THE REAL ANIMAL SPORTS
2* SF/Minnesota – ‘UNDER’ 42 /1/2
I think the 49ers are going to be really bad but I hate road favorites from either the Central or Midwest time zone in the Western time zone. Plus I have no clue how Adrian Peterson will look and Colin Kaepernick is now too erratic for me to get involved. I prefer to watch and learn the first game from these two teams. But will offer a free pick on the total. On paper the 49ers are a train wreck. But the Vikings are 3-13-1 straight-up on the road the past two years and have not been a road favorite since 2012. Their last cover in this role was in 2010! I just refuse to get involved in the ‘side’ release of this game. Neither of these teams could sustain consistent offense in 2014. Minnesota was #27 in the league in total offense and seven times last year they could not score more than 14-points. Colin Kaepernick was graded #17 among NFL quarterbacks in terms of efficiency. But just 19 touchdown passes in a season isn’t getting the job done. However both teams did the job defensively. The 49ers were #5 in total defense, #5 against the pass, #7 versus the run, and opportunistic posting a league-high 23 interceptions. Minnesota tied for #9 in sacks with 41. The Vikings were #7 versus the pass and #14 overall in terms of total defense despite being on the field quite a bit without Adrian Peterson in the lineup. The men in purple were #14 in rushing but that figures to improve dramatically with A.D. now healthy. The 49ers are an uncanny 15-3 ‘UNDER’ as a home underdog of less than five points. Minnesota is 5-1 ‘UNDER’ as a non-division road favorite. Teddy Bridgewater was ranked #23 last year and only threw 14 TD passes versus 12 picks for less than 3,000 total passing yards. We never saw more than 42 points in any of the five Minnesota preseason games in August. The 49ers were an easy 4-0 ‘UNDER’ in the preseason with their game totals finishing at 26 (San Diego), 31 (Denver), 29 (Dallas), and 33 (Houston). Look for that trend to continue tonight. Your free pick is 2* ‘UNDER’ 42 1/2 in the Minnesota/SF game.