string talent, having played an important role with Indianapolis at times. He gets the luxury of likely facing a defensive line comprised of backups this Sunday, so there’s no reason to think he can’t have a big game.

In the passing game, I’m betting management in Buffalo gives the first-team passing offense more reps than Tennessee does. Trent Edwards needs to gel with Terrell Owens early if the Bills want to make noise in the AFC East, so don’t be surprised if they play a few extra series.

Betting Outlook

Tennessee’s regular-season hopes are clearly better, but I like the Bills to win the Hall of Fame Game. The Bills should field a stronger, more experienced lineup on Sunday while the Titans rest their top players.

The Pick :

Buffalo Bills to win