McNABB's RETURN TO PHILLY

Redskins +6 Eagles (H) / O/U @ 43

6-pt. teaser adjustment: Redskins E Eagles / O/U @ 37

DeVoodoo's pick: Eagles / OVER

I rarely make teaser plays, but I like how the math worked out for this game. With the standard 6-point tease, I was able to move the spread to even, and push the under down to a comfortable level.

Though everyone wants to frame this game as Donovan McNabb's redemption game in Philly, it just ain't that simple. Poor Donovan. He's got nothing to work with in Washington. No weapons. Just old players with problems.

The Eagles, on the other hand, are flying high with quarterback Michael Vick playing the best ball of his life.

This game should validate Andy Reid's decision to dump McNabb. This game has the potential to get ugly. Super ugly.

WEEK 4 - EARLY PICKS

Ravens +1.5 Steelers (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Ravens

The Ravens need this division win. Badly. And they surely want to capitalize playing the Rapemyhamburger-less Steelers.

Cardinals +8 Chargers (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Cardinals

What have the Chargers done this year to merit an eight-point spread? There are too many questions with their special teams, defense, and coaching to ignore the point padding the Cardinals are receiving.

TWO MORE GAMES - WEEK 3

Cowboys +3 Texans (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Texans

I just don't think the desperation in Dallas will translate to inspired play. I smell fear, not hunger.

Colts -5.5 Broncos (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Broncos

This pick has a lot to do with the fact that the Broncos lost a teammate to suicide this past week. Apparently the team is taking wide receiver Kenny McKinley's loss very hard. With this being a home game, and a planned pre-game homage to McKinley, look for those emotions to carry over into the game an propel the Broncos to a home win.

So yeah, getting points is just a nice bonus.

TITANS v. GIANTS

Titans TEAM O/U @ 20 v. Giants (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: OVER

If they can just find consistency, this Titans offense could be one of the most explosive units in the league. I'll bet they reach at least three touchdowns against what has become an obviously dysfunctional Giants franchise.

RAIDERS v. CARDINALS

Raiders/Cardinals O/U @ 39.5

DeVoodoo's pick: OVER

I like the switch to Gradkowski at QB for the Raiders. The kid's a competitor, and should provide a spark to Oakland's offense.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are facing a lot of questions about their ability to win. I suspect they'll try to pour it on — point-wise — to help ensure a much-needed victory.

MORE WEEK 3 GAMES

Bills +13 Patriots (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Patriots

The Bills are making a switch at QB. Out is Trent Edwards, in is Ryan Fitzpatrick. The change should make an immediate difference — the Bills are about to get a lot worse.

The Patriots are stinging after a loss to the Jets last week. Look for all frustrations to be vented on the hapless Bills.

Lions +10.5 Vikings (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Lions

The Vikings are in trouble. And surprisingly, one of the biggest problems is along their typically staunch offensive line. This once great group simply ain't what it used to be, and Brett Favre is getting abused as a result.

By contrast, the Lions have one the most improved defensive lines in the entire league. Additions they made through the draft and free agency are paying massive dividends. Look for the Lions to win the trench battles.

GRAB THIS LINE NOW!

Bengals -3 Panthers (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Bengals

Wow. I don't want to write much here, because time is of the essence. I'm guessing this line will move significantly in a matter of hours, if not minutes.

The Panthers plan to give rookie QB Jimmy Clausen his first career start. Not only that, they'll start two rookie wide receivers. Why are the Bengals only giving three points?

Me no understand.

MNF - Saints v. 49ers

Saints -5 49ers (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: 49ers

Of any team who lost in week one, no team suffered through more humiliation than the 49ers (who were decimated by Pete Carroll's Seahawks). Look for that sting of defeat to fuel a nice bounce-back performance against the defending world champs.

Every statistical and logical derivative says the Saints should wipe their asses with the 'Niners, but at the end of the day, this game is about fight. And I'm expecting the 49ers to embody their head coach's will to win and do enough to slow down the Saints passing attack.

But the real surprise of the night might be the 49ers offense. Look for a surprisingly effective performance from Alex Smith and the passing game.

SNF - Colts v. Giants

1st half: Giants +3 Colts (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Colts

I believe the Colts will try to jump on an early lead and force the Giants to abandon the run (which they'd love to do against this porous Indy run defense). As such, I'm playing the first half spread exclusively.

WEEK 2 EARLY PICKS

Week two has a weird feel to me. I'm not entirely sure what to attribute it to, but maybe I should heed the call of the 'Spidey sense' and play it conservative.

Maybe it's because so much emphasis, energy and hype goes into week one games, that it's hard to gauge how much emotion and focus teams have in reserve for week two.

There's also the tendency to over-extrapolate information from week one's performances. (Are the 49ers really that bad? I doubt it, but if you base assumptions on week one, they're the worst team in football.)

In any event, I have cautiously identified a few games I've staked early bets on. I might have more picks for you later in the week, but for now...

Patriots -2 Jets (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Patriots

Look, the Patriots are just plain good. Wide receiver Wes Welker appears to be fully (and remarkably) healed from a serious knee injury. His health is critical to making this offense work. The Patriots offense destroyed a Bengals defense that I believe is pretty darn good (and will be proven so as the season progresses).

The Jets, on the other hand, are reeling after getting their asses handed to them on Monday night. All of head coach Rex Ryan's bluster may be proving too much for his team to handle. He's put a lot of pressure on his players, and I'm not sure they can handle the load.

The biggest problem with all of Ryan's bravado is that while it may be true his defense is fantastic and loaded with veteran leadership, the one position that it matters most when it comes to leadership is severely lacking — quarterback. Second-year QB Mark Sanchez simply isn't mature enough to be the face of a franchise that emanates such arrogance from the top down.

Look for Belichick and his young but promising defense to confuse and confound Sanchez, forcing numerous turnovers. This will mark the difference in the game. The Jets will fall to 0 -2, and the franchise will enter full panic mode.

Ravens -1.5 Bengals (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Bengals

As mentioned above, I like this Bengals defense. They'll get it turned around soon enough. I see the Ravens possibly suffering from one of those dreaded 'Monday night hangovers'. They put so much energy into beating the Jets last week that I believe they'll ultimately walk flat-footed into Bengal territory this week unprepared.

Jaguars +8 Chargers (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Jaguars

Like I said last week, this is a Jaguars team that's getting no respect, and that's a mistake of mass perception. The Chargers are also coming off a Monday night football game (in which they lost to the Chiefs). Can they rebound in time to face an equally if not tougher Jaguars squad? Maybe, but I'm betting they can't do it by more than eight points.

Bears +8.5 Cowboys (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Bears

What's going on here? 8.5 points? Really? The Bears offense is only going to get stronger and more dynamic as the season progresses and players settle into offensive coordinator Mike Martz's elaborate schemes. Furthermore, as evidenced last week, Dallas has major concerns along their offensive line. Facing Chicago's Julius Peppers and crew will pose a steep challenge.

SNF - WEEK 1

Cowboys -3 Redskins (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Redskins

Nothing logical tells me the Redskins should win this game (well, except for the shoddy state of Dallas' offensive line): quarterback McNabb is making his first start in a new offensive system... He's got no receivers to throw to... running back Clinton Portis is something like 53 years old... and on and on...

In other words, this looks like a classic trap game. And the trap is to bet big on Dallas.

So that's why I'm betting on the Redskins.

WEEK 1, 2010 - WOO-HOO!!!

I've long maintained that some of the tastiest lines you'll see all year appear in week 1 of the NFL season. This is based on the reality that every team typically goes through extraordinary changes during the off-season. Yet, week 1 lines are generally reflective of the public's perception of events from the previous year.

Within that gap between last year's perceptions and this year's realities is where you can find great opportunities to exploit imbalanced betting lines. So let's get started...

Vikings v. Saints (H) O/U @ 52

DeVoodoo's pick: UNDER

The last thing Vikings head coach coach Brad Childress wants to do is expose his frail 40-year-old QB to the kind of punishment he took during the NFC Championship game last year against the Saints. The best way to limit your quarterback's exposure to violence is run the football. So that's what I expect the Vikes to do. Run the ball, play tough defense, and avoid a shootout.

Cardinals v. Rams (H) O/U @ 42.5

DeVoodoo's pick: UNDER

Rookie QB Sam Bradford will likely make his first career start for the Rams. And this year's Cardinals offense is missing a certain something (namely... Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin).

Dolphins -2 Bills (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Dolphins

The Bills are the worst team in the NFL, with the wrong personnel to execute its new coaching schemes. The Dolphins have playoff aspirations — a win against a division foe on the road to start the season is mandatory.

Broncos +1.5 Jaguars (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Jaguars

Broncos QB Kyle Orton will be better than most pundits expect this year. But overall this Broncos team is a mess; especially on defense, in the running game, and in the receiving corps. I expect a wily Jags team this year; a team that will get consistently overlooked.

49ers -3 Seahawks (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: 49ers

No team this off-season has seen more personnel turnover than the Seahawks (more than 50% of the roster is comprised of new faces). So don't expect the chemistry to be there in week one. (And I'm not sure we should expect it to be there in week 16, either.)

Falcons v. Steelers (H) O/U @ 37.5

DeVoodoo's pick: UNDER

If you haven't noticed, I love betting 'unders' in week 1. The idea is that it takes offenses most of September to find their rhythm, while defenses aren't burdened with issues of tempo and timing. And what we have here are two running teams that I fully expect to pound each other into the dirt.

Ravens v. Jets (H) O/U @ 36

DeVoodoo's pick: UNDER

See above.

Chargers -4.5 Chiefs (H)

DeVoodoo's pick: Chiefs

I'll take the home dog on the opening night of MNF. Furthermore, I like the Chiefs to win the division this year. And the first step in doing so is beating the Chargers at home.

Chargers v. Chiefs (H) O/U @ 45

DeVoodoo's pick: UNDER

That's an awful lot of points for two offenses with a lot of question marks.