Bodog Beat

Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons are out to prove they are the team to beat in the NFC South tonight. (AP Images)

The Detroit Lions are 3-point favorites as they get set to take on the Atlanta Falcons in the first NFL preseason game on both team’s schedule.

The story of Lions training camp is clearly quarterback Matthew Stafford. The No. 1 pick in the NFL draft has lived up to his billing so far and is pushing veteran Daunte Culpepper for the starting job.

Detroit also has a rookie head coach in Jim Schwartz and he’ll want to get the NFL preseason started off on the right foot after the Lions went winless last year. There are a ton of positional battles and players looking to impress the new coach and that will likely lead to the Lions putting in a full effort to make up for their horrendous 2008 campaign.

Atlanta is a more defined team and won’t be playing as hard since many positions are set in stone.

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