What: Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: NFL Week 1
When: 4:25 pm EST. Sunday, September 9, 2012
Where: Raymond James Stadium
Carolina and Tampa Bay both finished outside of the playoffs last season and trying to make the playoffs this season is going to be tough considering that these two teams play in the NFC South with the Saints and Falcons who are both strong again in 2012.
Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Betting Lines
The Carolina Panthers opened as a -2.5 point road favorite in week 1 against the Bucs, but we’ve got some options right now (as you can see below). The over/under hasn’t moved much at all since opening, still hanging within 1/2 point of where it opened.
| Carolina Panthers Tampa Bay Buccaneers | ||||||
Carolina Panthers
Last year the Panthers went 6-10 overall and ended the season with a profitable 9-6-1 ATS record. Cam Newton was great in his rookie season and he helped the Panthers rank 7th overall with an average of 366.9 total yards per game.
Newton helps spread out the rushing attack for the Panthers and it showed last year, as the Panthers had the 3rd best running attack in the NFL (141.8 RYPG). Carolina also averaged 23.9 PPG (5th) although the offense dropped off as the season progressed.
The weak spot for Carolina in 2011 was their defense. The Panthers ranked 24th against the pass (232.3 PYPG), 25th against the run (123.1 RYPG) and 27th in points allowed (25.2 PPG). Unless the defense improves the Panthers will struggle this year.
Richie Baccellieri comes in at about 2:00, and looks like he’s been going over stats for about a week straight. Set his head on fire and call him Ghost Rider.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a season to forget in 2011-12, but they improved during the off-season and should be better this year. Doug Martin and Mark Barron are two rookies that will contribute in week 1. The Bucs also signed Vincent Jackson to be Freeman’s #1 WR.
Mike Williams had a bad season as the Bucs #1 WR target, but with V-Jax in town it could open up field for Williams. The running attack of Doug Martin and LaGarrette Blount will be able to post better numbers than last season (85.8 RYPG – 30th).
The Tampa Bay defense was horrible last season, but have added several new pieces to plug the holes. In 2011-12 Tampa Bay allowed an average of 371.2 YPG (30th) and a league-worst 29.1 PPG (32nd), which isn’t good news versus Carolina.
Carolina vs. Tampa Bay Point Spread
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were only 2-6 ATS at home last season, but this team is a lot better. If you can still find the Bucs at +3 I’d bet on the Bucs by the point spread at home. Last year the Panthers won both meetings ATS (38-19 / 48-16), but I like the Bucs in this one. At the time of this writing, we can get Tampa Bay +3 (-125) at Bovada, or +1 (+105) at BetOnline. I’m not a fan of +1 (+105), but there’s value here if you’re picking them to win SU.
Panthers vs Buc’s Money Line
The current Panthers vs. Buccaneers money line has the Panthers as -135 favorites at BetOnline. For Tampa Bay, the money line is +115.
Since I bet TB +3 on the spread, I didn’t bet on the Buccaneers money line. If you like Carolina, the ML (-133) is safer than the point spread.
Buc’s vs. Panthers Over/Under
The current over/under in the CAR vs. TB game seems low to me. Last season these two teams played twice and they combined to score 57 points and 54 points. With the improved Bucs offense the over 47 points is a great bet this weekend.
I’m all over this one, taking the over of 47 (-105) at Bovada.lv. Btw, just like BetOnline, Bovada accepts US bettors and Visa for funding accounts.
This article was written by
Jess is the editor of MobileSportsBetting.com. His job duties include everything nobody else is doing, and making sure it all gets done on time. When he gets a chance, Jess loves to write about NFL, MLB, Formula 1, and tennis betting.
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