Jim Feist

 The Atlanta Hawks are 3-5 and 4-4 to start the season. The Hawks have lost two straight games both S/U and ATS. They are off a loss at home to the Kings, 109-121. They go back on the road today with a long road trip to the West coast to play the Blazers. The Portland Trailblazers are 3-6 S/U and 4-4-1 ATS to start the season. Portland started the season in fine fashion, winning their first two of three and three of five. Since then they have lost four straight games. The Blazers look to snap that losing streak here tonight at home against a poor Hawks club. This is the kind of team that Portland needs to get well again. I'm looking for a blowout win late tonight. Play Portland.

Let's face it, the hallmark of this Virginia championship team is their defense. They play the best defense in the country and it looks to be the backbone of the team again this year. In their opening game at Syracuse they held the Orange to jut 34 points. No 11 ranked Virginia held the Orange to just 17.6% shooting on 5 of 29 from 3-point and 23.6% overall shooting on 13 of 55 shots. That doesn't bode well for a lower echelon team like James Madison today. If the Cavs can hold a conference opponent like Syracuse to under 30% shooting, what will they do today? I'm playing UNDER today.

Arkansas LR opened its season with a road win shocker over Missouri State, 67-66 as a 13-point dog. Today they play again on the road at Illinois State before returning for one home game and then three more road games. Illinois State opens with three home games and won their first over Belmont 79-71. Illinois St was a 5.5-point home dog in that game. They just went under the 151.5 point total line. Today, that total line drops significantly to 137 or around there. I like the OVER as Illinois State will score and Arkansas LR should keep pace. Play the OVER.

Chicago Bears continue to struggle for some offense this year, scoring just 14 and 16 in their last two games. They have gone under those last two games and under in five of their eight games. Today they take on the Detroit Lions and they might have a great shot today. Lions QB Mathew Stafford is out today with a hip injury and lets face it, Stafford is the Lions offense. Without Stafford the Bears should run rough shot over the Lions offense all day long. I don't trust the Bears offense enough to lay the points, but I will take UNDER.

 The Carolina Panthers coming off a win last week over the Titans, 30-20. It was the team's third win in their last four games. In fact, this Panthers team has score 30 or more points in three of those last four games. In addition, Carolina has covered five of their last six. The Green Bay Packers looked bad last week at the Chargers, losing 11-26. It was the team's worst performance of the season. Still, the Packers are 7-2 S/U and 6-3 ATS on the season. The problem with the Packers is which team do you get this week? The Panthers have been great against the pass this year and will be tested here today against Aaron Rodgers. Expect the Panthers to pound the ball on the ground with all purpose back Christian McCaffrey. I like the points here with the Panthers. This could be a shootout today, but the Panthers have enough weapons to stay close. Take Carolina.

The LA Rams are coming off a win over the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-10. But that was against the worst defense in the league and they could only score 24. It was their 2nd win in a row though and their second cover. LA is 5-3 S/U and 6-2 ATS on the season. QB Jared Goff has struggled this year, 19th in QB Ratings. The Pittsburgh Steelers look for their third win in a row after last week's win over the Colts, 26-24. QB Mason Rudolph looks recovered from his concussion. As Rudolph and this offense develops from game to game, it's the defense that's been keeping the team in games. The Steelers are going to be tough at home, especially as a dog here. I'm taking the points with the host. Play Pittsburgh.

 The Arizona Cardinals are 3-5-1 S/U and 6-3 ATS on the season. Rookie QB Kyler Murray continues to shine in the role of starting quarterback. The Cardinals gave a big scare into the undefeated 49ers last week, losing a tough game, 25-28 as a 10-point dog. Tampa Bay is 2-6 both S/U and ATS on the season. The Bucs played very good in Seattle last week and should have covered, losing in OT, 34-40. This team is a bit confusing, they looks great at times and very sloppy at others. They have lost and failed to cover their last four games now. No way the Bucs should be laying these points in this game. The Cardinals are improving game by game and really I believe are the better team right now. Take Arizona.

The Baltimore Ravens are 6-2 S/U and 3-4-1 ATS on the season. The Ravens pulled one of the biggest wins of the season last week in beating the previously undefeated Patriots, 37-20. The problem is that this will set up the Ravens for a huge letdown week here. Why would they even care about getting up for a game against the winless Bengals? The Bengals are without a win this year, but have covered three spread. They actually haven't played too poorly giving up points. Even thought Cincinnati has the worst team in allowing yards per game, they have not allowed more than 27 points in any of their last six games. While I won't take the points with the Bengals, I will play the under here today. The Bengals have score more than 17 just once in their last seven games. Look for the Ravens to do just enough to win here today. Play the UNDER.

Samford is 1-1 S/U and 0-1 ATS on the season. Samford lost their opening game at Morehead State in OT, 86-90 as a 3.5 point favorite. They got their first win last game at home over Kentucky Wesleyan, 68-42. Belmont looking for its first win to go with that one loss. Belmont lost its only game this year, 72-79 at Illinois State as a 5.5 point favorite. My numbers have this game a lot closer than the current 8 to 9 1/2 point line on Belmont. My own personal ratings have Belmont closer to a 3 to 6 points chalk here. Have to rely on my numbers a bit more early in the year with not a lot to go off of. I'm going to take the points with Samford here on Monday.

Maybe our best MNF matchup of the season has the undefeated 8-0 San Francisco 49ers host their division rivals, 7-2 Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers saw the Patriots perfect season go down last week and they had a scare put into them by the Cardinals. Seattle no longer the great defense of year's past. Now, this is QB Russell Wilson's team. He makes this team go. This is going to be a true test of just how good the San Francisco team and their top ranked defense really is. For me, this game comes down to QB's. Yes, Jimmy Garoppolo is coming into his own this season. However, he's up against the top QB in passer rating in Wilson with a 118. Garoppolo isn't far behind though. My feeling is that getting nearly a TD with a Wilson led team is more than I can pass on. Should be a great game though. Take Seattle.

Reason: Maybe our best MNF matchup of the season has the undefeated 8-0 San Francisco 49ers host their division rivals, 7-2 Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers saw the Patriots perfect season go down last week and they had a scare put into them by the Cardinals. Seattle no longer the great defense of year's past. Now, this is QB Russell Wilson's team. He makes this team go. This is going to be a true test of just how good the San Francisco team and their top ranked defense really is. For me, this game comes down to QB's. Yes, Jimmy Garoppolo is coming into his own this season. However, he's up against the top QB in passer rating in Wilson with a 118. Garoppolo isn't far behind though. In looking at the total in this game your first inkling is to the under. You have this excellent 49ers defense. The 49ers have gone over their last two games, though they did score 51 points against Carolina. Last week Arizona with a rookie QB was able to put 25 on the board. Seattle has the 4th rated offensive unit in the NFL and San Francisco isn't far behind at 7th. Two very good offenses here and I look for this to be higher scoring than most think. I'll take the over here tonight.