Seahawks 49ers Betting – Seahawks Open Division Title Defense Against NFC West Rivals
When the Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West division with a 7-9 record in head coach Pete Carroll’s first season with the club, it served notice to the rest of the division. Despite making it to the postseason and winning a playoff game, Carroll and his staff made the decision to go younger at quarterback, and brought in Tarvaris Jackson from the Minnesota Vikings to start immediately. The move has been criticized already, and will be a main sports betting focus heading in to the Seahawks’ opener against the San Francisco 49ers.
Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers
Sunday, September 11, 2011 – 4:15 PM ET
Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
NFL Betting Lines: San Francisco 49ers – 5.5
The 49ers are in a similar situation of their own, but one that may in fact be tougher. While the Seahawks have two quarterbacks that have potential as the starter in Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst, San Francisco will once again turn back to Alex Smith until rookie Colin Kaepernick is ready.
NFL Betting Preview: Seattle Seahawks
Carroll loves big-armed quarterbacks with mobility, and he definitely has that in Jackson, who worked with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell in Minnesota. However, in his opportunities with the Vikings and now in Seattle this preseason, Jackson has lacked the consistency and accuracy needed to be a starter, and must be better if the Seahawks are going to challenge for the division. Running back Marshawn Lynch is back in the fold to help take some pressure off, and Seattle also added wide receiver Sidney Rice from Minnesota. The Seahawks’ defense did a good job of generating pressure last season, and will rely on that once again to make up for holes in the sports betting bonus secondary.
NFL Betting Preview: San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are a team that many thought would be able to take advantage of a wide-open division a year ago, but things just didn’t play out the way they expected. With a new head coach there may be a transition period, but Jon Harbaugh is confident in his team’s resolve. The offense will once again rely heavily on running back Frank Gore to open things up for Smith and the passing game, but the team may have taken its biggest hit on defense. The 49ers lost three of their biggest defensive assets this offseason with Aubrayo Franklin and Nate Clements both leaving, as well as former head coach Mike Singletary.
NFL Betting Preview: Outlook & Pick
The Seahawks were lousy on the road a year ago, and they will be transitioning to an unproven quarterback, but 5.5 points is still a lot to expect an unproven San Francisco team to overcome. The 49ers have too many question marks on both sides of the ball including with Smith, and while they may be able to come through with a home win it won’t be by more than a field goal.
NFL Betting Pick: Seattle Seahawks + 5.5
