NFL Pick: Monday Night Football – New York Jets at New England Patriots

Monday Night Football betting action for tonight’s contest have favored the Patriots by more than 60-percent throughout the week, but online sportsbook haven’t moved the line off 3.5. New England is 11-3 ATS in its past 14 games as a home favorite by 3.5-to-10 points but in the most recent; an ATS loss Week 11 vs. Indianapolis, the Patriots needed a Red Zone takeaway in the final minute just to avoid the straight-up loss.

New York doubled up the Patriots 28-14 in Week 2, but it’s worth noting that in the past seven seasons, Bill Belichick’s squad holds a 12-4 advantage in 16 meetings, playoffs included. The Jets’ Mark Sanchez tossed three TD passes in the first meeting and for a while, it seemed the sophomore QB had curbed an interception tendency that tied him for second-most (20) in the league last season.

Bad decisions in his past six games have added up to eight picks, however, and the improvements we’ve seen from this young New England secondary since Week 2 could pose a serious threat to the Jets passing game.

UNIVERSITY OF BELICHICK

The Patriots are plus-11 in turnovers this season while the Jets have a rating of plus-7. New England has won the turnover battle in seven of its past nine games and the defensive minded head coach/D-Co Belichick h... [More]

NFL Betting: Cowboys at Colts Pick

The words “Indianapolis Colts” and “losing streak” go together like Irish Cream and lime juice, also known as a Cement Mixer. It’s the kind of prank you play on your best enemy and this week the Dallas Cowboys (3-8) are the intended target.

Indianapolis (6-5) has lost three in a row and Peyton Manning has thrown seven picks the past two weeks after throwing just two the first seven games this season. It’s given sportsbook little choice but to post a modest betting line for the perennial favourite and the Colts look like a strong play for anyone making NFL picks this weekend.

DALLAS AT INDIANAPOLIS

Line: Colts -5.5

Over/Under: 47.5

Dallas is 3-0 ATS since making the change from Wade Phillips to Jason Garrett and they could very well be 3-0 straight-up had Roy Williams been more aware of the situation vs. New Orleans. That turnover was a key to the game and Indy’s -8 turnover ratio in the past two weeks is a key to why the Colts are on the outside of the playoff bubble looking in.

Indy is having huge problems running the ball but gets RB Hart back this week and the tandem of Hart and Brown should be more effective. The Colts are 10-1 SU at home the past five seasons off a home game (6-5 ATS), and 3-0 SU... [More]

NFL Betting: Early Week 13 Pick

Some say the league didn’t come down hard enough on Denver head Coach, Josh McDaniels for his part in the Spygate II scandal but after watching the St. Louis Rams pummel the last place Broncos Sunday on their own turf, is there any more discipline required?

McDaniels is on the hot seat in Denver and after the success Jason Garrett (3-0 ATS) and Leslie Frazier (1-0 ATS) have experienced since taking over the head coaching jobs in Dallas and Minnesota, a change of scenery in the Rockies could be eminent.

Denver lost a close one to the Jets in Week 6 that they had every right to win. Since then, the only two highlights for the Broncos have been a 35-point scoring spree in the first-half against the Chiefs and 20 fourth quarter points against the Rams in Week 12.

Online sportsbook set the betting odds for Denver and Kansas City this week at Chiefs (-7) but that line did not last through Arizona’s first fumble in the Monday Night Football game vs. San Francisco.

Sportsbetting.com currently lists the Chiefs (-9) and picks on Kansas City at home this season have produced a 4-1 ATS record – that’s a profit of plus-2.9 units.

Kansas City’s veteran coaches will have learned from their mistakes of the last meeting but in this short turn-around situation between division rivals we predict a much lower scoring game than the 49-29 final... [More]

NBA Betting: Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Basketball betting storylines for the first month of the season have led to Thursday night’s matchup between the Miami Heat (-4.5) and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Online sportsbook were projecting the Heat as nine-point favorites for this contest when the season began (with NBA Prospective lines), but given Miami’s current seven-game streak of losses against the spread (ATS), it’s a wonder they’re even favored at all.

Cleveland has posted a 4-4 ATS record the past while but they were underdogs in 7-of-8. The Cavs have an illustrious 5-0 record straight-up (SU) and ATS vs. Miami since March of 2009, but LeBron James was Cleveland’s leading scorer in four out of five games.

Ah yes, King James. Where would the Cleveland franchise be without their deserting leader? James averaged more than 28 points per game the past five years with Cleveland and so far this year with the Heat is netting just 23.7 points per contest.

James was good for 31.6 points in the past five meetings between these teams and this season through 17 games the King has crowned 32-plus points only three times.

Sportsbooks are giving bettors a chance to bet on nearly every aspect of this game, offering betting prop and Over/Under odds for how many points LeBron will score, does Chris Bosh remain an afterthought (O/U... [More]

49ers vs Cardinals: Monday Night Football Picks

49ers vs Cardinals: The Arizona Cardinals were in Kansas City last week while the San Francisco 49ers endured their first home shutout since 1977 at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After Sunday’s results the NFC West race has been transformed into a three-team race. The competitors are Seattle (5-6), St. Louis (5-6), and the winner of tonight’s game.

SAN FRANCISCO (3-7) AT ARIZONA (3-7)
Sportsbook have the number on this one set as the 49ers -1 and the Total is 40.

The fantasy ride for quarterback Troy Smith could be short-lived but this week he gets one more chance. Coach Singletary said he wouldn’t hesitate to bench QB Smith if he’s playing a miserable game and Alex Smith is second on the depth chart.

TE Vernon Davis, who left the game against Tampa Bay with an ankle injury, should be fine but San Francisco needs to hitch its wagon to Frank Gore.

Gore (foot) is coming off his worst game of the season against Tampa Bay and it could have partly been due to his injury, but this week he is ready to go. Arizona’s front seven is beat up right now and Gore could be the key to opening up room for the passing game.

Arizona HC Whisenhunt is under pressure to produce on offense and critics are starting to question why the team won’t bring in an offensive co-ordinator. The Cardinals will go with Derek Anderson at QB but l... [More]

NFL Week 12 Picks: Big Games for Week 12

NFL Week 12 Picks: It doesn’t matter if NFL players actually watch any of the action unfold during Thursday’s Thanksgiving triple-header; they know the results by Friday morning.

How it affects the players on Atlanta to see Drew Brees pass for more than 350 yards on the road against Dallas? Another mystery, but Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has thrown for 285-plus in five of his past six outings so the Falcons defensive backs better be ready!

GREEN BAY AT ATLANTA
Line: Falcons -2
Over/Under: 47.5
The Packers sandwiched their bye week with impressive wins against Dallas and Minnesota, leaving a trail of coaching casualties in their wake. The Falcons have had a few extra days after beating Baltimore on Thursday (Week 11) and they’ll face a Packers team that’s allowed only one TD on 31 drives in their last three games.

Atlanta is 3-2 ATS at home this year and was 5-1 ATS when laying points in 2009. QB Ryan’s (18-1 SU) strong run of straight-up home wins gets a ton of publicity but it’s well deserved; the guy knows how to get the job done.

Online sportsbook opened the line for this game at Falcons -2 and public betting percentages show a 70-30 split of ATS betting action, Green Bay getting the majority.

The Falcons won their final four games of the season ATS last year and are 11-2 SU in their past 13 overall. In what co... [More]

Champions League Picks

Champions League Picks: We’ve reached the second last round of Group games in the Champions League this week and there’s sure to be plenty of drama as everyone makes a final push for the knockout stages. Where should we be putting our money though? Let’s look at the biggest games, check the online sportsbook odds and see where value lies for our picks.

Inter Milan vs. FC Twente
The first match we’re looking at sees Inter Milan take on FC Twente at the San Siro in Group A action on Wednesday evening. Both sides are not in good form, with Inter dropping to sixth in Serie A at the weekend following a 2-1 defeat to Chievo and Twente have lost both of their last two matches in the Dutch league. Inter need all three points here to guarantee their place in the last sixteen stage of the tournament and know that a win for the visitors will see them leap ahead of them in the group. The first game finished 2-2 and with the seven games these sides have played in the Champions League seeing 28 goals, we’re expecting goals here too.
Our money is on over 2.5 goals in this game @ 1.56.

Barcelona vs. Panathinaikos
Two sides definitely not struggling this season are the Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid and they scored 13 goals between them at the weekend as Barca won 8-0 at Almeria and Real defeated Athletic Bilbao 5-1 at the Bernabeu. This ... [More]

NFL Betting: NFL Systems and Early NFL Pick

NFL Betting: We’re starting to see a few trends develop with certain NFL teams that can present wagering opportunities for astute bettors.

Not typical betting trends that speak of how ‘Team A’ performs against division rivals or as three-point favorite; those are easy to spot by sportsbook and bettors alike.

These trends are more like habits that are continuously producing the same net result and in the right matchup can generate solid betting options.

1. GIANT DROPS – The most famous drop in Manhattan used to be the big apple on New Year’s Eve but now it’s the ones by Eli Manning’s receivers. The worst part is that they don’t just drop the ball; they usually tip it to a defensive back!

2. PALM THE BALL – The only QBs with more interceptions per attempt than Carson Palmer are Eli Manning (see above) and Brett Favre – the NFL’s all-time INT King. Cincinnati cannot be trusted.

New York (-7.5) is hosting a Jacksonville team this week that have scored 79 points during a current three-game win streak, and sportsbook  is giving us more than a TD?

Cincinnati visits one of the toughest secondaries in football and the Jets (-9) can’t wait to face a trigger happy QB like Palmer.

Early football picks can offer great value ... [More]

Broncos vs Chargers Picks: Monday Night Football

Broncos vs Chargers: The current standings in the AFC West seem to be confused! Chargers look like dangerous teams with 4-5 SU under the coach Norv Turner.

For this Monday night match-up, Sportsbook have the line set at San Diego -10 with a total of 50.5. On the home side, early betting action has come in. Brian Taylor, Sportsbetting.com manager is starting 70% of the action and it’s on Chargers. 65% of the volume tiled to ‘Over’.

In Week 9, Chargers went into Houston for victory. If we look back to Week 8, San Diego was held up with Tennessee Titans team in the fourth quarter.

QB Phil Rivers is one of the players who attained a new level of respect to win. He is one of the greatest QB in the league. Last week, Broncos 3-6 were hosting Kansas in the second of back-to-back divisional road games. Denver Broncos were looking for four game losing streaks.

Oddsmakers have opened the line on this game at Chargers (-9.5). It was moved to 50.5 from 48 and now, it’s slowing down.

Before their bye, Titans were 3-1 and as more than 80 percent of bettors felt Titans as small road favs at Miami. Titans lost the game 29-17.

Despite scoring 5-0 ATS after their bye week, team out for 9-0 in Week 8 are New York Jets. They are having 30 points per game from Week’s 2-6.

Pick: Take the Broncos

Thursday Night Football: Bears at Dolphins Pick

CHICAGO BEARS (6-3) AT DOLPHINS MIAMI (5-4)

Line: Dolphins -1.5
Over/Under: 40

Chicago Bears are back and ranked top in the NFL North with 3-0 record seven weeks later. It still sounds that most of the people are not sold on this group and despite having longest injury report in the league, sportsbook who have posted the Dolphins as favorite.

As Chad Pennington has gone for the year and Chad Henne has been sidelined by a left injury, QB is the blazing concern for the Miami’s.

In the fourth quarter, Tyler Thigpen entered last week’s game against the Titans is about to start and has already taken the reps with the first team in practice. He finished 4-of-6 for 64 yards along with a touchdown. As a starter, 1-10 SU record sounds well. In the NFL, the Chiefs were the poor defense other than the Lions who were winless in 2008.

Chicago Bears
The football tradition for Chicago is built up on defense. It’s ranked second with a unit against the rush. For the recent opponents, the sustaining drives were not easy.

Chicago could record only three sacks in their past four games. But, Miami could withstand without Pro Bowl LT Jake Long.

This game seems to be low scoring with defensive battle. We incline towards “Under” but the danger of a special teams or defensive score seems to be very high.

Pick: Take the Bears... [More]