If the preseason was what everyone was betting on for teams to make the Super Bowl then the Buffalo Bills would be a contender. The Bills have looked surprisingly good this preseason, and they have looked good matching up first-string offenses with first-string defenses. The first-string Bills offense has been able to put up points, and the defense has been suffocating on opposing offenses.
The preseason NFL betting was thrown into a tailspin when the first-string Buffalo Bills offense successfully went toe-to-toe with the Indianapolis Colts. The Bills defense looked to confuse Peyton Manning and keep him at bay. C.J. Spiller was a major factor in college football betting, and now he looks to make an impact on the pros. The Bills look good but, then again, this is only preseason.
The Detroit Lions looked great in their most recent preseason game against the Cleveland Browns. The Detroit defense had a little trouble with the Cleveland offense at times, but they were able to hold on and get to Jake Delhomme a few times. Matthew Stafford looked poised and ready to start his climb to elite quarterback status in the NFL. It will take Stafford a few years, but he will get there.
It looks like the days of one or two wins seasons are over in Detroit. The combination of quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson looks to become another version of the Houston Texans’ combination of Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. The Lions will win games this season, but they are far from being a Super Bowl contender.
Before Bills fans get too excited about the regular season they need to keep in mind that the defenses being played by the opposing teams are vanilla. The Bills offensive line has not needed to react to stunting linebackers blitzing on opposite sides, and a corner blitz in the preseason is rare. Running back C.J. Spiller does pose a running threat that takes heat off of quarterback Trent Edwards, but it won’t take NFL coordinators long to figure out how to shut Spiller down.
In the fourth preseason game the starters rarely play. Fans hate paying for a preseason game ticket because they want to leave the developmental scouting to the team. If you bet on NFL football then you know that there are sometimes not even odds posted on fourth week preseason games. But this game could be very interesting.
The Bills second-string and third-string have, at times, looked better than the starters. There are still many that believe that third-string quarterback Brian Brohm should be the starter in Buffalo. Second-string quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was the starter for a large majority of the season last year. The Bills second-string defense looks especially potent.
The Lions second-string is not nearly as accomplished as the Bills. The offense looks sluggish under Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton, and once first-round pick defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh comes off the field with Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams, there ceases to be a Detroit pass rush.
The Bills just may have the upper hand in the battle of the two’s in this game.
Pick: Buffalo Bills 28-10
