Especially with futures, NFL betting is like a minefield. Put too much weight in one spot – or too much money on one team – and you could get mangled. Who are the top five trap teams in the NFL this season?

5. Atlanta Falcons

People are piling on the Matt Ryan bandwagon so quickly that the wheels could break off at any moment. The Falcons have a bright future with Ryan leading an offense that also features Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and Michael Turner, but they were a bit ahead of schedule last year. Matt Ryan’s transition from NCAA football betting to the NFL was smooth – a little too smooth. Just 11 INTs is a fluky-low number for a rookie. Also, Roddy White is holding out and Tony Gonzalez joins an offense that doesn’t feature tight ends prominently. The offense may take a step back and the defense is mediocre. Another 11-win season seems unlikely.

4. Arizona Cardinals

So many NFL predictions bash the Cardinals that they may go full circle and become sleepers again before the season starts, but the Cards have some hurdles to overcome this year. Even though they won the NFC West last season, they did so with just nine wins. They’re depending on a young defense to improve and, if it doesn’t, they’ll allow plenty of points again. We know they’ll score plenty too, but they have a difficult early-season schedule and could fall behind Seattle.

3. Dallas Cowboys

America’s team has plenty of playmakers, but it also lost some – Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton and Anthony Henry, to name a few. Tony Romo has no true No. 1 wideout unless Roy Williams rediscovers the promise he showed a few seasons ago and Romo also hasn’t shown he can win when it counts. He’s 5-10 in December and January.

2. Tennessee Titans

The Titans showed us they can run the football with the best of ’em last season, led by Chris Johnson and LenDale White, but they also showed defenses that they can’t pass the ball very well. Johnson and White will see more eight-man fronts this season. Defensively, Albert Haynesworth’s departure leaves a gaping hole in the front seven. Don’t expect another AFC South crown for Tennessee. This is Indy’s division.

1. Miami Dolphins

No matter what betting software says about them, I won’t touch the Dolphins with a 10-foot pole this season. Their key offensive stars, Chad Pennington and Ronnie Brown, are brittle, and the fact that Pennington played a full season in 2008 only makes me think he’ll be less lucky this season. The Dolphins are atrocious against the past and I’m not convinced that new draft pick Vontae Davis can remedy that problem as a rookie. 2008 was magical for the Fish but they have nowhere to go but down now. Did I mention their schedule is insanely difficult?