Old logic doesn't apply

In this topsy-turvy season, more than one reliable handicapping tenet has been blown up. Home underdogs have always been a major consideration – like the first factor to look for when the line is released.

Just a year ago, only 39 percent of road favorites won straight up. NFC travelers who have been favored this year are 27-23.

Laying more than a touchdown home or away has been a ticket to bankruptcy in years past. That's not the case in the eyes of the oddsmakers this year, as last weekend offered 10 such situations.

Those favorites were 4-5-1 against the spread. In other words, the results are inconclusive. In Week 8, there are five TD or more numbers.

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Hank Goldberg

NFL reporter

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Hank Goldberg is an NFL reporter on a variety of ESPN programs. He first joined ESPN2 as football analyst on SportsNight when the new network launched Oct. 1, 1993. He has also been a frequent contributor on ESPN Radio since June 1992.