Atlanta Falcons at Pittsburgh Steelers 2010 NFL Predictions, Odds, and Picks Week 1: The NFL regular season kicks off for two teams disappointed by missing the playoffs in 2009 when the Atlanta Falcons head north to Heinz Field to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET. Atlanta again failed to make the playoffs for two years in a row ever since becoming a franchise while the Steelers lead the NFL with 6 rings; a 6-2 start wasn’t enough to overcome losses to Oakland, Kansas City and Cleveland down the stretch to miss the playoffs following their 2008 Super Bowl. Head football coach Mike Tomlin of the Steelers has his work cut out on offense as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been suspended for his off the field behavior for the first 4 games. The Steelers being one of the best ownership franchises in sports also traded Santonio Holmes for a 5th round pick due to off the field issues. The odds makers at Bodog have the Atlanta Falcons -2 point favorites on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Atlanta was a mediocre 2-2 in the preseason as well as a disappointing 9-7 in 2009 which many contributed to quarterback Matt Ryan’s sophomore slump following being named the Offensive Rookie of the Year for 2008. Last season Ryan completed 263 of 451 passes for 2,916 yards and 22 touchdowns for a down year. Although going 9-7 SU the Falcons were and impressive 11-5 against the spread and the total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 7 games on the road. Atlanta’s biggest area that needs improvement is the defense that hasn’t ranked better than 20th in the last five seasons. Vegas odds makers have the Atlanta Falcons as +2000 odds to win the 2011 Super Bowl.
The Steelers also finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs but were 3-1 in preseason despite playing 3 quarterbacks in most games. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh 2 of them are not available for the opener as Big Ben is suspended and Byron Leftwich hurt his knee and there is no timetable for his return. That leaves inexperience Dennis Dixon to start the opener at home. “Dennis has had a very productive preseason and training camp,” Tomlin said. “… He waged a battle and got some first-team reps in some preseason games. Largely, we’ve been very impressed with how he’s handled himself in game situations.” If you think the Steelers will rely only on Rashard Mendenhall to carry the team running the ball you are naive, as the Steelers and coach Tomlin will continue a balance attack regardless of who is under center. Vegas odds makers have the over/under for the total score at 38 points combined of the Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers.
I’ve been a Steeler fan since a kid long ago, so I’m going homer and predicting a Steeler win and cover! Note: Rich Fritz is a Blog Writer on NSAwins.com and not a pro handicapper. For expert NFL Football Predictions against the vegas spreads please visit the NSAwins.com homepage for top predictions today from the National Sports Advisors.