Indian Cowboy
Denver/Oakland Under 41 (POD)
The bottom line here although I am not overly fond of the card, I do believe there is value in the under here. From the research, note Denver has three wide recievers that might be out for this ballgame which will put added pressure on their running attack. Given that Oakland has one of the better run and pass defenses from last year and the fact that Denver will rely heavily on their running attack, I don't look for Denver's offense to be overly productive. Combine that with the fact that Oakland has not looked sharp at all during the preseason and Russell starts in his first ballgame, I don't expect too much from the Raiders offense either. The under is 5-1 when Denver plays MNF ballgame, the under is 6-1 for MNF ballgames for Oakland and the under is 9-4 when these two teams have hooked up in the last 13 ballgames.
Research that went into this game:
This line has significantly gone up in favor of Denver considering that it opened up at -1 and now has moved up to -3. Keep in mind though that I don't think too much of the public is aware of the fact that Denver's 3 wide receivers likely will not play in this ballgame - Marshall (questionable), Walker (out with suspension) and Walker is listed as Questionable as well. Thus, given that Oakland has a great rush defense from last year, and the passing attack for Denver will likely not be optimal, this could favor the under or a possible an outright Oakland win. I know over 60% of the public is riding Denver here on the road, but the Black Hole is a very tough place to play for any team, remember the Steelers lost at Oakland last year as -9.5 favorites as Oakland won that game outright. Oakland didn't look overly impressive in their preseason games however, and I still don't trust this offense although I do like their defense very much. If anything, a lean on the under here, but I trust neither of these teams.