Ben Burns Available Picks

**EPIC 28-6 RUN CONTINUES** #1 ACC GAME OF MONTH!!
While he expects to be a LONGTERM WINNER on each of the various days of the week, for some reason, Ben Burns has always seemed to do extra well on Thursdays. While he had a very RARE off day overall, Ben won his only 'side' last Thurs, cashing with UNLV. Including that ticket, he's now an EPIC 28-6 with his Thurs football plays for the year!

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***HUGE*** Divisional TOTAL OF YEAR ***28-6 RUN***
It had to happen sometime. Ben Burns FINALLY had a losing Thursday on the gridiron last week, going 1-3.(Note that it could have easily been 2-2, as Akron 'under' was a double-digit win if not for OT) Ben is still a REMARKABLE 28-6 (82%) with his Thurs. ftb picks for the season. He "bounces back" BIGTIME with his AFC North T.O.Y. Go get it!

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August, 28 2008 8:00pm EST
TOTAL: Under 34 (-110)
WIN for +4.55 unit(s)

Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys

I'm playing on Dallas and Minnesota to finish UNDER the number. Looking back to last preseason and we find that Week 4 was extremely low-scoring. In fact, it was the lowest-scoring week of any of the past three preseasons. The 16 games averaged just 30 combined points and 11 of them finished with less than 34 points. One of the few games that did eclipse that number was the Dallas/Minnesota clash, which finished with a final score of 24-13. However, a closer look at the game shows that the final score easily could have been lower. Three of the quarters produced just 13 points (7, 3 and 3) but 24 were scored in the second quarter. Seven of those second quarter points came when the Vikings recovered a Dallas fumble inside the Cowboys' 20 yard line. Additionally, the game began by seeing the Vikings return a punt for 95 yards and a touchdown, leading to a quick seven points in what would have otherwise been a scoreless first quarter.

Despite last year's final score sneaking above the total, we still got to see that Coach Phillips and Coach Childress handled Week 4 very cautiously and that neither team's offensive stars got much work. Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, Marion Barber III, Terry Glenn and Julius Jones all sat out entirely for Dallas. Vikings' starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson played just one series while Adrian Peterson got just one carry. Running back Chester Taylor also sat out entirely as did defensive linemen Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, cornerback Antoine Winfield and linebacker E.J. Henderson. With both teams already dealing with a few bangs and bruises, I expect both to again adopt a conservative approach. Note that the Vikings and Cowboys also faced each other in Week 4 of the 2006 preseason. While Parcells was still the head guy in Dallas at that time, Childress was already running the show in Minnesota. Therefore, looking at that result is also somewhat relevant. That 2006 Week 4 game produced just 20 points, finishing with a final score of 10-10. The score was just 7-3 entering the fourth quarter.

Looking back to last week and we find that the Cowboys' first team offense produced 20 points in the first half. However, with more backups getting time in the second half, they managed just three second half points. As for the Vikings, playing without starting QB Jackson and without receivers Bernard Berrian and Sidney Rice, they struggled on offense last week. The Minnesota defense was excellent for the second week in a row. After allowing 15 points in Week 2, they held the Steelers to just 12 last week, including just three in the first half. I'm expecting another big defensive effort combined with a heavy dose of 'vanilla' on offense, leading to the final combined score staying beneath the number. *NFLX TOY