Football Picks Against the Spread

Cincinnati Bengals Love Their Troubled Players

It’s not a surprise to any bookmakers by now (bookmaker reviews) that the Cincinnati Bengals are signing more troubled players. The offseason is very young but the Bengals are already making moves that are raising eye brows.

The Bengals acted quickly and signed free agents Matt Jones and Pacman Jones. Both players are coming off of suspension and both players have dodged felony charges.

The Bengals are planning to use Matt Jones as a tight end in the coming year as he just hasn’t panned out as a wide receiver. He could be a good receiving tight end to start but he has a long way to go with his blocking.

Meanwhile, Pacman might have some talent but people will be wondering just how much. He hasn’t had a good season in a while and the risk may be too high in comparison to the reward.

Nonetheless, the Bengals are rolling the dice once again.

Michael Vick Expected To Be Traded

Sportsbetting fans watched the NFL experiment that was Michael Vick last year and it didn’t work in Philadelphia. As long as Donovan McNabb is still around in Philadelphia, the Eagles have no use for Vick.

As it stands, they are shopping the quarterback, which could turn out to be a valuable asset as the draft approaches. The St. Louis Rams and Buffalo Bills are the teams interested and both teams are in dire need of a quarterback.

Either way, expect Vick to be shipped off at some point this offseason and he’ll get a crack at starting somewhere. In Philadelphia, that just isn’t likely and they clearly don’t need to spend so much money on a backup quarterback who plays one …

March 5^th is the first day of free agency, which NFL betting fans know is always a free agent frenzy. There will be an interesting dynamic thrown into the loop this year as for the first time in a long time, the NFL will have an uncapped salary season.

Free agency this year will bring a shorter crop of young prospects as many of them will now be restricted for one more year because of the league rules. Nonetheless, here is a rundown of some key free agents.

Chad Pennington of the Miami Dolphins would like to return to Miami, but he’ll likely only have a backup role there. Coming off another season-ending injury, Pennington may be facing a backup role anywhere he goes. He is still a serviceable starter for some teams and he would be among the better backups if he was forced into a No. 2 role.

Another team could lose a player who started the year as a No. 1 contributor at a position after being supplanted by a good young prospect, and that’s the Pittsburgh Steelers running back Willie Parker.

Those who bet on NFL know that Parker’s days were numbered as soon as the Steelers spent a first-round pick on Rashard Mendenhall. Parker could be an enticing commodity to some as a speedy complementary back.

On defense, we all know that the 3-4 defense has been quite the fad in the NFL and a lot of teams looking for a playmaker might take a look at Julius Peppers. The recent rumor has been that he’s a good fit for outside linebacker in that set up but don’t be surprised if teams opt to keep him at defensive end in a 4-3, where he …

US sportsbook odds (US sportsbook review) didn’t give New Orleans much of a chance in their Super Bowl showdown with Indianapolis on Sunday, and neither did many in the sports betting industry who give NFL picks, and it didn’t look good for a while. But one play changed the look of the game, and the Saints are now celebrating their first Super Bowl win.

Peyton Manning was 31-of-45 for 333 yards and a touchdown, but it was his pick to Tracy Porter that was run back for a touchdown in the fourth quarter which sealed the Colts’ fate.  The Colts even ran the ball more than usual, and Joseph Addai had 77 yards and a score on 19 carries. Indy gained 432 yards to the Saints’ 332 yards, but the Colts made a couple of critical mistakes, and while the Porter pick was huge, the second half started the comeback.

Sean Payton made the gutsiest call in Super Bowl history, as his onside kick threw everyone in Sun Life Stadium off guard. The Saints went on to outscore the Colts 22-7 in the second half of the game, and they stuck with the gameplan they created going into the game. The Colts refused to let the Saints beat them with their crew of deep threats, but like Manning did against the New York Jets in the AFC championship game, Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees did the same against the Colts. Brees took his check-down throws and moved the ball, and he ended up going 32-of-39 for 288 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The 32 completions by Brees tied a Super Bowl record, and Marques Colston and Devery Henderson caught seven passes apiece for the Saints.

NFL lines…

The Super Bowl is just a few days upon us.  This is the Super Bowl that we’ve dreamed of since the fourth week into the season.  Many of us after just a few weeks into the season easily predicted that the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints would face each other in the Super Bowl and we could easily be treated to what could be the best Super Bowl EVER.

The last two Super Bowls have been outstanding and the Patriots vs. Panthers Super Bowl was phenomenal as well, but this one has the makings of what could be the BEST SUPER BROWL EVER.

I hope you’ve stuck with us the last two weeks since our playoff record in the last 2 weeks has been 5-1. Not only did I say that the Colts would win by at least 10 points last week and predict a win by 14, off by a mere point, but I boldly called a Saints win by EXACTLY a field goal.  I said the Saints would win by 3 giving the Vikings +3.5 a winning ticket.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS VS. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS -5

I’ve also won the last two Super Bowl by taking the dogs and the points.  However, it also helped that I hated both opposing teams: the Patriots and Steelers.  I’m an Eagles fan and I did consider the Giants as the lesser of two evils that game.  I took Cardinals +7 last year and Giants +12.5 the year before that.  Will I take the dog again this year?  Let’s see.

Everyone is expecting both teams to score into the 30’s this game as the over/under is set at 56.5.  I think the Colts will win this one, but can the …

With the big game only a few days away, the main focus in the world of football is on the Super Bowl line as it is a last chance for some NFL predictions and picks until August. As always, during the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl many NFL teams undergo some heavy changes in the coaching department as well revealing some indicators on players that potentially will be let go.

Offseason Recap

Head Coaches

There have been some big headlines on the Head Coaching front with Pete Carroll leaving USC after one of the most dominant tenures in college history to become the President and Head Coach of the Seahawks. Carroll has been given total creative power and brought with him to Seattle his offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, who was allegedly considering the same postion with the Bears before Carroll was given the job. Carroll also brings with him former great linebacker Ken Norton Jr. to be his linebackers coach. It will be interesting to see if Carroll starts stockpiling some of his former USC players.

Other notable head coaching changes:

Mike Shanahan is now the Redskins Head Coach, and allegedly will not get interfered with by meddling owner Dan Snyder.

Chan Gailey becomes the Buffalo Bills new Head Coach in a questionable decision by the Bills front office. Gailey has been out of the game for a year, and has not been highly regarded in many.

Assistant Coaches

The offseason started a little too early for the liking of the New York Giants this year who finished a disappointing 8-8 after a 5-0 start. A big reason for this was the collapse of the defense. 2009 Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan paid for it with his job as …

While Super Bowl 2010 Odds have the Colts as a 5.5 point favourite, which will be a tough margin, the over/under line of 56 looks to be a much more profitable number to bet on. When the Saints and the Colts hit the field for the NFL Championship game in Miami this Sunday, there is a good chance that it will be a high scoring affair.

The Indy offence is led by Peyton Manning who, with his ability to reading and react to the defence before the snap, put up a league best 4,500 passing yards while only being sacked 10 times in the regular season. Having already won a Super Bowl in 2006, the four time AP NFL Most Valuable player knows how to deal with the pressure and intensity of the big game and will looked upon as a leader on and off the field. He should have a better chance of connecting with All-Pro wide-receiver Reggie Wayne then he did during the Conference Championships.

Even though Peyton Manning put up great individual numbers last game, he only connected with Wayne and tight-end Dallas Clarke for seven receptions and 90 yards combined. Considering both were over 100 receptions and 1100 yards on the regular season, they should have much more productive games this weekend. This does not bode well for the Saints defence.

The one big question mark on the Colts defence is the health of Dwight Freeney’s ankle.  The All Pro defensive end is one of the best pass rushers in the league and, along with Robert Mathis, will be the key to Indy’s pass defence. Pro Bowler safety Antoine Bethea is expected to be in the line-up as well after seeing limited practice time last week …

The NFC and AFC Championships are finally here.  Thanks to those who signed up for our Facebook page.  If you sign up for the page, you’ll be notified on your Facebook news feed when new articles are updated on THE PASS RUSH, which is simply amazing!

It’s a good way to keep in touch with us during the offseason since you’ll likely not hear from me again after the Super Bowl until August.  Actually, I may stop in in late February, early March to get the fantasy baseball talk heated up, which I play pretty competitively.  Those articles will, of course, be posted on our sister site, THE HIGH HEAT.

I hope you remember to come back next season and sign up for the Pick ‘Em league, which I’ll be doing again next season and will also be delivering an NFL custom shop t-shirt to the winner.  Deez Nuts just got his, which I’m sure he’ll be rocking for his Vikings.

The season, like any, has had its fair share of ups and downs.  For me there were slightly more ups than downs.  We had some hot streaks and there have been some cold ones, but for me, the hot have outnumbered the cold and that’s what we try to strive for each season.

We had a fantastic week this past week.  Our picks were 3-1 in the divisional round.  Although I played the games lightly since it’s playoff football, it still moved me up a few units, which is what we want going into the NFC and AFC Championship games.  You may also want to check out Vernon Croy’s Super Bowl Picks.  Let’s get to the my NFC and AFC Championship picks.

NEW YORK JETS @ …