NFL Picks: 49ers vs Seahawks Week 1 Predictions

The team that is favored to win the NFC South heading into week 1 predictions will travel to the team that used to dominate the division but now begins a new era as the Seattle Seahawks host the San Francisco 49ers in the debut of Pete Carroll as head coach of Seattle. Kick-off is scheduled for 4:20pm EST for the game that can be seen on FOX. Online sportsbooks have opened with San Francisco as a 3-point favorite in NFL picks vs Seattle while the over/under betting total is listed at 37. The San Francisco 49ers finished 8-8 last year in NFL odds for their first non-losing season since 2002. Alex Smith rose from the dead to become a respected starting quarterback after looking like a major draft bust.

Smith is showing leadership characteristics which were not part of his game before which make the 49ers a dangerous team in 2010 NFL picks. Smith will have plenty of help on offense with running back Frank Gore and a strong receiving corps led by Michael Crabtree and tight end Vernon Davis. The improved offense goes hand in hand with a solid defense that ranked 4th in NFL betting for points permitted in 2009. Carroll has worked to improve competition and even brought in Charlie Whitehurst from San Diego to compete with longtime starting QB Matt Hasselbeck. There has been considerable roster turnover after seasons of 4-12 in 2008 and 5-11 last year.

“We’re just getting warmed up,” said Carroll about the changes. He added that they trust Hasselbeck but simply want to upgrade all positions. Seattle has covered 4 out of the last 6 meetings in NFL picks between these two teams with 4 of those games going UNDER the betting total. San Francisco has lost just 1 of their last 5 games against the spread as a favorite with all 5 games going UNDER the total. Seattle has covered just 7 of their last 20 games as an underdog with 4 of their last 5 games as a going UNDER the total.