It appears Las Vegas has lost some faith in the Atlanta Falcons this week following the loss to Chicago, coupled with the injury to Jonathan Babineaux. As it stands the Philadephia Eagles are ranging anywhere from 1.5 to 3 point favorites, despite being on the road in the Georgia Dome.
While Sunday night's game will definitely be a major test for the Falcons, I think bookies are being a little too harsh on Atlanta. Granted, the game against the Bears was ugly for a variety of reasons, but this is still a team with an immense amount of talent, and it's highly unlikely the ball will bounce their opponent's way five times on five different fumbles, as it did against Chicago.
In the over/under, odds-makers are predicting a high scoring affair setting the mark at 49½ points. While Michael Vick may have been overreaching when he described his Sunday performance vs. St. Louis as 'lights out', he knows the turf in the Georgia Dome well. This should be an incredibly fast paced game that should suit Philadelphia's play style, but don't count out Matt Ryan who will stretch the field far more at home.
The national spotlight may be shining on Michael Vick and his 'dream team', but this is a statement game for the Atlanta Falcons. Not only in terms of coming out and sending a message to one of the top teams in the NFC, but to send a message to the football world that last week in Chicago was an aberration. In these situations where the lines are close I tend to look at who has the most to lose, and who wants to win the most. In both cases I keep coming back to the Atlanta Falcons. Under Mike Smith this team is 20-2 at home, let that sink in... I sure wouldn't want to bet against them.
For more, head to Falcons blog The Falcoholic and Eagles blog Bleeding Green Nation.