NFL Betting :
Falcons Injuries Too Much To Overcome Against Philadelphia

Philadelphia Eagles @ Atlanta Falcons
Football : United States : NFL
Sunday, 6th December 2009 - Kickoff 1pm ET

---

Most people will be focused on their Florida / Alabama picks this weekend since that is the most important college football game of the year, but this will be an important week for playoff positioning in the NFL.

If the playoffs were to start today, the Philadelphia Eagles would be playing in the postseason while the Falcons would be just short. While the Falcons are in need of a win this week and are playing at home, there are many factors that are going against them this week.

NFL betting cappers should be aware that the Falcons will be without their starting quarterback Matt Ryan and their starting running back Michael Turner. Beyond that, they may also be without starting left tackle Sam Baker. That’s a lot to take off of a team and expect them to contend.

Last week, the Falcons lost all three of these players during their contest with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the degradation was evident. The Falcons nearly lost at home to the 1-10 Bucs – needing a last-second score to come from behind to win. This week, they face a playoff team and they simply don’t matchup very well.

While the Falcons are 12-1 at home in the Mike Smith era, there is a good chance they drop to 12-2 this week.

The Falcons secondary has been absolutely brutal this year, allowing 45 passing plays of 20 yards or longer. That’s the most in the NFL.

The bad news is that they face the pass-oriented Eagles this week, which will surely aim to exploit this weakness.

On the other side of the ball, as mentioned, the Falcons will be without Ryan and Turner. The loss of Ryan is particularly stinging as the Falcons are going up against one of the best secondaries in the NFL. Chris Redman is a savvy quarterback for the Falcons but he’s not good enough to outsmart this quality defense.

The Eagles are going to be in his face all day long as they blitz more than any other team in the league. If they can pressure Redman, he will make mistakes.

The Eagles hold the edge on both sides of the ball and they really should not have many problems with the Falcons as long as they don’t make mistakes.

THe Betting Verdict

After a sluggish effort last week against the Redskins, expect the Eagles to be focused en route to a lopsided win.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Eagles 34, Falcons 10

HANDICAP BETTING :

Take the PHILADELPHIA EAGLES to win and cover the -5.5 point spread.