NFL Handicapping Articles

2016 Seattle Seahawks Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 7/22/2016

I'll just jump right to my point here and say that Seattle is my projected 2016 NFC champion as things stand right now. Not exactly going out on a limb, I know. But I loved how Russell Wilson looked in his final seven regular-season games last year when he led Seattle to a 6-1 record by throwing 24 touchdowns to one pick. Wilson did struggle in the wild-card game in Minnesota, but it was brutally cold that day and the Hawks lucked out with a last-second win.

2016 New England Patriots Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 7/21/2016

I had been following a certain order in doing these team-by-team road and home previews, but I had to scuttle that order in starting the home previews because I didn't want to preview the Patriots until we had a decision on the ridiculousness of the Tom Brady "Deflategate" situation. I truly hope to never type "Deflategate" again after today as recently the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected Brady's request for an en banc hearing to rehear the NFL's victory in appeals court in reinstating Brady's four-game suspension for his role in those deflated footballs in the AFC title game following the 2014 season against Indianapolis.

NFL Odds: Analyzing Cincinnati Bengals 2016 Home Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 7/20/2016

I truly believe that Coach Marvin Lewis had his best Bengals team yet in 2015 until quarterback Andy Dalton, who was having a career year, suffered a season-ending thumb injury in the first half of Cincinnati's Week 14 home game versus Pittsburgh.

2016 Houston Texans Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 7/19/2016

I'm really interested to see the Texans this season. It's one of the clubs that could finish 6-10 or reach the Super Bowl and neither would totally shock me. By the way, the Super Bowl is in Houston this season, and no team has played in it while hosting.

NFL Odds: Analyzing Denver Broncos 2016 Home Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 7/14/2016

I'm not going to bury the lede when it comes to the 2016 Denver Broncos: They are not going to be the first team since the New England Patriots in the 2003-2004 seasons to repeat as Super Bowl champions. I actually believe the Broncos were only the third- or fourth-best team in the NFL last year.

2016 Arizona Cardinals Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 7/13/2016

The Arizona Cardinals didn't have to do much this offseason coming off a 13-3 regular-season record and spot in the NFC Championship Game, which unfortunately ended in an ugly loss and again brought up questions about whether Carson Palmer is a big-game quarterback. The answer right now is: no.

2016 Minnesota Vikings Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 7/12/2016

No team has played in a Super Bowl when its home stadium hosted it. Might the first time be on Feb. 4, 2018? I mention this because the Vikings are a young up-and-coming team that won the NFC North Division in 2015 for the first time since 2009 and could be a top NFC threat in 2017.

NFL Odds: Analyzing Carolina Panthers 2016 Home Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 7/11/2016

You simply can't do any better at home than the Carolina Panthers did in 2015. Led by NFL MVP Cam Newton, the Panthers were 8-0 at Bank of America Stadium, the only team in the league to go unbeaten at home on the way to an NFL-best 15-1 record. That got the Panthers home-field advantage through the NFC playoffs and they impressively beat Seattle and Arizona to reach the second Super Bowl in franchise history.

NFL Odds: Analyzing Washington Redskins' 2016 Home Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 7/8/2016

Welcome to my first of 32 stories previewing the home schedules of every NFL team -- I finished the road slates earlier this week. Thus by the time I complete the home versions, we should be just a couple of weeks from the regular season. Of all the division winners in the NFL last year, I'd have to say Washington was the most surprising, just ahead of Minnesota. After all, Washington was last in the NFC East in 2014 with a 4-12 record and everyone was calling for Coach Jay Gruden's head after the one season.

NFL Odds: Analyzing San Francisco 49ers' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 7/4/2016

Has it been 31 teams already? This is my final team-by-team road schedules preview for the coming season, and I'll start anew with the home versions on Thursday of this week. I was dead-on right about the 49ers last season. I thought they would really stink after firing one of the best football coaches on the planet, Jim Harbaugh, and replacing him with the rather anonymous Jim Tomsula. Plus, no team lost more talent to retirement last offseason than San Francisco did.

NFL Odds: Analyzing San Diego Chargers' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 7/1/2016

My first thoughts off the top of my head regarding the San Diego Chargers last year: Philip Rivers is still one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL, but his offensive line was an absolute joke; I was so wrong on picking running back Melvin Gordon as my 2015 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in the preseason; that defense was really bad.

NFL Odds: Analyzing Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/30/2016

So let's say you are a head coach who goes 2-14 with an obviously bad team in your first season, but it allows you to take a franchise quarterback in the next NFL Draft. Then you improve by four wins the next season behind that quarterback, who has the best rookie season in franchise history and nearly wins NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

NFL Odds: Analyzing Tennessee Titans' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/29/2016

You will see those "will any team go 0-16 props" every year at sportsbooks, and I never recommend betting on that. But you often can find a "who will have the No. 1 pick in the next year's draft" prop. Last year, I loved the Tennessee Titans on that as I felt they had the worst talent level -- outside of rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota -- in the NFL.

NFL Odds: Analyzing Chicago Bears' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/27/2016

The Chicago Bears might have been the worst-coached team in the NFL two years ago under Marc Trestman. Simply by upgrading in the coaching staff following that season, you had to figure the Bears would be better last year.

NFL Odds: Analyzing Cleveland Browns' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/24/2016

I'll just say up front that I try to be a glass half-full kind of guy. But I'm not going to have anything positive to say about the 2016 Cleveland Browns; at least the city has the Cavaliers and Indians. The Browns essentially have an expansion team roster -- but at least there's a ton of draft picks coming so perhaps they might be good in a few years if the Browns can finally find a quarterback. I am curious to see if the "Moneyball" strategy works in the NFL.

NFL Odds: Analyzing Dallas Cowboys' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/23/2016

If I'm being honest, I liked the Dallas Cowboys back in the 1970s when they were truly America's (and God's, they liked to say) Team. The Cowboys were the good guys with the cool stars on their helmets. And they were always a contender.

NFL Odds: Analyzing Miami Dolphins' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/22/2016

I am happy to admit when I'm wrong, but I'll chirp a bit when right. On last season's "First NFL Coach to be Fired Prop," I was all over Miami's Joe Philbin. The Fins had never finished with a winning record under the former Packers offensive coordinator, blowing a couple of chances late in the year for a playoff spot.

NFL Odds: Analyzing Los Angeles Rams' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/20/2016

Here's my question: Would the Rams redo the Nick Foles-Sam Bradford trade from last offseason with Philadelphia? Frankly, it didn't much work out for either team, but Foles was definitely worse than Bradford (Rams did also get a second-round pick). And as usual in recent years, quarterback play was the reason the Rams again underachieved in 2015 despite a very good defense.

NFL Odds: Analyzing Oakland Raiders' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/17/2016

The Oakland Raiders were the Cleveland Browns of the West Coast. I say were instead of are because while the Browns appear to have the least amount of talent in the NFL this season and are a lock -- I'm not supposed to use that word at Doc's, but it's a fact -- to finish with another losing record, the Raiders finally seem to have their act together, and might be the "it" sleeper team in the AFC in 2016.

NFL Odds: Analyzing New Orleans Saints' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/16/2016

Yep, I was wrong on the New Orleans Saints last year as I predicted they would win the NFC South Division. It's not so much that I thought the Saints were all that good and certainly not a Super Bowl contender. But I did think the South was going to be pretty lousy and that Carolina would take a huge step back after losing top receiver Kelvin Benjamin to a season-ending injury in last summer's training camp. Plus, the Saints never had back-to-back losing records under Coach Sean Payton.