Buccabeers Football Betting News

<< United's Valencia out four weeks with hamstring injury
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia injured his hamstring Thursday in a 2-0 Europa League win at Ajax, and will be sidelined four weeks. The 26-year-old Ecuadorian was injured as he set

<< Roughriders sign LaBatte, Picard
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Saskatchewan Roughriders agreed to terms with a pair of offensive linemen on Thursday, signing Brendon LaBatte and Dominic Picard. LaBatte heads further west after spending the previous four seaso

<< Alouettes sign LB Davis
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes signed linebacker Rod Davis to a two-year contract on Thursday. Davis, who became a free agent on Wednesday, led the Edmonton Eskimos with 79 tackles last season. He also recorded fiv

<< Rapids acquire Argentinean midfielder Rivero
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids acquired Argentinean midfielder Martin Rivero on loan Thursday from Argentina's Rosario Central. The 22-year-old Rivero debuted for Rosario Central at the age of 18, and made 30 app

Boys and a girl, have at it in 2012 >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - From Trevor Bayne's stunning win in the Daytona 500 to Tony Stewart beating Carl Edwards for the championship in a tiebreaker, NASCAR indeed had an unforgettable season in its premier series in 2011.

Daytona 500 entry list includes 49 >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forty-nine teams are on the preliminary entry list for this year's Daytona 500. NASCAR released the list on Thursday. Former NASCAR Cup champions Terry Labonte and Bill Elliott have been added to the l

Bulls' Rose out vs. Celtics >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose will miss Thursday's game against the Celtics with a sore back. Rose will sit out his fourth straight game due to the ailing back, though an MRI on Monday reveale

Trio on top at Bogota Open >>
Bogota, Colombia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australia's Peter Lonard and Americans Brian Smock and Billy Horschel each posted five-under 66s on Thursday to share the first-round lead of the Bogota Open, the 2012 season-opener on the Nationw

Football Betting

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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