NFL Handicapping Articles

2012 Minnesota Vikings Predictions and NFL Futures Odds
by Adam Richard - 7/16/2012

The Minnesota Vikings began the 2011 season with fringe playoff hopes, pinned to the workhorse legs of Adrian Peterson and the veteran arm of Donovan McNabb. Minnesota learned quickly what Philadelphia and Washington already knew about McNabb.

NFL Handicapping: The Return of Randy Moss
by T.O. Whenham - 6/21/2012

Randy Moss is back. He’s with the 49ers after a one-year retirement, and he has looked good in the limited action he has seen so far in camps. We know he looks good because he has received so much attention from the media — far more than almost any other free agent not named Peyton, and certainly more than any 35-year-old receiver. The return of a high-profile player like Moss raises some interesting issues and considerations for sports bettors. Here are six that come to mind:

2012 NFL Season Win Totals Top Picks
by David Schwab - 6/13/2012

Sportsbook.ag recently released its projected win totals and corresponding ‘over’ and ‘under’ money lines for all 32 NFL teams for this upcoming regular season. There is value in the numbers scattered throughout this list, but the real opportunity for a solid return on investment lies at the extremes.

2012 NFL Super Bowl Futures Odds Update and Predictions
by David Schwab - 5/9/2012

The dust had hardly settled from New York’s 21-17 victory over New England in last season’s Super Bowl before Bovada released its odds for Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans next February. These early odds were primarily based on each team’s form at the end of last season, but with the start of free agency in March and last month’s college draft, there has been some significant movement in both directions for a couple of teams.

2012 NFL Schedule: The Big Games
by Darin Zank - 5/2/2012

It seems so far away, it's almost not worth talking about. Then again, it is the NFL, and a lot of us are already getting the itch for the upcoming season. So now that the 2012 regular-season schedule is out, we might as well take a look at it, see what kind of fun is in store for us football-betting fools this fall. Here's my quick take on some of the biggest games that catch my attention.

Rookie Quarterbacks and NFL Betting Impact
by T.O. Whenham - 5/1/2012

After the NFL Draft last weekend we now know what we had suspected for a while — there is at least a solid chance that four rookie quarterbacks will start the first game of the season for their new teams this year. That’s noteworthy mostly because it has never happened before.

NFL Handicapping: Sean Payton's Suspension Has Big Impact On Saints Betting
by T.O. Whenham - 4/23/2012

The NFL offseason is never boring. Thanks to the New Orleans Saints and their bounty scandal, though, this one has been particularly interesting and we’re not even at the NFL Draft yet. For bettors the Saints’ situation is an interesting one, and one that could potentially cause more than a few headaches.

NFL Handicapping: Best and Worst Offseasons
by T.O. Whenham - 4/9/2012

We are, with a few exceptions, at the end of NFL free agency in a meaningful sense. Now we’re just waiting for the draft to start. In this short lull in the NFL offseason it’s a good opportunity to look at what teams have improved themselves significantly so far, and which ones have had a regrettable offseason (all odds are from Bovada):

Tim Tebow and Matt Flynn 2012 Season Props Odds and Betting Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 3/22/2012

It’s not too often that a guy who sets a Green Bay Packers record with 480 yards passing and six touchdowns (Green Bay has had a few pretty good quarterbacks, after all) in a game gets overlooked when he changes teams, but that was definitely the case last week when free agent Matt Flynn signed with the Seattle Seahawks. Flynn, the Packers’ backup behind NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers a season ago, was vastly overshadowed by the Peyton Manning circus.

NFL Quarterback Carousel and Futures Odds Effects
by T.O. Whenham - 3/22/2012

You certainly can’t complain that the NFL Offseason has been boring — at least not when it comes to the quarterback position. At least seven teams have had some degree of drama or activity around their most important position. Five of those seven teams have gotten better in my eyes. Only one has significantly affected their future odds as a result of the moves. Let’s take a look:

Peyton Manning to the Denver Broncos Props Odds and Betting Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 3/19/2012

The biggest-name free agent in NFL history has chosen a home: Peyton Manning is going to be a Denver Bronco. Was it the wisest move? Perhaps not. After all, the San Francisco 49ers made it to the NFC Championship Game a season ago, have one of the NFL’s best defenses, already have signed Randy Moss and play in an easier division than do the Broncos. And the Niners wanted Manning badly. So did the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins.

NFL Combine: Biggest Storylines
by T.O. Whenham - 2/21/2012

By this point everyone knows that the top two guys are Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, and that no other pivot is even close. Most people also know that Luck is very well positioned to go first overall to Indianapolis.

NFL Free Agency Storylines
by T.O. Whenham - 2/21/2012

With NFL free agency just around the corner and with teams scrambling to figure what they can and can’t afford to do, here’s a look at some of the most interesting storylines heading into the NFL’s biggest period of collective insanity:

NFL Draft Predictions: Robert Griffin III
by T.O. Whenham - 2/17/2012

Entering this college football season everyone knew what was supposed to happen — Andrew Luck was supposed to collect his Heisman Trophy en route to being selected first overall in the NFL Draft. Baylor’s Robert Griffin III derailed the first half of that plan in pretty spectacular fashion, though. Now the outspoken Griffin has said that he plans to do what he can to wreck the second half of the plan as well.

Peyton Manning Playing for Another Team in 2012? Bet on It!
by Alan Matthews - 2/2/2012

You knew it was inevitable, but unfortunately a player who didn’t even suit up this year is stealing most of the attention before Super Bowl XLVI. And, of course, I mean Peyton Manning and his very tenuous future with the Colts – not to mention if he can even play again after sitting this season out due to another neck surgery.

Peyton Manning Overshadowing Super Bowl
by T.O. Whenham - 2/1/2012

The scenario was supposed to play out like a fairy tale. The Super Bowl was set for the non-traditional setting of Indianapolis. The Colts have the best quarterback on the planet. He was supposed to lead his team to a victory at home.

NFL Playoffs Betting Advice: Handicapping the Quarterbacks
by T.O. Whenham - 1/20/2012

There are four teams left in the NFL Playoff bracket. That means there are four starting quarterbacks left. In a league in which bettors care about nothing more than quarterbacks, those four men have more focus on them than anyone in the sports world right now. With that in mind, it seems like a good idea to take an inventory of what these four guys offer from a betting perspective. A lot of it obviously isn’t rocket science, but it is helpful to see it all in one place:

NFL Conference Championship Odds: Betting Props and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 1/20/2012

Ok, then, 0-for-6, on the “most” props on Bovada so far in these playoffs. At least I know I can’t go against Drew Brees to throw for the most yards this week with the New Orleans Saints being shocked in San Francisco last weekend. On the most rushing yards for the divisional round, I didn’t like the favored Ray Rice of the Ravens and at least that was wise.

NFL Props Odds and Predictions: The Colts’ Next Head Coach
by Alan Matthews - 1/18/2012

Well, I knew it was coming. I just wish it had happened between the final Sunday of the NFL’s regular season and the first wild-card weekend playoff game when I recommended an ‘over/under’ of head coaches fired prop at Bovada for that stretch.

This Week in NFL Betting By the Numbers
by Darin Zank - 1/18/2012

It's Final Four time in the NFL, also known as conference championship weekend, which means that Sunday night we'll know the matchup for Super Bowl XLVI (that's 46 for all you non-Romans out there). As far as last weekend was concerned there were several interesting numbers to come out of it, like four, which was the number of touchdowns the Saints and 49ers combined to score in the last four minutes of their divisional-round thriller; and six, as in the number of touchdown passes Tom Brady threw vs. Denver; and three, as in the number of points the Ravens and Texans combined to score in the second half of their game; and 12, which was the average number of beers it took the average Packer fan to drown his sorrows after the loss to the Giants.