St. Louis Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals Odds & Free Pick: August 27 2009

St. Louis Rams (1-1 SU & ATS) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-1 SU & ATS)  – Thursday, August 27
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Cincinnati had itself a nice defensive effort last week, holding the overpriced New England Patriots to just two field goals, registering four sacks and limiting the Pats to less than five yards a play. They even got a extra point kicked through the uprights by Chad Ochocinco. Of course, that was against a team that used Tom Brady in only a limited capacity, and was without Randy Moss.

The Rams spotted Atlanta a 14-0 first quarter lead and never recovered, falling 20-13. St. Louis never really got anything going in the way of a running game, and they should be looking for something more from Steven Jackson, who had ten yards on three carries, but who knows how long he’ll actually play.

J.T. O’Sullivan will get the start for Cincinnati in place of Carson Palmer, who is nursing an ankle injury. I like what I have seen from O’Sullivan in the pre-season, and he was 10 for 13 last week against New England, throwing the only touchdown pass of the game. I don’t know what we can expect from Jordan Palmer, Carson’s little brother, who was productive but often erratic when he played at UTEP. He’ll play almost the entire second half.

Kyle Boller and the Rams’ first-team offense has been nothing sensational. They didn’t really do very much against Atlanta, and it was the backups who led this team to a win over the Jets. Of course, that brings up the quarterback competition there between Brock Berlin and Keith Null, who was tutored by Ryan Leaf at West Texas A&M. This is Berlin’s fifth NFL season, and he has stepped in as a starter a couple of years ago when Marc Bulger and Gus Frerotte were both hurt. Still, this may be the biggest game of his career.

Cincinnati has scored just one touchdown in each of its first two pre-season games. That’s not enough for us to feel comfortable laying points here. We’re rolling with the Rams, the 2.5-point underdog in the BetUS pre-season football betting odds.

JAY’S PLAY: ST. LOUIS +2.5 **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)