Ala Hann Sport picks

The NCAA football betting season will start before the NFL betting season, if you are just counting the regular seasons, but as most sports bettors know, the NFL preseason presents some betting opportunities.

The preseason kicks off with the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, where the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans will square off. The Titans are a three-point favorite and there is plenty of good reasons to bet them this weekend.

Buffalo Bills vs Tennessee Titans

NFL preseason betting odds: Titans -3

When betting on the preseason, especially early in the preseason, one key factor is knowing the rotations. Since most teams won’t be playing their starters very long, the strategy is to uncover which team has more depth, particularly at the skill positions, and determine who has the better backups.

In the case of the Hall of Fame Game, the Titans clearly have the better backups.

Starting at quarterback, both starters – Trent Edwards and Kerry Collins – probably won’t see much time on the field at all. Beyond that, though, there is a big discrepancy in experience.

Behind Collins, the Titans will have quarterbacks Vince Young and Patrick Ramsey, both of whom have started several games in their NFL careers. Young has started 29 games in his career while Ramsey has been a starter at a few junctures in his road.

Also, I’m betting management really wants to see what Young has left in the tank and whether he’s even worth keeping on the roster long term.

Behind Edwards, Buffalo has Ryan Fitzpatrick, who spent a lot of time starting last year for the Cincinnati Bengals, Gibran Hamdan and Matt Baker. Clearly, the discrepancy in experience favors the Titans in this category.

In the backfield, the situation is similar. The Bills will likely keep Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson and Dominic Rhodes grounded but will run Xavier Omon, Bruce Hall and Justise Hairston a lot. Those three have a combined six NFL carries while the Titans backups, Chris Henry, Quinton Gaither, Rafael Little and Javon Ringer have combined for 41 carries. Both Henry and Gaither have spent a couple of games as the lead rushers for the Titans.

On the whole, the Titans have the better backups, which means they should be the play here. Bet on them to cover the field goal and get the first preseason win of the season.

Betting pick: Titans -3

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