NFL Football
2012-09-16 - Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NFL Week 2
Sunday 16 September 2012 - Kick Off 8:20pm ET
1:20am (British Time)
Preview
Anyone who watches the NFL knows this isn't about the NFC, Wild Card spots or Play Offs- I just want to see what happens when Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz for the post-game handshake. Last season, that almost started a brawl between the teams and should be fascinating to see how the Detroit Lions (1-0) and San Francisco 49ers (1-0) players respond in the late night game.
San Francisco were probably the most impressive winners in Week 1 as they went in to Lambeau Field and recorded the 30-22 win. Alex Smith was very efficient, although the question has to be whether the Offensive Line can keep him upright this week against a very good pass rush the Lions can generate. If they do give Smith time, he has shown he has a number of options in the passing game to keep the chains moving with his arm.
At the end of the day, Smith needs to still manage the game while making a few deep passes and he is very good at doing that. Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter will have an opportunity to run the ball and keep Smith in short and manageable situations and the ability to move the chains throughout the contest.
Matt Stafford will be coming into the game after a tough outing against the St Louis Rams, but I expect a better performance now he isn't facing a Head Coach that will know a lot of the nuances in the passing game. While San Francisco were very good at limiting Aaron Rodgers last week, they still gave up over 300 yards through the air so I am expecting Stafford to Calvin Johnson being an effective partnership again.
However, all the pressure will be on Stafford as the Offensive Line can struggle to find effective protection of him and the running game is unlikely to be a help if last week has anything to do with it. Kevin Smith is a decent Running Back, but the absence of Jahvid Best and Mikel LeShoure will likely make Detroit over-reliant on their passing Offense.
Head to Head
San Francisco have dominated this series in recent meetings, winning 8 in a row in the series.
The 49ers are 5-1-2 against the spread in those games.
San Francisco have won 6 in a row in the series at home, going 3-1-2 against the spread in those games.
Prediction
I have been going around the houses with this game so I have decided to have a small play on the San Francisco 49ers - 6.5 points but not covering the 46.5 points.
I just feel the 49ers will continue moving the chains with more consistency than the Lions and won't overlook this game after what happened between the Head Coaches last season.
The Lions can get scores, but they may be a little one-dimensional and the Offensive Line will struggle to keep the hounds off of Stafford. Therefore I will look for the 49ers to restrict them a little and grind out the clock with Gore and Hunter.
Detroit just look too banged up to make enough plays Defensively so I like the 49ers to make it 2-0.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
San Francisco 49ers 24-17 Detroit Lions
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back the San Francisco 49ers - 6.5 Points and Under 46.5 Points @ 3.60 (Paddy Power)
