Pick St. Louis Rams -3 vs. Tennessee Titans

Both teams are coming off of solid Week 1 preseason victories. The Titans defense played well and defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14-3 while the Rams crushed the Indianapolis Colts, minus Peyton Manning, 33-10.

The NFL betting odds are backing the Rams tonight, but will home field advantage play a role here or will Jake Locker's on the job training continue to be a success?

Teacher and pupil?

Obviously, Tennessee's ultimate goal when they picked up free agent Matt Hasselbeck was for Hasselbeck to start the 2011 season while 1st round draft pick Jake Locker gained experience and learned from a winning quarterback. Hasselbeck quarterbacked many winning teams in Seattle that went far into the playoffs and can offer his experience to Locker while still being a productive quarterback for the Titans.

Hasselbeck played for Seattle for 10 years and had a poor season last year and still managed to average 214.4 yards per game passing. This is a perfect fit for both players. Against the Vikings, Locker led the way, going 7 for 10 for 89 yards and 1 TD. He hooked late in the 2nd quarter of a scoreless game with Yamon Figurs for a 45 yard touchdown pass (on a bobbled snap). Hasselbeck also played well. He was 5 for 6 for 55 yards.

Rookies paying dividends

Leading up to the Jake Locker touchdown pass was 3rd round defensive tackle Jurrell Casey who stripped Vikings running back Lorenzo Booker and recovered the fumble. Casey thought that he was going to score, but the 300 pounder slipped and fell. Fifth round pick tackle Karl Klug got to start off his career big by knocking down one of the best running backs in the game in Adrian Peterson on the first defensive snap of the game. Talk about an introduction to the NFL. I bet that's one play that the 5th rounder Klug will never forget.

Seventh round pick defensive tackle Zach Clayton sacked Christian Ponder in the 2nd half. The Titans drafted 3 new defensive tackles that did a good job overall. These players should receive playing time during the NFL regular season. If there was a report card for rookies after game 1, it would be an A+.

"Show Me the Money"

Titans star running back Chris Johnson has been holding out, and at this point in the preseason, it's not an emergency to sign him to a new contract. Johnson has great expectations. The Titans will gladly make him the highest paid running back in the league. Chris Johnson wants to be the highest paid player in the league. There's legends like Peyton Manning who signed contracts recently and if Johnson wants to be top dog, this might be an issue for the Titans.

The quarterback position is thinner in the NFL than running back. There's a higher demand for a quality QB. Last season Johnson had an expected dropoff from his 2006 yard rushing year in 2009. In 2010, Johnson rushed for 1364 yards and 11 touchdowns. He caught for half the amount of yards that he did in 2009. Some might say that he had an average season. That just shows why Tennessee should give him the money and how good a player that he really is.

"Ram Tough"

Despite a sore hip, St. Louis Rams star running back Stephen Jackson has said that he'll play in the Rams 2nd preseason game against the Tennessee Titans. Jackson said that the trainers were being cautious about his injury.

Jackson has also expressed that he would like to play as long a period of time that the 1st string plays. This is good to know from a betting aspect, especially in preseason, where things are sometimes unpredictable. Jackson's concerned in learning the new scheme of new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Stephen Jackson has carved out a great career with the Rams. He's had 6 consecutive 1000 yard plus rushing seasons and he's a fairly decent receiving back.

Last season, Jackson's yards per carry slipped below 4 for the first time in his career as he rushed for 1241 yards and 6 touchdowns. He also caught 46 passes for 383 yards. Look for Stephen Jackson to show Tennessee that he's injured and ready to play. I expect him tom play well in the time that he's allotted.

Quarterback progression

Sam Bradford had a very good rookie season in 2010 and showed that he's not afraid to throw the ball. To go along with Stephen Jackson and the running game, this makes St. Louis a major threat to the NFC Western Division. Seattle got fairly far with a losing record last season. Now, Seattle's starter of last season is playing in this game against the Rams but as a Tennessee Titan. The San Fransisco 49ers have quarterbacking problems and the division is wide open for Sam Bradford to swoop in and take it.

Last season, Bradford threw at a 60% clip for 3512 yards with 18 TD and 15 INT. Danny Amendola led the Rams in receiving with 689 yards and 3 TD. Think of how good that Bradford's production would've been if he had better receivers. He's an easy 4000 yard per year QB.

In preseason game number 1, the Rams were led by veteran A.J. Feeley. Bradford is durable and played a full 16 games but the Rams should feel confident knowing that Feeley is at the backup position. Feeley threw for 100 yards on 10 for 14 passing in the 1st preseason game. Bradford picked up the only TD pass of the game when he connected with Lance Kendricks on the opening drive of the game on a 6 yard pass.

Both teams look to be locked and loaded where offense is concerned in this game.

Rams leading tackler James Laurinaitis was non exsistent in the 1st game of the preseason. This is a time to see what the unestablished players have to offer. Linebacker Chris Chamberlain led the defense with 4 tackles as there were many substitutions but the main thing is, the defense did a good job holding the Colts to just 10 points. This is without leading sackers, defensive ends Chris Long and James Hall..

According to 5 Dimes Sportsbook, St. Louis is a 3 point NFL odds favorite and the total for the game is 36.5.

Outcome of the game

Both teams were successful in their 1st week in the preseason. The Rams scored 33 points while the Titans won a defensive battle against the Vikes. Both of these teams are offensive minded. Look for Sam Bradford to get more playing time and also expect the return of running back Stephen Jackson. Part of the Titans offense is currently unavailable in Chris Johnson, due to a contract holdout.

Look for the Rams to play big in this spot. As I always say, this is preseason and of course the objective is to win. Teams are working on different aspects of their game. This is a good spot to take the Rams, at home, and giving just 3 points.

NFL Handicapper Bobby Brooks has also come to the same conclusion, and we are both laying the money on the Rams. This should be an interesting game.

Pick- Rams -3