Philadelphia at St. Louis

The Eagles and Rams hook up in a battle that will see the defenses ahead of the offenses, which is common in September football. Philly runs a short passing, West Coast offense with Michael Vick and the defense is super-talented. The Philly defense, already strong, added CB Nnamdi Asomugha, DB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, ex-Titans defensive end Jason Babin (12.5 sacks in 2010) and Packers star defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins. The real question mark on the team, however, is the offensive line which battled injuries all during August. The Eagles had a number of players who are spending a lot more time with the team's training staff than they are with the coaching staff. That included veterans such as offensive tackle Winston Justice, plus they moved Todd Herremans to RT last week out of necessity. Justice, who started 13 games at right tackle last season, still hasn't recovered sufficiently enough from February knee surgery to practice. I don't see this offense being in midseason form for this one. The UNDER is 5-1 in the Eagles’ last six games in week one and Philly is 37-18-1 to the UNDER in their last 56 games as a favorite of 3.5-10 points. The Rams play an aggressive, attacking defense for coach Steve Spagnuolo, and the offense has a huge new look to learn with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who has brought in the spread attack he ran in Denver and New England. That is likely going to take time to develop with young QB Sam Bradford. The UNDER is 12-5 in the Rams last 17 games in September and 7-3 UNDER in their last 10 home games. Play the UNDER in this one.