My Cedric Benson Blog

Well Week 1 of the NFL season is almost upon us and like the college football opener last weekend, this event is like Christmas in September for our stable of professional handicappers. After the incredible opening performance we had with our college football week 1 picks, we now turn our attention to the opening week of the NFL season. There are 15 games at our disposal. 15 games to analyze and handicap so that we can pass along the correct information to our many subscribers who have trusted out judgment for over 10 years. Now for us professional cappers, week 1 of both college and the NFL season are the hardest weeks we have to deal with. There are many uncertainties at work here and trying to figure out who is decent and who is terrible is not so easy when no games have been played. The oddsmakers also have a difficult time releasing adequate lines and we have seen over the years that Vegas either loses a ton of money in week 1 due to poor lines, or wins a ton of money, due to great lines.

Now as far as the NFL is concerned, it is only mildly easier to handicap week 1 games as compared to college football. For one, there are four NFL preseason game that serve as a decent barometer to tell how good a team can be. Also, you have more steadiness in NFL rosters due to the fact you don't constantly have kids graduating and jobs constantly being taken over. So with that as a backdrop, we examined Week 1's lines and started doing hardcore analyzing once the fourth preseason games were in the books. Our picks are all pretty much finished and they are being prepared to be sent out shortly but I must say that there are some very interesting lines out there.

For example you have the worst team in the NFL by far last season, the Oakland Raiders being favored at home against the Detroit Lions. Also, you have another poor team, the Houston Texans being favored by 3 points at home against a veteran Kansas City Chiefs team. Now surely the presence of QB Matt Schaub for the Texans is a major reason for the role as the favorite here but this is a big example of how an off-season transaction can have a major impact on a betting line for the first week of the season. We haven't seen any games yet and so no one really knows if this status is warranted for the Texans of if they are still a poor club. Hence the challenge everyone in this line of work has. However, we have used our dozens of winning formula, game trends, and stats to weed out who we like and we have used these winning formulas to accumulate a nearly 60 percent winning mark in 10 years of business. Our college football picks went 26-12 ATS in Week 1 and a good deal of the picks were there for everyone to see on our site. As far as Week 1 of the NFL season, we feel like we made very solid choices and here are a few freebies for you to enjoy.

CINCINNATI BENGALS (-2.5) VS. Baltimore Ravens: In a division slugfest, the Cincinnati Bengals look to put a turbulent off-season behind them as they take on the Baltimore Ravens at home. Just like St. Louis-Carolina, this figures to be a battle of strong offense vs. strong defense. For Cincy, QB Carson Palmer is already one of the top three passers in the league and there is no reason to believe that he won't pass for 4,000 yards and possibly as many as 35 TD's. Having a pair of Pro Bowl receivers in Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh around will further solidify his place among the NFL's elite. It will be interesting to see how Cincy comes out offensively in this one as Baltimore's defense is strong in all aspects. RB Rudi Johnson will find the running room very tight as DT Haloti Ngata's 350 pound frame will clog the middle and IF he can make it through, MLB Ray Lewis will be waiting to smash him in the mouth. The Bengals will most likely keep their attack in the air as Houshmandzadeh will have the easier assignment with Samari Rolle covering as opposed to Chad Johnson having to deal with Chris McAllister.

As far as the Ravens are concerned, expect to see a heavy dose of new RB Willis McGahee as the Bengal run defense struggled at times last year. Steve McNair is back for another go round and he is still crafty enough to get the ball downfield to wideouts Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton. Offense however is not this team's strong suit and scoring in the 20's is about the best that this unit can do. So on the surface, expecting the Ravens to outscore Baltimore will take a huge defensive effort which we don't anticipate to the degree that they can win this game outright. The Bengals should come out flying in front of the home crowd and will be extra pumped up going against a key division rival. Although the Raven D can do enough to keep them in the game, the Bengals have way too much firepower to be held in check for long. The Bengals have also covered four of their last five against the Ravens and the favorite in the last seven games in the series is now 6-1 ATS. THE PICK: Cincinnati Bengals (-2.5)

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (-6) Chicago Bears: Best match up this upcoming Sunday as this is a potential Super Bowl preview between two very good teams. The Bears rode a record setting defense all the way to the Super Bowl last season and have the same unit pretty much completely intact going into 2007. The Chargers on the other hand are looking to do big things and erase the sting of losing in their first playoff game, which ultimately cost coach Marty Schoettenheimer his job. Marty has now been replaced by Redskins and Raiders retread Norv Turner and Turner should have an immediate impact on the San Diego offense. Led by All-World RB LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers have a great nucleus in QB Philip Rivers and TE Antonio Gates. The offensive line is arguably the best in the league and the receiving corp. is getting better. Expect Norv to open up the offense and to completely due away with the conservative game-planning that held this team back in 2006. Of course it would impossibly to say LT could top his ridiculous performance last season but he is still in his prime and certainly has a great chance of having another monster season.

Look for the Chargers to open up their attack by running Tomlinson up the middle and having Rivers throw him passes in the flat which he can turn up field into big gains. The Chicago defense is much too quick to run on the outside and so this plan of attack will be the best way for San Diego to get production out of Tomlinson. As far as Rivers is concerned, look for his focus to be mainly on his star TE as the ferocious Chicago pass rush will be out for blood. Rivers won't have all day to throw so Gates will be instructed to run his 15 yard slants that he is so famous for. Of course Bears MLB Brian Urlacher has the athleticism to stay with Gates and so this battle could go either way. The Chargers' receiving corp. is led by the emerging Vincent Jackson and supported by Eric Parker. San Diego is at a major disadvantage against the Chicago CB duo of Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher and so don't expect much of a downfield passing attack.

The Chicago offense has potential themselves but the big question centers of course on inconsistent QB Rex Grossman. There are times that Grossman looks like the next Joe Namath and others when he looks like the next Ryan Leaf. His inability to put back-to-back solid outings together is maddening but it's hoped that off-season tutoring will allow Rex to fulfill his potential and become a solid every-week performer. A big issue for Grossman in this game is the great pass rush that the Chargers will bring with OLB Shawne Merriman and DE Luis Castillo. San Diego's defensive line and LB's are so strong that the Bears will have a very difficult time running the football with RB Cedric Benson. Benson has the starting job all to himself but this is a very tough opponent to face in Week 1. Don't expect much out of the Chicago running game and so the focus will be on Grossman getting the ball out quickly to his TE's Desmond Clark and rookie Greg Olsen. WR Mushin Muhammud will also be targeted often as the veteran is still a great route runner who can help move the chains. All in all, it will be very difficult for the Bears to get much going offensively unless the offensive line can hold off the rush.

We believe this game will be a very low scoring affair that ultimately the Chargers will win due to their superior offense. Will they do enough to overcome the six-point spread? We think not as we expect a 21-17 win. Also looking at the game trends, the Bears have covered four straight games vs. the Chargers and have gone an incredible 17-2-1 ATS record against the AFC West in their last 20 meetings. Finally, the Bears are 7-3 ATS as an underdog in season openers the last 27 years. THE PICK: Chicago Bears (+6)

The Cincinnati Bengals were one of the surprises in the NFL last year won the AFC North 10-6 and swept the other opponents of the three Division. It was the first season of the Bengals reached the double-digit victories since the 2005 season.

In my opinion, was a mirage.

The Bengals closed the season, losing three of four games – all against playoff teams - and then were dominated quite well in a 24-14 the jets in the wild-card round home defeat. The Cincy differential point was barely finished last season by far, the worst Division in equity, which is biased by a loss of explosion at end of the regular season to the Jets in a game which basically meant nothing to the Bengals) winners.

But at least this team showed can be quite good when Carson Palmer stays healthy, as it did in 2009.Cedric Benson was great, running for 837 yards and six touchdowns in the first eight games of hurt his hip and missing more than three juegos.Todavía ended with 1,251 yards on 301 carries. The Bengals became a computer implementation, as remains it on the ground for 52 per cent of their works. This computer must be in good shape there with Benson and Bernard Scott.

Cincy add two arms for Palmer in free Bucs Antonio Bryant - about Terrell Owens - the boy is not agent signing.2, together with eight of Chad and the drafting of Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham in the first round.The game definitely pass required field better disseminate this season after finishing the last 26 years. Palmer, while their statistics were only media pack, took offense in eight units of punctuation marks end of game that gave the Bengals lead or had tied a game.

The defence should be once again a very good unit, and will be that it should be for an offense scored as 24 points in just three games.Classified defense fourth in the League last year in yards allowed game to 301.4, sixth in points per game allowed to 18.2. and that drive becomes defensive end Antwan Odom, who was tearing it with eight bags before ruptured his Achilles tendon in week 6.

Cincinnati is not exactly an accustomed to successful team that has not made the playoffs or even had a record in consecutive seasons in 28 years. and for some reason, the Bengals, who had finally cleared his image, signed the risks in WR Matt Jones and CB Pacman Jones.

You can reach the playoffs and the NFL takes what they say? take a look:

2010 Cincinnati Bengals Schedule (all times Eastern)

Week 1: Sunday, 12 September, in New England, 1: 00 p. M.
Week 2: Sunday, September 19, Baltimore, 1: 00 p. M.
Week 3: Sunday, September 26, Carolina, 1: 00 p. M.
Week 4: Sunday, October 3, in Cleveland, 1: 00 p. M.
Week 5: 10 October, Tampa Bay, 1: 00 p. M.
Week 6: BYE
Week 7: Sunday, October 24, in Atlanta, 1: 00 p. M.
Week 8: 31 October, Miami, 1: 00 p. M.
Week 9: Monday, November 8, Pittsburgh, 8: 30 PM
Week 10: Sunday, November 14, in Indianapolis, 1: 00 p. M.
Week 11: 21 November, Buffalo, 1: 00 p. M.
Week 12: Thursday, 25 of November, in New York Jets, 8: 20 PM
Week 13: 5 December, New Orleans, 1: 00 p. M.
Week 14: Sunday, December 12, in Pittsburgh, 1: 00 p. M.
Week 15: 19 December, Cleveland, 1: 00 p. M.
Week 16: 26 December, San Diego, 8: 20 PM
Week 17: Sunday, January 2, Baltimore, 1: 00 p. M.

This is not an easy calendar Cincy as the most difficult fourth with cumulative win 2009 rating percentage of.539 an opponents (138-118) .at least the computer has no West Coast travel, with the farthest journey to the West of Indianapolis.

It is a rough start and ending with four of the six first road - Cincy was 4-4, away from home last year - and teams of four of the six late against 2009.Ese playoff stretch of three of every four to start on the road is only the second time in the franchise Cincy has had to start that camino.Y opens on the road for the fifth time in the past six years. frankly, the Bengals will be lucky not start from 0-3-, and recalls, they may not have Benson for a few games if the Commissioner Roger Goodell him suspended by his recent arresto.Las NFL betting lines predict a game record of 2-3 the bye week.

The Bengals not be better than.500 worse then that his next game five stretch with such a hard final six them staring at the cara.He here a good stat: A. this November 8 to December 26 section, the Bengals played five games against quarterbacks that finished in the top six in NFL passing last year and Mark Sanchez the Jets beat twice year pasado.Ese Thanksgiving game is the first in the history of the Bengals, but it seems certain that the Jets have their number. items could help the Bengals against warm climate/dome as New Orleans, and San Diego teams in December (a month magazines Excel in), but in no way swept Pittsburgh and Baltimore again.

BetUS has the Bengals + 300 to win the AFC North (best third Division) and a total of victories of ocho.Como a predictor of the NFL, I would go 'minor' as this seems a team of 7-9, therefore, obviously, don't lose your money in the split bet.

Doc MOSEMAN is one of the pioneers of college football and NFL industry igualadas.Compruebe if their updated website Odds NFL and its famous collegiate winner and NFL picks.