NFL Handicapping Articles

2016 Tennessee Titans Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/9/2016

The Titans have been one of my sleeper teams each of the past two seasons. And each of the past two seasons I have been wrong. They have gone a combined 5-27 the past two seasons. The combined total of those two years wouldn't even have been good enough to beat their season win total (5.5) for either of those seasons.

2016 Cleveland Browns Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/9/2016

Hue Jackson is taking the reigns on a top-to-bottom rebuild within one of the worst franchises in sports. The Browns have posted just two winning seasons since their return to Cleveland in 1999, and they have won four or fewer games three times in five years. Jackson took a hatchet to the Browns roster this preseason, and the result is a team that, in the short-term, is significantly worse than the one that won just three games last year.

2016 Carolina Panthers Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/8/2016

The Panthers are the last of the pure Cover-2 Teams in the NFL. Now, when you hear someone say "Cover-2" you probably think that it is just a defensive scheme. And it is. But a Cover-2 Team buys in, wholly and completely, to the philosophy that has made this one of the indelible systems of the last quarter century.

2016 Denver Broncos Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/8/2016

The defending Super Bowl champions are lords of the NFL landscape. And on one hand you have to give Denver a load of credit for hocking a major loogie in the face of generally accepted NFL dogma. The Broncos won last year's championship in spite of, rather than because of, its quarterback play. And after several years of deluded NFL thinking that passing, points and high-powered offense wins games, the Broncos proved - yet again - that the more violent, physical team wins on the football field more often than not.

Basic Strategy Teasers: Best Week 1 NFL Betting Options
by Chris Vasile - 9/8/2016

With the NFL set to return on Thursday, bettors will be able to place their wagers on a plethora of betting options. Seasoned bettors tend to stick to sides and totals, while newbies or "square" bettors tend to play more parlays, props and teasers, options that are geared to the house's advantage.

NFL Handicapping: Best-Case Scenarios for all 32 Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 9/8/2016

Success is a tough thing to define in the NFL. For some teams this season will be deemed a failure unless they win the Super Bowl. Other teams would have to be seen as successful if they won more than five games. As we head into the new season, here is a look at the best-case scenario for each of the 32 teams in the league. Needless to say, fans of some teams will be happier with these than other.

Free NFL Picks: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys Odds and Expert Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 9/7/2016

There's nothing new in a rookie quarterback starting Week 1 of an NFL season, but they are almost always first-round picks. That won't be the case in Dallas on Sunday afternoon as Dak Prescott will be under center for the Cowboys against the New York Giants with Tony Romo injured yet again. Prescott, the former Mississippi State star, is the first fourth-round QB to start Week 1 for any team since Kyle Orton in 2005 with Chicago.

NFL Betting: Home Underdogs a Solid Strategy or Myth?
by Robert Ferringo - 9/7/2016

People ask me for advice on NFL betting all the time. My first two suggestions are always the same: know your enemy and play against the general public. The first thing that any football gambler has to admit is that the oddsmakers that set NFL lines are much, much better at their job than gamblers are at theirs. Not only do oddsmakers have a far greater understanding of the math involved - and this is where I note that my tagline at Doc's Sports is that "Gambling isn't magic - it is mathematics" - but they also have a keener instinct and understanding of the betting market.

2016 Buffalo Bills Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/7/2016

Big, bad, blustery buffoon Rex Ryan is ready for Phase 2 of his plan to demolish hope, decency and disciplined football in Upstate New York. With both arrogance and incompetence in equal, and ample, supply, Ryan is proving again to be the latest example of the Peter Principal in action in the NFL.

2016 New England Patriots Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/7/2016

Does anyone doubt that the Patriots, despite Tom Brady's four-game suspension to start the season, are still the class of the AFC East, the division which they have dominated for nearly 20 years? You shouldn't doubt it. Because if you give Bill Belichick a solid defense, an offense stacked with skill position talent and experience, three of four home games to start the season, and a legit motivational tool to get his team to play with a chip on its shoulder then I think you have a winning mix.

NFL Betting Impact of the Sam Bradford to Vikings Trade
by Trevor Whenham - 9/7/2016

The NFL world was rocked this week by the unexpected news that Sam Bradford had been traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Minnesota Vikings. We don't ever see a team trade away their starting QB - even if he was just the starter until Carson Wentz was ready. It was a true blockbuster, and a move about which everyone has an opinion. Were the Vikings too desperate? Did they improve themselves? What does it all mean for the Eagles? Let's look at some of the biggest questions coming out of this deal as it relates to bettors:

NFL Handicapping: Easiest and Hardest Betting Games on Week 1 Schedule
by Trevor Whenham - 9/7/2016

If you have spent any time at all betting on the NFL then you know that there is no such thing as a truly easy game to bet. There are unquestionably some that feel easier than others, though. Some games you look at and it doesn't take long to figure out which side you are going to be on. You may or may not ultimately be correct, but you know you will feel good about the pick regardless of how it turns out.

2016 New York Jets Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/7/2016

Some franchises simply can't handle success. The New York Jets are one of them. After serving as a nice surprise in Todd Bowles' rookie campaign, winning 10 games and missing out on the postseason on the last day of the season, New York should've had a wave of momentum coming into the offseason. Instead, the Jets spent the summer feuding with their starting quarterback and top defensive player, only to cave in and re-sign both late in the summer. Those contract disputes have given the Jets a bit of an unsettled feeling coming into a crucial season.

2016 Miami Dolphins Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/7/2016

When football fans think of the Miami Dolphins they generally think of a proud, successful, historic franchise. This is the franchise of Shula and Marino, of 17-0 and back-to-back Super Bowls. However, with just one winning season in 10 years, the Dolphins are now the epitome of "also-ran".

Free NFL Picks: Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos Betting Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 9/6/2016

Seven months and one day ago from Thursday, the Denver Broncos upset the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium near San Francisco. I was a bit surprised that the NFL decided to stage that same showdown in the annual Thursday night Kickoff Game, but that's the case as the Broncos host the Panthers in a rematch.

NFL Division Predictions and Picks for all 32 Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 9/6/2016

They don't need to play the NFL season this year. Or if they do, you don't need to watch it. You see, I'm about to tell you how it all turns out. I'm going to reveal the final standings in all eight divisions, and I'm not even going to give a spoiler alert before I do so. So, you have a choice - stop reading now, or peer into my crystal ball and see the final order of finish in each of the eight NFL divisions. Don't be afraid, though - I only use my magic powers for good.

NFL Odds: Best and Worst Record in 2016 with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 9/3/2016

Having the best record in your conference in the NFL is very important - home-field advantage through to the Super Bowl can make the path easier. Having the best record in football, though, ultimately doesn't mean that much. That doesn't mean that it isn't fun to think about, though - especially when you can bet on it. BetOnline has posted odds both on which team will have the best record and which team will have the worst. Here's a look:

NFL Betting Predictions: Week 1 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/3/2016

There has been some talk that the NFL might change the preseason as early as next year. It will be hard for the league to drop a game or two because that's taking money out of the owners' pockets. But if you watched any of those final preseason games, as usual, they were full of scrubs and empty seats. And it makes you wonder where the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings would be if the preseason was just two games as it should be -- and I think will be eventually as a trade off for owners getting a 17th regular-season game.

How to be a Sharp Bettor this Football Season for NCAA and NFL Wagering
by Trevor Whenham - 9/3/2016

Football season is, for most bettors, what it is all about. We can bet all year, and many other sports get a lot of attention. Football is the big dog, though, and the one that gets the most betting handle. As we get ready for another fall of chasing glory, then, it's a good time to get a refresher on important concepts and themes in the world of sports betting. One of the most discussed and important concepts - and one of the most misunderstood - is sharp bettors. People don't understand what a sharp bettor is and why we should care.

NFL Props Odds: Teams to Make the Playoffs from BetOnline with Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 9/3/2016

The NFL Preseason is over - mercifully. That means that the games are finally going to matter. As we get ready for the regular season, it only makes sense that we would look forward to the playoffs. BetOnline has made that more interesting for us, allowing us to bet on whether each team will or won't make the playoffs. Handicapping them is a good exercise for us even if we don't bet them.