NFL Betting Preview: Carolina Panthers at St. Louis Rams

Added on Oct 27, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

Another big week of NFL betting action on deck, and we’ll start with a preview of a NFC matchup between the St. Louis Rams and Carolina Panthers. Rams lost by one at Tampa Bay last week while the Panthers got their first win of the season with an upset victory over the reeling San Francisco 49ers.

Carolina Panthers at St. Louis Rams
October 31, 2010 10:00 AM Pacific

St. Louis is definitely an improved team this year and are 3-1 at home. Much of that upgrade is due to the addition of Sam Bradford at quarterback, but due to injuries he’s now pitifully thin at the wide receiver spot. In fact, the Rams are thin at most positions either due to injuries and a lack of talent. Credit to the team for doing what they’ve done so far, but they’re probably a draft or two away from being a contender. The Panthers, on the other hand, aren’t as bad as their record would indicate. The offense looked much better off the bye week, and Matt Moore looked fairly sharp against a decent Niners’ defense. Getting Steve Smith back in the lineup at wide receiver is huge and the presence of a downfield passing threat can only help the Panthers’ running game.

The biggest question, however, concerns the Rams–are they ready to be favored in any situation? St. Louis hasn’t been favored in any game since late in the 2007 season. In that same time frame, Carolina has been one of the best underdog plays in the NFL covering 8 of their last 11 in that role. Hard to lay points with a team unused to the favorite role and that’s particularly true against a team that has done well getting points. Carolina still isn’t a good team, but they’ve got more talent at the skill positions than St. Louis. Looks like a classic case of a team that has underperformed early against a Rams side that may have overachieved in the first part of the year. We look for the Panthers to win outright.

Bet Carolina Panthers +3 over St. Louis Rams