Key line moves

[Raji]

Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns: +1 to +3 (line history)

Rudi Johnson will not play today against the Browns. The Bengals’ starting running back will miss his fourth game of the year due to a troublesome hamstring injury.

“He hasn’t been able to practice, so he can’t play,” head coach Marvin Lewis told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Cleveland hopes to finish the season strong and possibly steal the AFC North crown from the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns are 8-1 against the spread in their last nine contests and beat the Bengals in Week 2 at Cincinnati.

The Browns’ hot play coupled with the Bengals’ loss to the lowly San Francisco 49ers last week has the public on the home side in this matchup.

Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints: -3 to –3 ½ (line history)

The line shift indicates bettors aren’t putting too much stock in the Eagles’ surprising win at Dallas last weekend. The Saints, on the other hand, are not ignoring the feat.

“They beat Dallas last week and almost beat New England (three weeks ago), so we have a lot of respect for who we’re playing,” New Orleans coach Sean Payton told reporters. “We know the type of team they are and the tradition that they’ve created. They really have been the most dominant team in the NFC over the past five or six years.”

The Eagles nearly knocked the Saints out of the playoffs last season, but of course, that was with Jeff Garcia behind center. Donovan McNabb is the starting quarterback but he might not be for much longer. The rumor mill suggests the long marriage between McNabb and the City of Brotherly Love will end in the offseason.

Philadelphia has been eliminated from the playoffs but the Saints still have a shot. They’ll need a win today to keep their hopes alive.

Baltimore Ravens at Seattle Seahawks: -9 ½ to –11 (line history)

There are few stadiums as hostile to visitors as Qwest Field. Nevertheless, rookie quarterback Troy Smith will make his first NFL start this week on the road against the Seahawks.

Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner says he will not back down from the challenge.

“It’s a situation where your confidence has to be there the whole way,” Smith told the Carroll County Times. “Confidence with me has never been a problem, because I don’t have anything to prove to anybody, just the guys in this locker room and me getting better as a quarterback. I can handle pretty much everything.”

Smith gets the nod this week because Kyle Boller suffered a concussion last weekend against the Miami Dolphins. The Fish ended up winning that game (their first of the season) in overtime but Smith put in a decent performance in relief of Boller.


Raji