Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders
Sunday, 10/31/2010, 4:15 PM EST, TV:  FOX
Opening Point Spread:  Oakland -1.5
Current Betting Line:  Oakland -2.5
Opening Total:  42
Current Total:  42.5
Current Moneyline:   Oakland -130 / Seattle +110

Seattle has started the season off better than most experts expected in the first year of the Pete Carroll regime and currently sit atop the NFC West standings.  The Seahawks are off to their best start since 2006 and coming off a solid 22-10 home win over the Arizona Cardinals last week.  In that victory, Seattle managed to score just a single offensive touchdown, while relying on five field goals from kicker Olindo Mare.  “We learned a lot and take a lot out of it, but we’ve got to work, get stuff ironed out and fixed to help us and keep us going,” said Carroll.  The team is 4-2 ATS this season and 6-13 ATS in their last 19 road games.  Seattle currently is tabbed as a +2.5 road underdog on the NFL lines page.

The Seahawks are showing signs of improving week-by-week and received praise from former NFL head coach Tony Dungy calling them the best team in the NFC.  “Playing football and coming to work every day is hard enough,” said Seahawks safety Lawyer Milloy.  “For me to sit around and read newspapers or listen to analysts, that’s their job.  I’m honored by a guy who’s accomplished the ultimate goal in coach Dungy saying that.”  Seattle’s run game will have a major say in the outcome of this game and has totaled 255 rushing yards the last two weeks after topping 100 yards once in the previous four.  New addition Marshawn Lynch has led the charge in gaining yards on the ground and carried the ball 24 times last week for 89 yards.

Oakland is coming off a franchise-record performance last week in a 59-14 win at Denver, scoring the most points in the team’s history.  Head coach Tom Cable still knows that his team is susceptible to falling flat after such a performance and will have to be on the top of his game this week.  “If you show it to us and you show me what you’re capable of and you’ve been able to do it more than once, it’s expected,” Cable commented.  “It’s called raising the bar.  And when you raise the bar you’ve got to be accountable to that.”  The Raiders gained 508 yards last week after amassing just 179 yards in a 17-9 loss to San Francisco the week before.  The squad is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 non-conference games.

The Raiders are expected to be led by quarterback Jason Campbell for a third straight week, who completed 12 of 20 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns in relief of injured starter Bruce Gradkowski.  Those numbers were far cry from his 8-for-21 performance in a week prior in San Francisco.  Oakland hasn’t won back-to-back games since the end of the 2008 season, losing its last five opportunities to do so.  The team is 17-9 all-time against the Seahawks at home and lead the overall series, 27-23.

Bettors will be interested in knowing that the Seahawks are 1-10 ATS in their last 11 games as a road underdog, while the Raiders are 0-11 ATS in their last 11 games as a home favorite.  Something has to give in this contest on Sunday.

Don’t miss out on another fabulous Sunday and let the Maddux Sports NFL handicappers make you a winner this weekend!