Week one is almost on the books and the team taking the most shots in the media certainly has to be Joe Gibbs' Washington Redskins. With the addition of Al Saunders as the offensive coordinator, Brandon Lloyd and Antwann Randle El at wideouts, and an explosive defense, the Skins were highly regarded.

It is widely acknowledge around the NFL that running back Clinton Portis is the real deal and as long as aging Mark Brunell does not cough up the rock too many times, that Washington will be favored in the majority of the games.

I was ecstatic, of course, then this past weekend when they looked horrible against the Cincinnati Bengals the boys in the nation's capital began to leap off the bandwagon. Their star Portis got hurt and will be out for several weeks, the backup Betts has a questionable knee, and the third stringer Kerry Carter is gone for the year with a knee injury suffered Saturday as well.

Hopefully, Gibbs has his team tank the preseason games against the Jets, Patriots and Ravens as they lead in to their opener against the Vikings. With Minnesota opening on the road with a new coach and attitude, it is paramount that Washington has a bad preseason, so that the public jumps on the dog, Vikings. I see Washington being favored by 6 and I will lay the wood! Sports betting at it's safest in my opinion.

On the flip side is the San Francisco 49ers who opened with a bang against the Bears this past weekend and 2005 1st pick QB Alex Smith looked outstanding in Norv Turners new offense. The 49ers will open on the road in the new Arizona stadium and will be sizable underdogs. The spread presently sits at -8 and I like the home side, so here I would like to get more distressing news from the Cardinals' camp.

Hopefully, back Edgerrin James looks less than stellar in the next few games and just maybe fans will grab the bait with Smith and the 49ers. While I do not care for betting heavy favorites, the Cardinals will roll in their new digs! If you're not into online gambling, this is a pretty good time to try it out.

Bob Acton

Sports Betting