NFL Sportsbook Lines Favor Niners Against Eagles

For the past three weeks, it’s been a lot of fun betting the NFL sportsbook lines on the Philadelphia Eagles because of one guy: Michael Vick. Even if you absolutely still loathe the guy, his exhilarating play on the field has you interested in the Eagles.

Now, however, Vick is injured and Kevin Kolb will wage a war against Alex Smith very few people are interested in.

Sticking with Vick for a moment, the amount of action that the NFL sportsbook generated because of his mere presence was astounding.

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As horrific as his past sins have been, I believe that he’s paid his price (bankruptcy, jail for two years, an unreal amount of debt he still hasn’t paid, social embarrassment…I’m not getting in to this again) and the fact is that we still love to see magnificent athletes thrive as sports fans.

It’s in our blood. It’s in theirs. It’s a symbiotic relationship we all depend on. Our weekends are filled with football for half the year, and the players need our attention (and money). Frankly, we’re more than happy to give it to them. Everybody wins.

Things get especially interesting when we get to see a once-in-a-lifetime athlete like Michael Vick. So when he went out of the game against Washington, and we saw Kevin Kolb for two drives stink up Lincoln Financial, all intrigue surrounding the Eagles vanished in to thin air.

Unless you had some money on the game in the NFL sportsbook, the Redskins-Eagles tilt was a complete bore. Kolb looks terrible and the Eagles as whole were flatter than Kate Hudson’s chest. You also couldn’t feed me enough bull dung to raise my interest level on the Redskins.

So when the Eagles play the San Francisco 49ers this weekend, the matchup between Kolb and Alex Smith should only raise interest on a few levels and the NFL sportsbook is one of them.

Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) vs. San Francisco 49ers (0-4)

Sunday, October 10th — Candlestick Park — 8:20pm EST

NFL Sportsbook Lines:

San Francisco -3.0 (38.0)

Considering how badly Kolb played in the remaining minutes against Washington, it’s pretty obvious why he was benched in place of Vick. Aside from losing the game, Kolb threw for 22-of-35 completions and 201 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

He did little to rally the Eagles to victory, and murdered everyone who bet on the Eagles in the NFL sportsbook.

Now, his future in Philadelphia is cast in a tremendous cloud of doubt, which is probably the exact same way Alex Smith feels in San Francisco. The Niners are just 18th in league passing, and rank a horrific 28th in league rushing.

Smith has thrown for 920 passing yards but only has 3 touchdowns, more than doubling that number with 7 picks.

It’s bad enough that the Niners are winless through four games. What makes that more painful is that they nearly beat two NFC Championship contenders when they barely lost to the Saints, and lost to the Falcons only because Nate Clements was unethically greedy.

So who do you like more on Sunday night? The NFL sportsbook slapped a natural home line for the Niners because nobody knows what to make of Kevin Kolb and an otherwise high-octane Eagles offense. We’re also unsure if the Niners are victimized more so by bad play than by a sheer lack of luck.

Where to Watch: NBC

The betting trends on this game are pretty muddy too. The Eagles are just 1-6 ATS in their past 7 games and if that didn’t complicate matters for the NFL sportsbook line enough, they’re also 5-2 SU in their last 7 games on the road against San Francisco. Philly is also 5-2 SU in their past 7 roadies overall.

For their part, the Niners are 4-0-1 ATS  and 4-1 SU in their last 5 games at home which should make them a logical favorite.

I’ve always feared the Niners at home, and while their offense leaves a lot to be desired, you could say the exact same thing about the Philadelphia defense, which looked hopeless against a Washington team I still rate very poorly.

Overall, the biggest ratings clue I could give a team is yards allowed, and the Niners are horrific in that department.

Their defense gives up 227.8 passing yards per game, and while Kolb may be a bit of a dud, I still think he’s decent enough through the air to rack up first downs and passing yardage which will at least put David Akers in a position to pad the scoreboard.

That being said, the Eagles have a big problem in rushing defense and Frank Gore is due for one of those “oooohhh crap I forgot he could do that” type of games. San Francisco has always played far better at home, and much of their problems have had to do with their three road games this season.

When the Niners are at Candlestick, and there isn’t a clear cut favorite, I’m much more inclined to take the Niners in the NFL sportsbook even though I think the Eagles will put up a bit of a fight.

Then again, the only reason I care about this game is to see if the Niners can clear the number the NFL sportsbook has handed them. If Michael Vick was playing, I’d have a lot more reasons to watch.

Admit it. You would too.

Furious NLF Sportsbook Pick – San Francisco -3.0 (UNDER)

Bet on the NFC championship odds in the NFL sportsbook futures!