Miscellaneous Articles

2009-10 New York Giants Predictions
by Jay Horne - 8/13/2009

The New York Giants had everything going wonderfully through the majority of 2008. After riding a big wave of momentum from a stunning upset in Super Bowl XLIII, the defending champions backed up their impressive season by jumping out to a dominating 11-1 start.

2009-10 Chicago Bears Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/13/2009

The Chicago Bears made the biggest news of this NFL offseason by acquiring the franchise quarterback this team has been looking for since, oh, Sid Luckman in the 1940s (sorry, Jim McMahon, you didn’t last long enough). Of course I’m speaking of the trade with Denver for Pro Bowler Jay Cutler.

2009-10 Philadelphia Eagles Predictions
by Jay Horne - 8/13/2009

The Philadelphia Eagles faced some big challenges last season. After struggling for most of the year offensively, frustration reached its peak in Week 12 when quarterback Donovan McNabb was benched due to multiple interceptions as the Eagles were sitting at a record of 5-5-1.

2009-10 Buffalo Bills Predictions
by Justin Johnson - 8/12/2009

For a team that finished below the median of the league in every offensive category except rushing yards per game (115.13-ypg, good for 14th) the Bills may have made a deal with the Devil to improve their offense when they signed the sideshow that is Terrell Owens. Owens, despite his constant turmoil, has been productive at every stop in his career and could provide a solid redzone weapon alongside WR Lee Evans

2009-10 Pac-10 Football Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 8/11/2009

A 5-0 bowl season was able to mask what was an otherwise mediocre season for the Pac-10 conference in 2008. The Pac-10 was the Mountain West’s bitch after going 1-6 against it, and besides USC’s blowout over Ohio State there were multiple nonconference embarrassments. Personally, I thought the conference was way down and ready to hit a slide.

NFL Predictions: 2009 AFC Division Winners Futures
by Matt Severance - 8/11/2009

The first NFL exhibition game took place on Sunday, so that means it’s definitely time to start getting serious about those NFL futures bets. With this article, I’m going to try and guide you toward the best value in each division of the AFC (NFC is its own story). All odds are courtesy of Bodog.

NFL Predictions: 2009 NFC Division Winners Futures
by Matt Severance - 8/11/2009

Do you realize that the NFC has won just two of the past nine Super Bowls? But I think it’s safe to say that this conference is starting to gain on the AFC in terms of championship-caliber teams. The beauty of the NFC is that each division is probably up for grabs this year, whereas the AFC seems to have clear betting favorites in each division. So let’s look at the NFC and try to gauge the best value of teams winning their division. All odds are courtesy of Bodog.

2009-10 Dallas Cowboys Predictions
by Jay Horne - 8/11/2009

The Dallas Cowboys repeated familiar trends last season by starting off strong and fading down the stretch. The Cowboys won four of their first five games before hitting a rough road during the middle of the season. However, the Cowboys were still legitimate playoff contenders up until they fell apart once again in the month of December, suffering three losses.

2009-10 Minnesota Vikings Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/11/2009

The Minnesota Vikings were caught up in all the Brett Favre drama for a second consecutive offseason, with Favre shocking the Vikes by saying he would stay retired. Thus now coach Brad Childress has to convince his players that he really did have faith in the two guys currently battling for the starting job: Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels.

Tips for Wagering on NFL Preseason Games
by Josh Nagel - 8/8/2009

There are usually two types of bettors that enjoy wagering on NFL preseason games: those who just can’t get enough of pro football, and those who refuse to let any profitable opportunity slip through their grasps.

NASCAR: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen Odds and Predictions
by Christopher G. Shepard - 8/8/2009

A 10th-place finish last week at Pocono kept Tony Stewart in first place --197 points in front of challenger Jimmie Johnson in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series with five races to go until the Chase for the Sprint Cup as NSCS heads to New York’s Finger Lakes region for the circuit’s second road-course of the season, the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen on Sunday at 1 p.m.

NFL Handicapping: Futures Breakdown
by Robert Ferringo - 8/7/2009

Chamfort, an18th century French author, was a big fan of epigrams and the cornerback blitz. And his wisdom on public perception couldn’t be a more suitable lead in to discussing the grueling, sadistic endurance trial that is betting in the National Football League.

NFL Handicapping: Top NFL Free Agent Pickups
by Robert Ferringo - 8/5/2009

For NFL players the first week of August is a time to get your bearings, stretch out, and get back in the flow. For NFL fans the first week of August is a time to get your bearings, stretch out, and figure out which players shuffled around in the offseason and how that is going to impact their new squads.

College Football Handicapping: Bounce-Back Players
by Robert Ferringo - 8/4/2009

You can’t handicap injuries. But you certainly can adjust to players returning from seasons lost to things ranging from fluke knee tears in the spring games to eligibility issues from the previous year. Below is a list of 12 guys that missed all or most of last season. Each one should have a tremendous impact for their teams while coming back from lost 2008 seasons:

NASCAR: Pennsylvania 500 Odds and Predictions
by Christopher G. Shepard - 7/31/2009

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Tony Stewart will try for a sweep in the Keystone State as NSCS returns to the “Tricky Triangle” of Pocono Raceway this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. for the Pennsylvania 500. Gamblers interested in backing the June winner Stewart (6/1) should note that since 1974 there have been eight season sweeps at Pocono, but only twice in the past ten years. Denny Hamlin was the last driver to accomplish this feat in 2006 while Johnson swept in 2004.

NFL Handicapping: New Important Assistants
by Robert Ferringo - 7/30/2009

There aren’t many people outside of the Keystone State or the Tri-State Area that know much about 35-year-old Sean McDermott. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that at least four of out of ever five people that just read that sentence can’t even tell me what team McDermott is employed by. Yet, the new Philadelphia Eagles coordinator is at the head of the list of assistant coaches whose performance is going to have the most impact on this team this season.

Fall Football Preview: College Coaches on Hot Seat
by T.O. Whenham - 7/30/2009

As a bettor it's not always clear whether the hot seat is a productive place for a coach to be or not. In some cases, the pressure can motivate the coach to raise his efforts to a new level, and push the team to save the job of a guy they like. In other cases the situation can cause the team to quit listening to the coach and can make things pretty awful.

Fall Football Preview: College Teams Primed for Resurgence
by Robert Ferringo - 7/29/2009

Every team in the country heads into August with dreams of fame, fortune, and bowling. But unfortunately, more programs than not are going to fall on their face this season and have those dreams shattered, and then rammed through their throat, well before Halloween. However, even the clubs that endured bitter and salty seasons in 2008 feel that they are primed for big bounces in 2009.

NFL Betting: Regular-Season Rushing Leader Predictions
by Matt Severance - 7/28/2009

NFL training camps open this week – I don’t know about you, but I can hear the angels signing to that news – so it’s really time to start hitting the NFL futures odds hard here at Doc’s.

NFL Handicapping: Profiling the New Coaches
by Robert Ferringo - 7/27/2009

Not For Long. As Jerry Glanville famously espoused, that phrase is not only a cute anachronism for the National Football League’s call letters but also the amount of time that a head coach can expect to hang around while dueling with the slings and arrows of professional football. But then again, what did he know?