The pros at FiveStarPick.com are beyond excited about this year’s NFL season.  For Thursday Night Football in the NFL we will be giving our members the against the spread winner of the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Steelers as 6.5-point home favorites with a total of 35.

When we last watched the Steelers, they were coming from behind to beat Arizona at Super Bowl XLIII thanks to a last-minute touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes.   The pass should have been picked off, but luckily for Big Ben, it turned into his second Super Bowl ring in four seasons. As he enters his sixth season, Roethlisberger is healthy and looks to get number 3.

Pittsburgh (15-4 straight up, 11-8 against the spread) returns all of its starters with the exception of two guys on defense, linebacker Larry Foote and cornerback Bryant McFadden.  William Gay, a three-year veteran, will replace McFadden opposite Ike Taylor.   Lawrence Timmons, former FSU stand-out, is poised to take over the spot vacated by Foote.  Timmons, a No. 1 pick in 2007, was outstanding as the team’s nickel linebacker in ’08 with 65 tackles, five sacks, one interception and one forced fumble.  He missed Tuesday’s practice and is listed as “questionable” with an ankle injury.

Roethlisberger was outstanding in the playoffs, but not-so-impressive in the regular season with a 17/15 touchdown-interception ratio.  In addition, the Steeler  power running game was 23rd in the NFL in rushing offense. Willie Parker was often banged up and Rashard Mendenhall went on IR early in the season after Ray Lewis broke his collarbone on a crushing hit. 

Tennessee (13-4 SU, 12-5 ATS) went 13-3 in the 2008 regular season to garner homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. However, the Titans went “one and done” in the postseason, losing to Baltimore 13-10 when veteran tightend Alge Crumpler coughed up a fumble deep in the red zone late in the fourth quarter.

Jeff Fisher’s team won its first 10 games last year and the Titans went an incredible 9-1 against the spread during that span.  Kerry Collins took over at quarterback for Vince Young and rookie running back Chris Johnson rocked it with a huge break-out season.  Johnson rushed for 1,128 yards and nine touchdowns, while LenDale White’s hit it hard between the tackles. White rushed for 15 touchdowns in ’08 and hopes to be more productive this year after trimming down during the offseason.

The Titans lost WR Brandon Jones to free agency after he led the wideouts with 41 catches, but the WR corps still has Justin Gage, who played better down the stretch after shaking off early-season injuries. Tennessee added former Steeler Nate Washington and also drafted Kenny Britt from Rutgers in the first round. 

Tennessee’s defense will again be stout, but we can’t ignore the fact that Pro-Bowl DT Albert Haynesworth left for the Redskins during the offseason for the most lucrative D-line contract in NFL history.  Nevertheless, the defensive unit still has Pro-Bowlers like LB Keith Bulluck, CB Cortland Finnegan and safety Michael Griffin.

When these clubs met last year in Music City, the Titans captured a 31-14 victory as three-point home underdogs.

So who covers the spread tonight?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com for a month ($99.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com