The pros at FiveStarPick.com have been working overtime to disect and break-down this bust of a game tonight between the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6 SU, 4-8 against the spread) and the Cleveland Browns (1-11 SU, 6-6 against the spread.)  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Steelers as 10-point road favorites with a total of 33.

Cleveland has been the laughing stock of the NFL this season, but for bettors they’ve cashed in their last three games including last week’s 30-23 loss to San Diego as a 13.5-point home dog. The Chargers were up 30-14 on a 22-yard field goal by Nate Kaeding with 4:16 remaining, but the Browns got the backdoor cover after an 8-yard TD pass from Brady Quinn to Jerome Harrison with two minutes to play.  The Browns got the ball back and tacked on a field goal to make it a one-possession game, but they would get no closer.

Quinn has looked solid as of late utilizing his two rookie recievers, Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massoquoi. Last week Quinn completed 25-of-45 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. As a matter of fact, over the last three weeks Quinn has seven TD passes and no interceptions. The aforementioned Robiskie had four receptions for 69 yards against the Bolts, while Massaquoi had five catches for 115 yards in a 38-37 loss at Detroit three weeks ago.

The Steelers, on the other hand, really looked like crap last week falling to Oakland 27-24 at home as 14.5 point favorites. Ben & Co. might be without WR Hines Ward, who is listed as “questionable” with a hamstring injury. Ward and Ben Roethlisberger have combined to win two Super Bowls, but their personal history together has been suspect. Ward recently questioned Roethlisberger’s toughness in a loss at Baltimore a few weeks ago when he was scratched due to lingering concussion symptoms.

Pittsburgh is one of four teams who are one game back of the Jags for the AFC’s last wild-card spot. They are in this pickle mostly because of their road struggles, compliling a 2-4 record both SU and against the spread when away from Heinz Field.

Tomlin’s team has been a nightmare as a double-digit ‘chalk’ in 2009, going 0-4 against the spread. A big reason is the abscense of Pro-Bowl Safety Troy Polamalu, who will miss his fourth straight game tonight. The defense has given up fourth-quarter leads in each of the last three losses.

In their last meeting, the Steelers took a 27-14 decision, but Cleveland backers took the money as a 14-point underdog.

The conditions will be a major factor tonight with the low temperature at 14 degrees with heavy wind and snow. Winds could be in the 25-35 mph range.

So who covers the spread in tonight’s Thursday Night Football matchup?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com tonight for just ($19.99) 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.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com is coming off a 1-1 against the spread Sunday for our members in the NFL as the Miami Dolphins covered the 11-point spread, but neither team could score points in the 4th quarter and the combined 44-points did not eclipse our 46-point Over play. Tonight is Monday Night football and The World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers are traveling to Denver to take on the hot Denver Broncos.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Steelers as 3-point road favorites with a total of 40.

The Broncos (6-1 straight up, 6-1 against the spread) suffered their first loss last Sunday, 30-7, to the Ravens as a four-point road underdog.  Denver’s record is not getting much respect in the world of sports betting and we can certainly understand why.  The Broncos are 20th in the NFL in scoring offense (20.0 points per game), 17th in passing offense (231.0 yards per game) and 11th in running the ball (123.1 YPG).  Depsite the avergae offensive numbers, Kyle Orton has been very good in Denver so far this season. He’s 12th among all quarterbacks with a 95.5 passer rating and has touchdown-to-interception ratio of 9:1.  Any NFL team would be happy to have a QB that manages turnovers like Orton.

Denver’s defense is what’s winning games for them this year. The Broncos have the second best scoring defense in the league (13.7 PPG), they are eighth against the pass (180.6 YPG) and third defending the run (86.1 YPG). The Broncos also have a mere 23 sacks this season.

The Broncos will need all their defensive prowess if they want to take down Pittsburgh (5-2 straight up, 2-5 against the spread). The Steelers are playing much better recently, winning four straight after dropping their second and third games of the season.

Pittsburgh has changed their gameplan recently by taking the ball more to the air, and less to the ground.  The Steelers are averaging 295.4 passing YPG in 2009 to rank 3rd in the NFL. Ben Roethlisberger has completed 70.4 percent of his passes for 2,062 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The Steelers still have a dominant defense. They are seventh in scoring defense (18.4 PPG) and second overall against the run (80.3 YPG).  Yet the secondary has had its troubles.  Pittsburgh has allowed 214.4 passing YPG in 2009; they were the best pass defense in 2008, allowing only 156.9 YPG through the air.

The Broncos have been a home dog twice already this season, winning outright both times. The Broncos are +130 on the money line tonight (risk $100 to win $130). This money line does not seem to add up to the pointspread. And that’s because bettors are heavy on the dog moneyline and heavy on the favorite pointspread.

Now let’s talk trends.  Pittsburgh is 7-7 straight up in their last two seasons as a road favorite, but only 4-10 against the spread. In 2009, the favorite has gone 4-2 against the spread on Monday night. Denver is 3-0 straight up and against the spread in its last three Monday Night Football games that they were a home underdog. Eight of the last 10 head-to-head meetings between the Broncos and Steelers have seen the ‘over’ cash tickets.

This game means the world to the Steelers as they are right in the thick of the AFC North hunt, but Denver’s world doesn’t end should they suffer a setback on Monday night.  A loss for the Broncos will keep them in first place, but by only one game against the Chargers.

So who covers the spread in tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com tonight for just ($19.99) 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.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

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