NFL Opening Day Lines: Miami vs. Atlanta

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The Atlanta Falcons kick off their 2009 NFL regular season by hosting the Miami Dolphins Sunday September 13th @ 1:00pm ET. The current line on the game has Atlanta favored by 4 points and the over/under set at 43.

Since they are from different conferences these teams only face each other every four years, with Atlanta winning the last meeting 17-10 way back in 2005. While these teams may not be that familiar with one another, given their recent history, there are some definite similarities between them.

In 2007, Miami had their worst season in franchise history finishing last in the AFC East with a 1-15 record. That same season, Atlanta had to deal with the Michael Vick dog fighting situation as well as their coach, Bobby Petrino quitting thirteen games into the season. They finished with a 4-12 record and a last place finish in the NFC South.

The 2008 season was a turnaround of monumental proportions for both teams. Miami brought in Tony Sparano as their new head coach and traded for QB Chad Pennington with the N.Y. Jets. The Falcons hired Mike Smith as their new head coach and drafted QB Matt Ryan from Boston College in the first round. Both teams finished with 11-5 records and made the playoffs. In the first round, Miami, who won the AFC East lost to Baltimore and Atlanta, a wild-card team, lost to Arizona.

Neither one of these teams will sneak up on anybody like they did last season. While a loss by either team in this opener will not have a major impact on their long term chances, a win will help continue the momentum generated from last season’s success.

The Atlanta Falcons averaged 24.4 points and 361 yards per game last season, while the Dolphins averaged 21.6 points and 345 yards per game. Atlanta was 7-1 at home last season, while Miami went 6-2 on the road. All these similarities add up to say that this game has all the makings of a close fought, high scoring affair.

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