Vikings Rams Betting – Vikings Depth Will Key The Win

The Minnesota Vikings will travel to the Edward James Dome in St. Louis to take on the Rams in the first week of the NFL preseason, beginning their quest to make up for last season’s loss to New Orleans in the NFC Title Game. The Rams, on the other hand, are on the other side of the NFL spectrum, as they finished with the worst record in the league last season, and second year head coach Steve Spagnuolo and number one draft pick QB Sam Bradford hope to restore the winning culture in St. Louis

NFL Betting: Minnesota Vikings @ St. Louis Rams

Why To Bet On The Vikings

If we know one thing about Brett Favre, we know that he won’t be in training camp in time to appear in this game. But we can be fairly certain that Favre will be returning to try and take care of his and the team’s unfinished business. That leaves Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels in competition to backup the starting QB. It is a battle that is going to begin on the first day of training camp, and will certainly have this first preseason game as the first true test of the battle. Two veteran QB’s trying to impress their coach spells trouble for a young Rams team, especially their backups, who will have to play against one of the two, or even both.

The Vikings also have other players eager to make an impact right away. While Adrian Peterson may not see much of any action, the Vikings drafted Stanford RB Toby Gerhart to take the place of the departed Chester Taylor. Gerhart could see a good amount of time in the game, and is a hard nosed, physical runner, who will make his presence felt on the field. Jasper Brinkley, a middle linebacker who may have to fill in for E.J. Henderson could see a lot of time, as well as veteran CB Lito Sheppard, who tried to adjust to a new scheme in filling in for the injured Cedric Griffin.

Why To Bet on the Rams

It seems as if Spagnuolo is placing a bit more emphasis on the preseason this year, coming off of a 1-15 campaign in his first year as the coach of the Rams. Spagnulo has stated that the game against the Vikings will begin the real evaluation of where the team is and where they need to get to. It seems as if Spagnulo respects the fact that the Vikings were a step away from the Super Bowl last season, and for that reason alone, the Rams will not be taking this game lightly, and will be ready to play. That alone may be a good enough reason to bet on the Rams.

Sam Bradford, the first pick overall, is expected to be under contract and if that’s the case, we’d assume that Spagnuolo wants to get him as many reps as possible before the regular season. There is a good chance that if Bradford performs well enough that he will start the season as the starting QB for the Rams, ala Matthew Stafford with Detroit last season, so expect Bradford to showcase. But he may struggle to start and play better against the Vikings second team.

How the Game Will Play Out

While the Rams may take this game more seriously than the Vikings, it is hard to pick a 1-15 team from last year to defeat a team that played in the NFC Championship Game.  The Rams will be sure to give it their all, but the fact that the Vikings are a deeper, more talented team and will have two veteran quarterbacks competing for the backup job to the assumed to be returning Favre, it spells too much for the Rams to be able to overcome. Minnesota should be able to walk away with the victory in this matchup.

Vikings Rams BettingPick: Minnesota Vikings