Rams at Eagles NFL Betting Odds

The Philadelphia Eagles begin the 2008 NFL betting regular season as a darkhorse in the NFC with quarterback Donovan McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook. Many NFL betting experts are looking for the Eagles to be improved from last year when they went 8-8 both straight up and against the NFL odds. The Eagles will begin the season with a home game they are expected to win against the St. Louis Rams. The Eagles are expected to contend in the very tough NFC East this season.

Last year was a disappointment for the Eagles and something head coach Andy Reid was not accustomed to. He knows that playing in the NFC East is tough but believes his team is ready. "It's a great challenge. We're going to work very hard.” Reid said, “What a great division and a great challenge." The St. Louis Rams had a very poor 2007 season going 3-13 straight up and 5-11 versus the NFL odds. The Rams did not play well under head coach Scott Linehan last season. The offense was a disappointment, ranking 24th in the league while the defense was even worse, ranking 31st in points allowed according to NFL betting stats. The Rams will be hoping that running back Steven Jackson is in game shape after he missed most of the preseason due to a holdout.

The Rams added kicker Josh Brown in the off-season and he could be the difference in this game if it is close. The NFL betting total on this game between the Eagles and the Rams is high because St. Louis was so poor defensively last year. The Eagles were nothing special defensively a year ago either, ranking 10th overall but 18th against the pass according to NFL betting numbers. That could be a problem if St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger has time to throw. The Eagles should be improved though against the pass this season because they added Asante Samuel from New England in the off-season. The two teams have met six times on the NFL schedule this decade with each team winning three times. The teams have played three times in Philadelphia since 2000 with the Eagles winning two of the three games. Two of those three games went under the NFL betting total.