NFL Handicapping Articles
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.
NFL Odds: Analyzing Jacksonville Jaguars' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/15/2016
If I had $1.6 billion lying around or whatever, I think I might make an offer on the Jacksonville Jaguars because this is a franchise I believe is definitely on the rise. It's going to finally be a contender in the AFC South again in 2016 and eventually this will be the team that moves to London, which will only add value. I've been to Jacksonville several times, and there's no need for an NFL franchise there (or another Super Bowl). The Tampa Bay Bucs and Atlanta Falcons both aren't that far away.
NFL Odds: Analyzing Detroit Lions' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/13/2016
I am from Michigan so I know a lot of Detroit Lions fans. I only mention this because sometimes winning can be a bad thing. How's that? The Lions lost their first five games last season and seven of their first eight heading into their bye week. The season was over. Might as well tank and try to get the No. 1 pick in the draft and finish last in the NFC North and get a last-place schedule -- so said most Lions fans. During that bye, the team fired GM Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand.
NFL Odds: Analyzing Baltimore Ravens' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/10/2016
A few national experts I respect greatly picked the Baltimore Ravens to make last season's Super Bowl. I didn't agree with them, but it wouldn't have shocked me. Instead, the Ravens plummeted to a 5-11 record, their first losing season under Coach John Harbaugh and worst record since 2007. I am not sure I've seen a potential Super Bowl contender have worse luck, both in terms of close losses and injuries, than what happened to Baltimore last year.
NFL Odds: Analyzing New York Giants' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/9/2016
If the New York Giants could have simply won a few close games last year, they might have won the really mediocre NFC East Division and former head coach Tom Coughlin might still have his job. But close games killed this team all year and it finished 6-10.
NFL Odds: Analyzing Buffalo Bills' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/8/2016
The Toronto Blue Jays ended the longest active playoff drought in Major League Baseball in 2015. The neighboring Buffalo Bills, who used to play one game a season in Toronto, weren't able to stop the NFL's longest drought (last postseason trip was in 1999) as they finished with an 8-8 record and third in the AFC East -- although I can make the argument that the Bills were the second-best team in the division because they swept the Dolphins and the Jets.
NFL Odds: Analyzing Seattle Seahawks' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/6/2016
After winning back-to-back NFC titles, the Seattle Seahawks were the betting favorites to make it a threepeat when last season opened. As they should have been. But really we all should have known better. It's rare enough these days for a Super Bowl loser to simply make the playoffs the next season, much less return to the big game.
NFL Odds: Analyzing Kansas City Chiefs' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/3/2016
I was dead wrong on the 2015 Kansas City Chiefs. Sure, I thought the Chiefs were a borderline wild-card contender entering the season because they had what looked to be a very good defense and one of the NFL's best all-around running backs in Jamaal Charles. I definitely wasn't a fan of quarterback Alex Smith or the team's receiving corps, even after adding former Philadelphia Eagle Jeremy Maclin in free agency.
NFL Odds: Analyzing Atlanta Falcons' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/2/2016
Just like you shouldn't get overly excited about a Major League Baseball team's surprising success the first two months of the season, you also probably shouldn't read too much into what an NFL team until at least mid-October. I give you the 2015 Atlanta Falcons as proof of that. Under first-year coach Dan Quinn, the former Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator, the Falcons started 5-0, looked like a Super Bowl contender and Quinn was an early favorite for NFL Coach of the Year.
NFL Odds: Analyzing Indianapolis Colts' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 6/1/2016
Is the bloom off the rose a little bit when it comes to Colts quarterback Andrew Luck? Financially, probably not. At some point soon and certainly before training camp begins, the Colts are expected to make Luck the highest-paid player in league history as he's in the final year of his rookie deal.
NFL Odds: Analyzing Green Bay Packers' 2016 Road Schedule
by Alan Matthews - 5/30/2016
When you look at any list of coaching hot seats in the NFL for the coming season, there are the usual list of candidates: Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis, Dallas' Jason Garrett, San Diego's Mike McCoy, Jacksonville's Gus Bradley, L.A.'s Jeff Fisher and Buffalo's Rex Ryan.
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