Philadelphia Eagles vs. St. Louis Rams Spread Steady at -4
Carrie Stroup reporting for Gambling911.com here with the latest Philadelphia Eagles vs. St. Louis Rams spread coming in at -4. We’ve only seen this line move up a half point since opening a few weeks ago at Sportsbook.com, home of the world’s largest NFL survivor pool.
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Philadelphia -4 & 44
Opening Line & Total: Philly -3.5 & 44.5
The Eagles put themselves squarely in the Super Bowl conversation with their offseason spending spree, and they’ll get their first test when they kick off the season against the up-and-coming Rams in St. Louis.
The Eagles’ revamped secondary, now led by shut-down CB Nnamdi Asomugha, should throw a wrench into the Rams’ plans to throw early and often. And St. Louis’ corners will have trouble matching up with Philly’s playmaking receiving corps. Philly was 7-1 SU and 5-3 ATS against non-playoff teams when QB Michael Vick started and finished the game last year. Factoring in that, the Rams lost all three of their matchups, SU and ATS, by at least 14 points against 2010 playoff teams, including two at home (Kansas City and Atlanta).
Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (acquired from Arizona in the Kevin Kolb trade) join Asante Samuel, giving the Eagles arguably the best group of corners in the NFL. They also added a top-notch pass rusher in DE Jason Babin, another quality DE in Cullen Jenkins and poached pass-rushing guru Jim Washburn from the Titans to coach their defensive line (which was already very good, led by DE Trent Cole). Offensively, they return the bulk of their 2010 roster, led by Vick, RB LeSean McCoy and young WR DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. They added former Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown for depth in the backfield.
The one weakness for the Eagles will be the linebacking corps, where rookie Casey Matthews is expected to start in the middle and be flanked by WLB Moise Fokou and SLB Jamar Chaney. They could be susceptible to the run this year, but the Rams may not be able to take advantage. St. Louis didn’t run it well a year ago (98.6 yards per game and 3.7 per carry despite a soft schedule).
The Rams hired former Broncos head coach (and play-caller for the Patriots’ record-breaking 2007 offense) Josh McDaniels as their offensive coordinator. McDaniels has a reputation as a pass-happy coach and QB Sam Bradford could be in for a big year, but their receivers are going to struggle to get separation against the Eagles’ corners. They signed former Jags No. 1 WR Mike Sims-Walker, get speedy WR Donnie Avery back from injury and drafted intriguing mid-round talents in WR Greg Salas, WR Austin Pettis and TE Lance Kendricks, but this is still shaping up to be a subpar unit. The offense also can’t expect too much out of aging RBs Steven Jackson and Cadillac Williams.
St. Louis does have hope when it comes to containing Michael Vick. Head coach Steve Spagnuolo is familiar with Andy Reid’s offense, as Spagnuolo spent 1998-2003 as a defensive assistant on Reid’s staff in Philly. The Rams also signed long-time Eagles safety Quintin Mikell. They also have an underrated pass rush with DEs Chris Long and James Hall.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
