Vikings Rams Betting – Vikings Depth Will Key The Win

The Minnesota Vikings willtravel to the Edward James Dome in St. Louis to take on the Rams in the firstweek of the NFL preseason, beginning their quest to make up for last season’sloss to New Orleans in the NFC Title Game. The Rams, on the other hand, are onthe other side of the NFL spectrum, as they finished with the worst record inthe league last season, and second year head coach Steve Spagnuolo and numberone draft pick QB Sam Bradford hope to restore the winning culture in St. Louis

NFL Betting: Minnesota Vikings @ St. Louis Rams

If we know one thing aboutBrett Favre, we know that he won’t be in training camp in time to appear inthis game. But we can be fairly certain that Favre will be returning to try andtake care of his and the team’s unfinished business. That leaves TarvarisJackson and Sage Rosenfels in competition to backup the starting QB. It is abattle that is going to begin on the first day of training camp, and willcertainly have this first preseason game as the first true test of the battle.Two veteran QB’s trying to impress their coach spells trouble for a young Ramsteam, especially their backups, who will have to play against one of the two,or even both.

The Vikings also have otherplayers eager to make an impact right away. While Adrian Peterson may not seemuch of any action, the Vikings drafted Stanford RB Toby Gerhart to take theplace of the departed Chester Taylor. Gerhart could see a good amount of timein the game, and is a hard nosed, physical runner, who will make his presencefelt on the field. Jasper Brinkley, a middle linebacker who may have to fill infor E.J. Henderson could see a lot of time, as well as veteran CB LitoSheppard, who tried to adjust to a new scheme in filling in for the injuredCedric Griffin.

It seems as if Spagnuolo isplacing a bit more emphasis on the preseason this year, coming off of a 1-15campaign in his first year as the coach of the Rams. Spagnulo has stated thatthe game against the Vikings will begin the real evaluation of where the teamis and where they need to get to. It seems as if Spagnulo respects the factthat the Vikings were a step away from the Super Bowl last season, and for thatreason alone, the Rams will not be taking this game lightly, and will be readyto play. That alone may be a good enough reason to bet on the Rams.

Sam Bradford, the first pickoverall, is expected to be under contract and if that’s the case, we’d assumethat Spagnuolo wants to get him as many reps as possible before the regularseason. There is a good chance that if Bradford performs well enough that hewill start the season as the starting QB for the Rams, ala Matthew Staffordwith Detroit last season, so expect Bradford to showcase. But he may struggleto start and play better against the Vikings second team.

While the Rams may take thisgame more seriously than the Vikings, it is hard to pick a 1-15 team from lastyear to defeat a team that played in the NFC Championship Game.  The Rams will be sure to give it their all,but the fact that the Vikings are a deeper, more talented team and will havetwo veteran quarterbacks competing for the backup job to the assumed to bereturning Favre, it spells too much for the Rams to be able to overcome.Minnesota should be able to walk away with the victory in this matchup.