NFL Preseason Betting Free Picks: Seattle Seahawks at Minnesota Vikings

Added on Aug 27, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

Week Three of the NFL preseason is in full swing on Saturday with 9 games and this could be the strongest play of them all. The Seattle Seahawks and new head coach Pete Carroll head to Minnesota to play Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. Both teams are 1-1 in the preseason though Seattle has dropped both games to the number while the Vikings are 1-1.

Seattle Seahawks at Minnesota Vikings
August 28 5:00 PM Pacific

In theory, you’re always better served looking at the underdog first when handicapping a preseason NFL matchup. Having said that, the line movement on this game has to be one of the most inexplicable I’ve seen all year. Seattle has lost both of their 2010 preseason games against the spread after running off 10 straight ATS victories in the past 2+ preseasons. That illusory trend could be why the public is backing Seattle in this spot but with Pete Carroll now in charge of the team there’s simply no continuity between this Seahawks team and earlier editions. Despite that, there’s been significant movement on this game which opened Minnesota -7 and is now 5 or 5’ at most places with a few 4’ around as well.

We’re not sold on Pete Carroll in his return to the NFL, and particularly doubtful that he’ll be able to get an extremely disorganized Seahawks team whipped into shape anytime soon. This is the first road game of the Carroll era and a very tough spot, heading into Minnesota to face the Vikings in a game where they’ll give their starters more playing time than any game so far. We’ve talked about Sage Rosenfels strong play in relief of Brett Favre already in this preseason, and Tavaris Jackson is a solid NFL QB as well. Basically, the Vikings have a well run offensive system and all three of the top guys on the depth chart play well within it. The Vikings’ wide receivers corps took a hit with Sidney Rice’s decision to undergo hip surgery which will keep him out for at least half the regular season, but picked up Javon Walker and Greg Camarillo earlier this week. Percy Harvin is trying to get back into form after struggling with migraines during the preseason, and overall there’s a lot of fluidity in the wide receiver depth chart. Look for the Vikings to pass often to give the wideouts a chance to demonstrate their skills, and that’ll be bad news for Seattle’s secondary.

For the Seahawks, Matt Hasselbeck should play most of the first half and we’re big on his backup, former Clemson standout Charlie Whitehurst. The problem that both quarterbacks face is that Carroll is still trying to get his system in place, while Minnesota’s is a well oiled machine. Things are even direr on the defensive side of the ball where injuries have a number of players out of position as they’re trying to learn a new system.

All in all, we like the depth and stability of the Vikings against a Seattle team in transition. With the line moving in our favor we’ll lay the price with the home team and look for them to win with relative ease.

Bet Minnesota -4’ over Seattle