NFL Betting - Washington Redskins (+ 7) vs. Minnesota Vikings (- 7)
by D.S. Williamson
These are the days where the loss of Sean Taylor really means something to the NFL betting since LaDanian Tomlinson’s rookie year.
Taylor would have been instrumental in keeping Adrien Petersen from breaking off long run, but, alas, Sean is no longer with us. That leaves the duties of stopping Petersen to LSU grad, rookie LaRon Landry. How Landry plays against the run in this game will go a long way in deciding which of these two teams takes a closer step towards the playoffs.
Before I get into the trends, let me say that the way the Skins have responded to Taylors’ loss has been nothing short of admirable. They have held themselves with class and have played well on the field. This is where the skill of a coach like Joe Gibbs really comes into play. I suspect that he will have his team ready for this key Sunday night match-up.
Here are the trends:
The Washington Redskins are 6-2-1 against the spread versus a team with a winning record.
The Washington Redskins are 3-3-1 against the spread on the road this year.
The Minnesota Vikings are 4 and 3 against the spread at home this year.
After studying these trends, the question still becomes Petersen versus Landry. Or, more importantly, Petersen versus the eight man box that the Skins will no doubt play in order to take away the Vikings run game.
Here’s where it gets tricky. If Petersen is stopped early in this game, how long will the Vikings wait before putting the game into quarterback Tarvaris Jackson’s hands? They may not wait as long as you and I would suspect as Jackson has to do something special in order for the Vikings to make the playoffs.
Petersen will be stopped in this game, early at least, and that means that Jackson will have to put the ball in the air. At that point I really like Washington. The point spread is way too high on a team that will be playing with emotion and control like so many past Joe Gibbs’ coached teams.
The Redskins have the running back in Clinton Portis that you need to keep the Vikings’ defense off balance. They also have a nice tight-end and wide-receiver combo in Chris Cooley and Santana Moss.
As good as Adrien Petersen is, he’s not worth giving up seven points for.
The BetUS Minnesota Vikings.
I like the Redskins to beat the spread, but I also like them to have an outside shot to win this game outright.
The 2007 and beyond!
