The New England Patriots are not the favorites they once were in the sportsbook. Clearly, not as many people have the same type of faith in them now as they did at the beginning of the season.

But as the Baltimore Ravens come to visit this week, this is an easy opportunity for the Patriots to make a statment that the Super Bowl still goes through them.

The Patriots are a mild two-point favorite on the NFL betting line but that is a very short price for this squad. Sure, they haven’t played to their potential but they are improving.

Tom Brady is still working on his mechanics and both Wes Welker and Randy Moss are getting healthier. Once everyone is back and this offense is in rhythm, they are going to dominate again.

As far as NFL picks go for this weekend, take the Patriots -2.

Let’s be honest: how many of you online betting fanatics thought that the Cleveland Browns-Minnesota Vikings betting line looked like a trap in the sportsbook?

Then the Vikings rolled to victory. It might be time to recognize that bringing back Brett Favre might be a great decision for the Vikings.

The truth of the matter is that Adrian Peterson - and even Chester Taylor - are going to run wild for the Vikings this year. Few teams are going to be able to slow those guys down. For the Vikings, though, what they needed was a quarterback to make a few throws and do some damage in the air to keep opposing defenses honest. Well, it looks like they found their man.

You heard it here first: the Vikings are going to the Super Bowl. Their team is complete now and in the NFC, it’s wide open, so they have a great chance to do it.