NFL Betting Odds
Sports Edge's football betting
preview of all 32 teams continues with the NFC
North's Detroit Lions. Detroit is 65:1 to win
the Super Bowl, 40:1 to win the NFC Championship,
and 11:2 to win the NFC North. Their Over / Under
win total for the season is 7 games.
Schedule
Detroit’s 2006 opponents
had a record of 121-135 in 2005. That is the 5th
easiest schedule in the NFC. The Lions get their
bye-week after Week 7.
Detroit opens their schedule
with two of their toughest games of the year,
home to Seattle and at Chicago. They are currently
3.5 point underdogs against the Seahawks. Even
if they start the year 0-2, it is important they
not get too down because there are a lot of winnable
games left on the schedule.
Sports Edge Analysis
Quarterback, Jon Kitna has
been named the starter and that was the correct
move. Kitna started most of five seasons with
Seattle and Cincinnati before backing up Carson
Palmer the last two years. Kitna turns 34 years-old
in September, but he has plenty left in the tank
and also provides great veteran leadership.
As far as Kitna’s receiving
core goes, Roy Williams is a future All-Pro on
one side, with the other starter being Corey Bradford.
Mike Williams and Charles Rogers were both very
high draft picks, but both have been major disappointments.
Tight end, Marcus Pollard is a good receiver,
but the tight end is usually not featured much
in Mike Martz’ offense.
The running game appears
to be in good hands with Kevin Jones. Jones is
entering his 3rd NFL campaign, and most expect
this to be his best season. At the very least,
he will post many more rushing yards than the
664 he had last year. Arlen Harris is the backup
and the team also has promising 2006 third round
pick, Brian Calhoun.
Detroit’s offensive
line has been sub-par, but not due to a lack of
trying. Tackle, Jeff Backus and guard, Damien
Woody both make big money for their positions.
Ross Verba is a converted tackle playing left
guard. There is a question mark at right tackle
with Rex Tucker as he has been injury prone over
his career, and he is dealing with a knee injury
now.
Detroit’s defense was
10th in the NFC in yards allowed last year, and
11th in points allowed. That is why it was so
important to hire a head coach with a defensive
background like Rod Marinelli.
Marinelli spent many years
as Tampa Bay’s defensive line coach and
they were consistently one of the best in the
NFL. Marinelli has less to work with out of the
gate in Detroit, but there are two decent pass
rushers in Kalimba Edwards and James Hall. “Big
Daddy” Wilkinson is gone, but Shaun Rogers
is still clogging the middle and Shaun Cody takes
Wilkinson’s spot.
The Lions’ linebackers
are all about speed with rookie Ernie Sims on
the weak side, Boss Bailey in the middle and Teddy
Lehman on the strong side. Bailey is currently
hurt, but is expected to start the season. Lehman
will be out a little longer than that. When they
are finally all together though, it is a very
exciting group.
The secondary has a
legitimate number one cornerback in Dre’
Bly, with Fernando Bryant opposite him. Kenoy
Kennedy is a presence at strong safety, while
rookie Daniel Bullocks looks like he could start
at free safety.
Prediction
The Lions made great coaching
hires this off-season with Marinelli and Martz.
Marinelli has a military background and he will
instill discipline and toughness on this team.
Those qualities have both been lacking in recent
years.
With Marinelli also working
to improve the defense, the offense is left to
Martz, one of the best coordinators in the game.
Martz will weed out the guys who do not fit his
system, and he will eventually build a juggernaut.
This year will be a learning curve with a likely
7-9 record, but watch out for this team in 2007.
Click any of the following
teams for their NFL 2006 Betting Previews
49ers
2006 Betting Preview
Rams
2006 Betting Preview
Cardinals
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Seahawks
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Saints
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Falcons
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Buccaneers
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Panthers
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Packers
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Vikings
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Lions
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Bears
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Eagles
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Giants
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Chiefs
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Texans
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Jaguars
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Colts
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Browns
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Ravens
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Bengals
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Steelers
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Patriots
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Dolphins
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Jets
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Bills
2006 Betting Preview
Posted by miker at August
18, 2006 08:54 AM
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