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The best part of Week 4 preseason is the fact you can see the real season just over the fence…and in this case, we are less than a week away from betting into regular season NFL betting odds on the Week 1 matchups.

But there are still a handful of preseason games remaining. Let’s take a look at three of the matchups from Friday night.

All lines are courtesy online sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.com

NFL Picks

Houston Texans at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFL Lines: Houston: - 3
Over/Under: 34

Both teams are 1-2 going into the last preseason game. Houston will sit gimpy QB Matt Schaub to rest his ankle for the home opener against the Jets.

Second-string quarterback Rex Grossman has a hamstring injury but will see limited duty. Dan Orlovsky will start and look to improve on his last performance against the Vikings in week three where he completed seven-of-11 passes for 74 yards, with an interception and no touchdowns.

Keep an eye on WR Jacoby Jones to continue his strong preseason and rookie running back Arian Foster to get most of the carries. Rookie LB Brian Cushing could see his first preseason action.

Tampa Bay is entering this game after having fired Offensive Coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski and will look to open up the playbook to get better results than their first three games.

The Bucs have named Byron Leftwich their starting QB and he will sit this one out handing the reigns over to highly touted rookie Josh Freeman. Luke McCown will also see some time as the Bucs have been quietly shopping him this week. Tampa will sit most of their starters and rely on a backfield of B.J. Askew and Clifton Smith.

Small lean to the home team at +3

Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota: - 3
Over/Under: 36

The Cowboys at 1-2 take on the Vikings in Minnesota who are looking to go 4-0 in preseason.

Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson and the rest of the Vikings starters are out. Tarvaris Jackson will start and word is the Vikes are shopping him around the league. Top wide-out Bernard Berrian is still out after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury.

Dallas is 1-2 in preseason and will likely rest all of their starters. Roy Williams will sit out to rest his sore shoulder. The Cowboys are looking to play most of the 3rd and 4th string players.

Proceed at your own risk

San Francisco 49ers at San Diego Chargers
San Diego: - 3.5
Over/Under: 37

The last preseason game mercifully wraps up in San Diego with the Niners in town. San Francisco is 3-0 in preseason and the Chargers are 1-2.

The Niners will likely go with fifth round pick Nate Davis at quarterback for most of the game. He led the 49ers on an 88 yard scoring drive last week against the Cowboys. His play resulted in the release this week of 12-year veteran Damon Huard. Alex Smith is out with a hand injury and starter Shaun Hill will see limited action.

Hill has completed 14-of-26 passes for 140 yards without a touchdown or interception during the exhibition period to date. The running game has been impressive gaining 5.0 yards per rush. Rookie Glen Coffee has 230 yards on 38 carries and free agent Kory Sheets has 144 on 33 carries and 3 touchdowns.

The Chargers are looking to get most of their starters in for one or two series. LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles will not play. Running back Michael Bennett has three td’s in the preseason and is making a strong push to make the 53-man roster. Small lean to the Chargers.

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As the 2009 season is set for kick-off, bettors at online sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.com have been turning up the heat on getting their NFL future wagers in before the Thursday night opening game. One of the popular NFL betting options has been the Offensive Rookie of the Year future odd offering.

Quarterback Matt Ryan won the Offensive Rookie of the Year last season after leading the Falcons to the playoffs. Since 1957, when the award was first given, only three quarterbacks have won the award including Ryan, Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 and Tennessee’s Vince Young in 2006.

Ryan was a landslide winner in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the league. He collected 44 votes, far in front of Titans running back Chris Johnson with three.

This year the likelihood of a quarterback winning the award is high since both Mark Sanchez (NYJ) and the No. 1 overall pick, Mathew Stafford (Det) have earned starting jobs. Online sportsbook are offering 8-to-1 odds on either of the two rookie pivots to take the honor in 2009.

At SPORTSBETTING.com, Sanchez has been seeing steady betting volume the last two weeks, with him currently sitting at 16% of all the betting volume for this betting option.

More running backs have won the award than any other position and this year’s rookie class is complete with three top runners.

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) is the favorite, paying back 3-to-1, as the Broncos are expected to use the tailback as a major component of the offense. Denver’s offense is in dire need of a new identity after jettisoning QB Jay Cutler and will rely on Moreno to become a leader.

In his sophomore season at Georgia Moreno compiled 1,792 yards of total offense securing 1,400 rushing yards on 250 carries and 392 yards on 33 receptions while scoring 18 touchdowns.

The Arizona Cardinals selected running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (+400) from Ohio State with their first round pick and he has a good chance of putting up some big numbers in a weak NFC West. He will split carries with Tim Hightower but he will be a difference maker in the Cards offense.

Running back Donald Brown (+500) of the Indianapolis Colts will be splitting carries with Joseph Addai which could initially hamper his ability to match the numbers that Moreno or Wells will put up but he will also be a featured back in the passing game which should enhance his productivity.

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Matthew Stafford will have to put up numbers unseen before to win the award, as his team will be hard pressed to win more than five games. Usually the success of the individual is closely linked with the success of his team and it’s hard to see both Stafford and the Lions having the kind of success that would merit the recognition needed to win the award.

Sanchez has a great opportunity to win. The Jets are in the media capital of North America, which will result in a lot more media coverage and votes than the hinterland of Detroit or Denver. The Jets are also a fairly stable team that doesn’t require Sanchez to do much more than manage the offense. New York’s overall success this year hinges on its D.

The top wide receiver going into the draft was Michael Crabtree. Unfortunately, he is still embroiled in a contract dispute with the 49ers so there is no chance he will be considered. A receiver that might get consideration is Minnesota’s Percy Harvin (12-to-1) who will benefit from having Brett Favre throwing him the ball. Harvin had an outstanding career with the Florida Gators and is a threat to go the distance any time he touches the ball.

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Sports bettors have one week left of preseason NFL football before the real season begins. Thursday night will be a busy one in the sports world, with 12 NFL games and the official kick-off to the NCAA football season, with a bunch of matchups highlighting their traditional Thursday night start to the new season.

As for the NFL betting during Week 4 of the preseason, these are very difficult games to handicap. Keep in mind most of the starters either won’t see any action, or a series or two at most. Week 4 games represent the last chance for many of the long-shots to make their respective teams.

Bet Republic will go through all the action on our Wednesday Night Betting Show and our Thursday Night Prime Time online sports betting program.

Let’s take a look at two inter-conference games that still have a bit of mystique. The Eagles are in New York to face the Jets and the Browns take on the Bears in Chicago.

New York Jets: minus 3 – Under 37.5

BetRepublic Analysis:

The Jets and Eagles met last year in the last preseason game with New York winning 27-20.

Mike Vick gets his last shot at quarterback before he sits out for five games or longer depending on what Roger Goodell decides.

QB Kevin Kolb gets the start and will play the first half with Vick starting the second half.

Kevin Kolb played against the Jets in last year’s game, leading the Eagles on three consecutive scoring drives to open the game.

Kolb played the entire first half, going 13 of 21 for 138 yards. Kolb was selected in the second round of the 2007 draft and is supposed to be the quarterback of the future.

That was before the Eagles signed Vick. Last week in limited time against the Jaguars Vick went 4 for 4 for 19 yards and rushed once for a yard. He will be looking to improve on that performance.

The Eagles have a surplus at wide receiver and it is likely that a starting-caliber wideout could be left off the final 53-man roster. The last spot will be a battle between Reggie Brown and Hank Baskett. The Jets are in need of a receiver and will be watching both with plenty of interest.

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez was 13-of-20 for 149 yards and a touchdown against the Giants last week and will only see one series. That means Kellen Clemens, the fourth-year veteran, will likely see a majority of the action with Eric Ainge playing the second half.

The Jets will rest their entire starting backfield giving Jehuu Caulcrick and Danny Woodhead the majority of carries. The Jets are still trying to figure sort out their wide receiver package and David Clowney and Brad Smith will see lots of action fighting for the number three spot.

Defensively the Jets will rest most starters, but former first round draft pick LB Vernon Gholston will play most of the game as he is still trying to get untracked. Linebacker Calvin Pace will also play into the second half as he sits out the first four games for violating the league’s drug policy.

Cleveland Browns at the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears: minus 3 – Under 36.5

BetRepublic Analysis:

This game is all about someone making a decision on a Browns starting QB. Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson were pretty even going into the last game against the Titans but Quinn might now have the edge.

Browns Coach Eric Mangini still has not decided on his starting quarterback even after Brady Quinn completed 11 of 15 passes for 128 yards, one touchdown and notched a 121.0 passer rating against a solid defense in Tennessee. Anderson went a respectable 7 of 11 passes for 77 yards. Mangini has not named his starter for the Bears game.

The Bears signed CB Rod Hood one day after being released from the Browns earlier this week and will look to impress his new team with a big game against his former team. The Bears are banged up in the secondary and either Quinn, Anderson or third string Brett Ratliff should produce some big numbers.

Bears QB Jay Cutler might play one series along with the other starters but most of the starters will take the night off after two solid games against Denver and the Giants.

Give the edge to the Browns in this one. Good luck with the games. Be sure to check out BetRepublic for daily picks and analysis, plus you can watch the innovative BetRepublic’s sports betting TV show.