NFL Handicapping Articles

NFL Totals Betting: Week 8 Over and Under Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 10/22/2014

I picked the wrong week to favor the “over” in my weekly picks for Doc’s Sports with nine of the 15 games in Week 7 of the NFL regular season staying “under” the closing total line. The result was a 1-2 record in my top three picks which dropped me below .500 on the year at 10-11.

NFL Teasers Betting: Best Basic Strategy Options for Week 8
by George Monroy - 10/22/2014

Heading into Week 8 of NFL action there are three basic strategy teasers to choose from. The wager is a two-team, six-point teaser that moves spread of 7.5- to 8.5-point favorites down past the strongest NFL key number of three and 1.5- to 2.5-point underdogs up past the second-strongest NFL key number of seven. The wager is supposed to be a positive-expected value bet based on the math as blindly moving those spreads should produce a statistical win.

NFL Football Predictions: Week 8 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 10/21/2014

With all due respect to Peyton Manning throwing his NFL-record 509th career touchdown pass, the most interesting thing to happen in the NFL in Week 7 was the Seattle Seahawks' shocking trade of Percy Harvin to the New York Jets. Seattle gave up three draft picks, including a first-rounder, to get Harvin from the Vikings before the 2013 season even though Harvin had a well-known reputation for being a major locker-room cancer.

NFL Handicapping: Dallas Cowboys Surprise Success
by Trevor Whenham - 10/17/2014

The biggest positive surprise of the young NFL season so far has to be the Dallas Cowboys. It has been so long since anything has been positive in a sustained way with the team that we just expect mediocrity from them — at best. Mocking Jerry Jones for his maniacal control and lack of skill as a GM has become boring because it is too easy.

Handicapping the Atlanta Falcons Struggles
by Trevor Whenham - 10/16/2014

The Atlanta Falcons are just not good at football. They were supposed to be this year. We heard all about how they were supposed to rebound from their disaster of a season last year and get back on track as a perennial contender as we have grown used to them being. They have limped out to a 2-4 start, lost three in a row, and have beaten only New Orleans and Tampa Bay — two teams that aren’t exactly off to great starts of their own.

Free NFL Totals Picks for Sunday Over and Under Betting and Wagering
by CarbonSports - 10/16/2014

Fresh off their bye, the New Orleans Saints are ready to make their push towards the playoffs and thankfully for Saints fans they get to play a rare road game inside a dome. New Orleans is 0-3 SU on the road this year (all outdoors) as their struggles away from the Super Dome continue to be a yearly thing, but on the road inside Detroit's Ford Field should make that Saints offense much more comfortable.

Expert NFL Betting Picks: Weekly NFC East Predictions Week 7
by Dave Schwab - 10/15/2014

It was a lopsided affair in this past Sunday night’s showdown between Philadelphia and New York, with the Eagles cruising to a 27-0 shutout as 1.5-point home favorite. The Giants unexpected no-show on offense proved costly as I had the “over” 50 as my NFC East “pick of the week”. After a 4-0 start, I have now come up on the wrong end of my last two plays.

NFL Totals Betting: Week 7 Over and Under Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 10/15/2014

The wrong call on the “over” in Philadelphia’s 27-0 shutout against the Giants prevented me from running the table in my top three picks on the “over/under” line in last week’s NFL games, but the 2-1 record was good enough to get me back to .500 on the year at 9-9 in my weekly picks for Doc’s Sports.

NCAA Football Picks and American Athletic Conference Week 8 Betting Report
by Dave Schwab - 10/15/2014

East Carolina remained at the top of the heap in the AAC by outlasting South Florida 28-17 last Saturday as my “pick of the week,” but the Pirates failed to cover the 15-point spread as road favorites to drop my record on the year to 3-4. With a limited amount of matchups on the AAC slate this week, I was still able to unearth a pick that should get me back to .500 on the year.

NFL Teasers Betting: Best Basic Strategy Options for Week 7
by George Monroy - 10/15/2014

Week 7 of NFL action has three basic strategy teasers on the board, with three 7.5-point favorites being teased down to the 1.5-pont mark. The teasers are two-team, six-point wagers that move certain spreads past the strongest NFL key numbers of three and seven. On the year the bet has struggled to become profitable, especially after last week’s 0-3 record, but in general they are considered positive expected-value bets based on the math of moving those spreads around.

NFL Handicapping: Grading the Rookie Quarterbacks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/14/2014

There were 14 quarterbacks selected in the 2014 NFL Draft. Their careers will likely range from spectacular to forgotten -- indeed, some have already been forgotten and they only barely started. We are far enough into the season that some rookie quarterbacks have had a significant impact, and others could soon.

NFL Football Predictions: Week 7 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 10/14/2014

Sometimes just when you think you have a handle on what's going on in the NFL, something like Week 6 happens. The Seahawks are the NFC's best team? Hardly. Maybe Dallas is. Ben Roethlisberger owns Cleveland? Maybe Brian Hoyer owns Pittsburgh. But the most crushing result from a betting perspective, at least for me, had to be the Broncos-Jets game.

Free NFL Totals Picks for Sunday for Over and Under Betting
by CarbonSports - 10/9/2014

This is the first time we've got a division rematch this season after the Steelers held on for a 30-27 win over Cleveland in Week 1. Pittsburgh jumped out to a 27-3 lead at halftime and then rested on that lead while the Browns ran the ball up and down the field in the 2nd half to eventually tie it up. Pittsburgh needed a FG on the last play of the game to secure the win and there is no way that the Steelers have forgotten about that.

NFL Teasers Betting: Best Basic Strategy Options for Week 6
by George Monroy - 10/8/2014

Heading into Week 6 of the NFL season, basic strategy teasers are 11-5 on the year and falling slightly behind the break-even mark. The bets, which are two-team, six-point teasers, need to win at a 73 percent rate to become profitable, but they do statistically come in near that mark over the long term. The best way to wager on a basic strategy teaser is to only bet on the strongest teasers of the week in order to maximize your win rate and profit on the year.

Expert NFL Betting Picks: Weekly NFC East Predictions Week 6
by Dave Schwab - 10/8/2014

A half a point in my top game for the NFC East cost me a perfect 5-0 start last week when the Giants beat Atlanta 30-20. The total stayed “under” the 50.5-point closing line. This week New York faces Philadelphia on Sunday night, and I remain confident that my pick in this showdown is sure to get me back to my winning ways.

NFL Totals Betting: Week 6 Over and Under Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 10/8/2014

The oddsmakers’ razor-sharp edge kept the results on the total line as even as possible last week with eight of the 15 games on the slate staying “under” the closing line. My year-to-date record on my weekly NFL “over/under” predictions took a plunge below .500 with a brutal 0-3 record in Week 5. This is my fourth straight season that I will be releasing my top three weekly picks on the NFL betting odds for the total line for Doc’s Sports.

NFL Football Predictions: Week 6 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 10/7/2014

I don't think the remaining living members of the perfect Miami Dolphins were too worried about a team going unbeaten this season. Not with Denver having to play Seattle and San Francisco and the Seahawks facing both the Broncos and 49ers. Really the Broncos and Seahawks were the only teams with a slimmer of hope for doing it. Already in Week 6 we have no unbeatens left after Arizona lost in Denver and Cincinnati got crushed in New England in Week 5.

NFL Picks: Updated Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 10/3/2014

After every quarter of the NFL season (i.e. four weeks), Bovada will offer updated individual player prop futures odds. While it's a bit too early to speculate on the NFL MVP -- Andrew Luck has taken over as the very slight 5/1 favorite over Peyton Manning (11/2) -- there is a clear favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Here is each prop option and an analysis.

Free NFL Week 5 Totals Picks for Over and Under Betting
by CarbonSports - 10/2/2014

While the Rams were sitting at home during last week's bye week, they might have beenhanded a great blueprint for how to stop Chip Kelly's Eagles offense from their division rival in San Francisco. There is no doubt the Rams defensive coaching staff had their eyes glued to the Eagles/49ers game last week and took plenty of notes on how the 49ers completely shut down the Eagles until late in the 4th. Philly didn't have a snap on San Francisco's side of the field until the 4th quarter and while the Rams would love for a similar result this week, they just don't have the type of talent the 49ers have.

NFL Totals Betting: Week 5 Over and Under Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 10/1/2014

Last week in the NFL was a great time to cash in on the total line, with 10 of the 13 games going “over” BetOnline’s closing betting odds. I capitalized on the over in two of my three picks to run this year’s overall record to 7-5. This is my fourth straight season that I will be releasing my top three weekly picks on the NFL “over/under” betting lines for Doc’s Sports.