NFL Betting Preview: Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
How bad is the NFC East this year? It is by far the most disappointing division in pro football. Even factoring out the unrealistic expectations about the Philadelphia Eagles under first year head coach Chip Kelly the remaining four teams-the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Washington Redskins, have all played somewhere between erratic and embarrassing football. The Eagles will take to the road here coming off a win over the New York Giants and are in a position to climb into at least a tie for the divisional lead as they travel to play struggling Tampa Bay. The Bucs are coming off a bye week but could be looking at this game as a fresh start after parting company with malcontent quarterback Josh Freeman.
Philadelphia caught a huge break on Sunday when overrated quarterback Michael Vick left the game with a hamstring injury. Nick Foles came in a played well and he’ll get the start here. Vick has been the biggest problem with new coach Chip Kelly’s highly touted ‘blur’ offense that he perfected at the University of Oregon. The Kelly offense is predicated on good decision making and that’s always been Vick’s biggest liability. Nick Foles was always the better choice for starting quarterback-the party line was that Vick was a better fit due to his ‘scrambling ability’ behind a porous offensive line but Foles’ is a much headier quarterback and that’s really the ticket for making Kelly’s offense work.
Tampa Bay enters this contest at 0-4 and while winless teams coming off a bye are typically good ATS investments this isn’t a good matchup for them. Defending Kelly’s offense is a tough task from a tactical standpoint and Foles’ superior downfield passing ability should allow him to shred the Bucs’ vulnerable secondary. Tampa is having to rely on rookie quarterback Mike Glennon which has made the offense too one dimensional with talented running back Doug Martin carrying much of the load. It’ll be tough for them to trade points with the Eagles meaning that Tampa Bay will drop to 0-5 this week and look ahead to a road game at suddenly struggling Atlanta.
BET PHILADELPHIA EAGLES PK OVER TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS