NFL Handicapping Articles

2012 Chicago Bears Predictions and Odds to Win Super Bowl
by Robert Ferringo - 7/28/2012

The start of NFL training camp is one of the most optimistic times on the sports betting calendar. Every professional football player is dreaming of a career year and eventual Super Bowl glory while every football bettor is conjuring up images of that perfect season with no bad beats and windfall profits.

2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Predictions and Odds to Win Super Bowl
by Robert Ferringo - 7/28/2012

Not many franchises can go 12-4 in a season and feel like they left money on the table. But when you are the Pittsburgh Steelers you only measure success by one thing: championships. The Steelers went 12-4 last season but can’t help feeling like they underachieved just a bit in their quest to make back-to-back Super Bowls.

2012 Washington Redskins Predictions and Odds to Win NFC East
by T.O. Whenham - 7/28/2012

The Redskins have ranged from generally disappointing to just plain bad for years now. Owner Daniel Snyder has way more money than good sense, though, so he is never less than totally willing to make a splashy gamble to get things on track.

2012 New York Jets Predictions and Odds to Win Super Bowl
by Aaron Smith - 7/28/2012

Should we really be surprised that the New York Jets have had plenty of drama during the offseason? Since Rex Ryan has come here, this team has been in the news for all kinds of reasons. The New York Jets are a beat writers dream with a coach who is constantly chirping, and players who are more than a little arrogant about their team’s chances.

2012 Cincinnati Bengals Predictions and Odds to Win AFC North
by Aaron Smith - 7/28/2012

For just the third time since 1990, the Cincinnati Bengals made it to the NFL Playoffs last year. The Bengals lost, 31-10, to the Houston Texans in their playoff opener, but the season was still a major success. Before the season, the Bengals were expected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL. The team snuck up on a lot of people in 2011, and they did it with some solid young talent.

2012 Miami Dolphins Predictions and AFC East Betting Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 7/28/2012

Joe Philbin was a very good offensive coordinator in Green Bay — a big reason why Aaron Rodgers is the player he is. Now, at age 51, he has his chance to be a head coach for the first time. He has a lot less to work with here than he did in Wisconsin, so if he manages to make this team respectable early in his tenure then we’ll really know that he has a magic touch.

2012 Tennessee Titans Predictions and Super Bowl Betting Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 7/28/2012

A lot of teams that we have previewed either have one clear starting quarterback and questions around the backup or no starting choice that is particularly attractive. The Titans are in the luxurious position of having two guys who are likely capable of making a little noise under center. They are at opposite ends of their career as well to add some intrigue to the race.

2012 Denver Broncos Predictions and AFC West Betting Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 7/26/2012

Short version of the preview — the team replaced the most controversial quarterback of his generation with one of the best of any generation and they should be glad they did. That’s a loaded opinion, of course. There will be many who agree that getting rid of Tim Tebow was exactly the right thing to do — that he was not the choice to lead the franchise in the long-term, and despite his skill set the mistake was made when they acquired him in the first place.

2012 New Orleans Saints Predictions and Odds to Win AFC South
by T.O. Whenham - 7/26/2012

There is no team in recent sports history that has overcome more distractions than the Saints did in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This year that mental toughness they developed as an organization is going to truly be tested because the distractions are piling up in a big way. These aren’t just your garden variety distractions, either — these are unprecedented.

2012 Arizona Cardinals Predictions and NFL Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 7/26/2012

After the first seven weeks of the 2011 season, the Arizona Cardinals were 1-6 and looking like the laughing stock of the league. Arizona then won seven of their last nine games to finish the season at 8-8. It certainly helped that Arizona had an easy schedule down the stretch, but the Cardinals did make some major progress during the last half of the season.

2012 St. Louis Rams Predictions and NFL Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 7/26/2012

It seemed the St. Louis Rams finally had things moving in the right direction. Steve Spagnuolo had taken this team from one win in 2009 to seven wins in 2010. The Rams nearly made the playoffs in 2010 with that 7-9 record in the NFC West. Going into the 2011 season, many experts thought this team had a chance to finally finish with a winning record. Needless to say, things didn’t go as planned.

2012 San Francisco 49ers Predictions and NFC West Betting Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 7/25/2012

Last year the 49ers qualified as the biggest positive surprise in the NFL. With yet another coach and yet another offensive coordinator promising that things were going to change, it was easy to tune them out. Change they did, though, and if it weren’t for a particularly awful special teams play they could have been the NFC representative in the Super Bowl.

2012 Kansas City Chiefs Predictions and Odds to Win AFC West
by Alan Matthews - 7/25/2012

Every NFL team has to deal with injuries – it’s part of the game. But perhaps no club’s season was derailed earlier in 2011 by major injuries than the Kansas City Chiefs’. Fresh off a surprising AFC West title in 2010, many had the Chiefs as a chic pick to reach the AFC title game a year ago. But stud running back Jamaal Charles, who was second in the NFL in rushing in 2010, was lost for the season early in Week 2. Also going down for the year were star tight end Tony Moeaki (in the preseason finale) and Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry (Week 1). Without them, K.C. started 0-3 and was outscored by a record 99-10 in the first two losses.

2012 Buffalo Bills Predictions and Odds to Win AFC East
by T.O. Whenham - 7/25/2012

That unfamiliar sight on the shores of Lake Erie right now is swagger. It has been a long time since Bills’ fans have had any reason for confidence or hope — probably since the days of Jim Kelly. Though consecutive trips to the Super Bowl aren’t likely to happen again, this is a team that has legitimate wild card potential.

2012 Dallas Cowboys Predictions and NFC East Betting Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 7/25/2012

The Dallas Cowboys are the Notre Dame of the NFL: perpetually overrated by the NFL betting public and therefore always overvalued by the sportsbooks. Dallas enters the 2012 season again answering questions and listening to less-than-subtle whispers about Super Bowl expectations. However, once gain I think that the hype exceeds their actual station in the NFC East and in the league in general.

2012 NFL Strength of Schedule vs. Futures Odds
by David Schwab - 7/24/2012

The start of another NFL regular season is still more than six weeks away, so there is still plenty of time to place a few wagers on the futures odds for your favorite teams. The odds have been tweaked and re-tweaked throughout the offseason due to reaction from the betting public, but there is still plenty of value in the numbers if you know where to look.

2012 Philadelphia Eagles Predictions and NFL Futures Odds
by Alan Matthews - 7/21/2012

One would think that the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterbacks would learn to keep their mouths shut by now. Last year, after Philly added a handful of Pro Bowlers, backup quarterback Vince Young (himself a new addition), boasted about how the Eagles now had a “Dream Team” that couldn’t be beaten. Oddsmakers believed him as the Iggles were the Super Bowl favorites heading into the preseason.

NFL Players we want to Cheer For in 2012
by T.O. Whenham - 7/21/2012

Football is the ultimate team sport. The play of one player, though — especially at quarterback — can have a huge impact on how a team performs, and more importantly how kind they are to NFL handicappers. Each of these four quarterbacks are guys that bettors should be cheering for, because, for different reasons in each case, if they perform well they are likely to deliver some very nice value for bettors.

2012 Jacksonville Jaguars Predictions and NFL Futures Odds
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 7/17/2012

In March the Jacksonville Jaguars lost out on home-town hero Tim Tebow. The former Heisman Trophy-winner had his pick between the Jaguars and Jets and he spurned his home town to sign with New York. It is a feeling Jaguar fans have surely become accustomed to.

2012 Cleveland Browns Predictions and NFL Futures Odds
by Darin Zank - 7/17/2012

Those poor Cleveland Browns fans. They're some of the most loyal and fervent football fans in the NFL, and yet they're stuck, at the moment, with a stinker of a team. What's wrong with this outfit? Why do they have to keep changing coaches and quarterbacks? Anybody around there ever heard of the concept of continuity?