NFL Line – Jets Underdogs to Eagles

Sportsbook customers who bet against the NFL line are watching with a lot of interest as the New York Jets have become reality stars, and the team closes out its pre-season as an underdog as it visits Philadelphia to play the Eagles. The game takes place on Thursday night, slated for 7:30 PM ET at Lincoln Financial Field (natural turf). Rex Ryan’s team, which has not scored much, is getting points here, as the Eagles are 1.5-point favorites in the NFL line, with the total on the game posted at a very conservative 34 points.

New York Jets (1-2 SU & ATS) at Philadelphia Eagles (1-2 SU & ATS)

Live at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Thursday, September 2 — 7:30 PM ET
TV: WPVI Philadelphia, WCBS New York

NFL Football Line:

Philadelphia -1.5
N.Y. Jets  +1.5
Total: 34

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The Jets cannot be happy about what they have done on offense this year. In three games they have scored 36 points and that may be reflective of the kind of offensive problems they’re going to experience. No wonder they’re getting a point and a half in the NFL line for this game. Mark Brunell threw three passes on last week’s game against Washington, but he’s not a real big worry. Mark Sanchez, however, is still making poor decisions. The key guy here, however, is going to be Kellen Clemens, who just signed a new contract, at a severe salary reduction, in order to stick with the team as the third-stringer, and he is going to get some action on Thursday night.

As we have seen in "Hard Knocks," Rex Ryan likes what his defense has accomplished but was extremely upset with the way his second team played in the first game. With the team allowing just 19 points the last two games, with 13 of them coming in the second half, there isn’t a whole lot to complain about there.

Here are some of the NFL betting trends as they impact our football predictions on this game:

• New York has played four of their last five road games OVER the total
• New York has covered their last seven road games
• Philadelphia has played eight of its last ten games OVER the total
• Philadelphia has lost nine of its last eleven games SU in Week 4
• Philadelphia has played its last five home games OVER the total

The Jets’ pre-season has been overshadowed by the team’s appearance on the HBO reality show "Hard Knocks," and one of the most memorable scenes from that show that people are talking about – and will continue to talk about – involves defensive back Antonio Cromartie, who has fathered eight children at least, and struggled to remember their names. Four of the children are three years old, and they re with four different mothers. There is a problem with this kind of culture, which cheapens fatherhood, and you wonder if this kind of irresponsibility will transfer itself over to performance, as the Jets, who are +650 in the NFL line to capture the AFC title, place their trust in players who may present an off-the-field problem. Cromartie’s story isn’t heart-warming; it’s scary.

Is it Ryan’s ego that allows him to think he can harness players like this, and will it get in the way in the end? Maybe. So far he’s gotten results. On the other side, Andy Reid, the Eagles’ coach, has brought his team to one playoff appearance after another, and coming to a realization of what pre-season games really mean to him – Philadelphia has covered just one of its last six pre-season contests against the NFL line, and Reid’s team has taken it especially easy in the final week, with nine losses in eleven games.

When we talk about trends related to the NFL line, you cannot ignore the Jets’ seven-game covering streak on the road. You’d like to think that the New Yorkers would like to finish the pre-season on a high note, while I know that Reid couldn’t care less. Football predictions are never easy, but we’ve got to feel a bit of confidence that the Jets are going to come with some defense, even if we don’t see the same guys we’ll see next week in Kelly Green. The Eagles have had some special teams breakdowns, which is unusual for that unit’s coach, Bobby April, but then again, they aren’t using the same guys they will when the season starts. All things considered, we’re grabbing the points and a half with the underdog Jets in the NFL line for Thursday.

JAY’S FOOTBALL PREDICTION :  N.Y. JETS +1.5 ***

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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