Azcardinaks Football Betting News

<< Van Gundy vents after latest Magic disappearing act
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just how bad has it gotten for the Orlando Magic? Consider this -- the Philadelphia 76ers shot under 38 percent from the floor on Monday, a dismal 52.6 percent from the line and recorded their lo

<< Sunderland acquires Bridge on loan from City
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland acquired former England defender Wayne Bridge on loan for the rest of the season Tuesday from Premier League leader Manchester City. Bridge, 31, had played just one game in all competit

<< Phillies add Qualls to bullpen
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies added a durable arm to their bullpen by signing Chad Qualls to a one-year, $1.15 million contract on Tuesday. Qualls, whose contract includes performance and awards bonuses, went

<< Lindpere inks new contract with New York
Harrison, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York announced Tuesday that it has signed midfielder Joel Lindpere to a new, multi-year contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Lindpere, 30, first joined the Red Bulls ahead of

Philadelphia trades Le Toux to Vancouver >>
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Union traded forward Sebastien Le Toux to Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Tuesday in exchange for allocation money. Le Toux, 28, had 25 goals and 20 assists in two seasons with the Union. He was acqu

D-Backs avoid arbitration with Montero, Roberts >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks avoided arbitration with catcher Miguel Montero and infielder Ryan Roberts on Tuesday, agreeing to terms on one-year contracts with both players. MLB.com has reported Montero's dea

Chelsea signs Belgium international De Bruyne >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea signed Belgian international Kevin De Bruyne from Genk on Tuesday on a 5 1/2- year deal, but will remain with the Belgian side on loan for the rest of the season. De Bruyne, 20, made his debut for

AC Milan signs striker Prosenik from Chelsea >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan signed striker Philipp Prosenik from Chelsea's youth academy Tuesday. Prosenik, 18, joined Chelsea from Rapid Vienna in 2009, but played just five matches for the second string and 24 for the youth t

Football Betting

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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