After the UFC 101 odds culminate in a title fight this Saturday night, the warriors of the gridiron take center stage Sunday night. The NFL kicks off its preseason with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton. This year’s participants are the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans, with the Titans favored by three points. Before you start betting online on the Titans, you should stop and think about the context of a preseason game. Will each team field its full NFL Week 1 regular-season roster for the entire game? Of course not. So, at that point, you have to ask yourself why you think the Titans will win. If they’re not fielding most of their AFC South-winning lineup from last season, what advantage do they have over the Bills? They may not have any after all, and Hall of Fame Game history suggests as much. Three of the last five victors didn’t even make the playoffs the year they won. In other words, you shouldn’t pay attention to a team’s actual season hopes when you make your NFL predictions for Canton.
Offensively, the Bills seem more likely to put points on the board. Traditionally, teams give their second or third-string halfbacks the bulk of carries in preseason games. Buffalo’s third-string runner is hardly a third-string talent. Dominic Rhodes has succeed in short bursts of duty as a No. 1 back in his career, so he should carve up a Titans front seven featuring backups for most of the game. Meanwhile, Tennessee won’t use Chris Johnson or LenDale White too much, so they’ll hand the rock to the unproven Quinton Ganther. Big advantage for the Bills there, no?
The Titans will also probably rest aging quarterback Kerry Collins for most of the Hall of Fame Game. That means they may thaw out Vince Young. While some handicapping software would predict a big showing from him, he could just as easily be uber-rusty. If Young doesn’t get the ball, it’s up to the shell-shocked Patrick Ramsey. Needless to say, the Titans will be offensively challenged on Sunday.
If the Bills use backups in their passing game, they at least have the adequate Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing to bench players like Roscoe Parrish and James Hardy, who aren’t horrible. Also, Buffalo may give the first-team offense a bit of extra work to accelerate Terrell Owens’ rapport with Trent Edwards.
Tennessee is a better team in the regular season, but the Bills should field a stronger line up this Sunday. Go with Buffalo to win the Hall of Fame Game.
