NFL Handicapping Articles

How to be a Sharp Bettor this Football Season for NCAA and NFL Wagering
by Trevor Whenham - 9/3/2016

Football season is, for most bettors, what it is all about. We can bet all year, and many other sports get a lot of attention. Football is the big dog, though, and the one that gets the most betting handle. As we get ready for another fall of chasing glory, then, it's a good time to get a refresher on important concepts and themes in the world of sports betting. One of the most discussed and important concepts - and one of the most misunderstood - is sharp bettors. People don't understand what a sharp bettor is and why we should care.

NFL Props Odds: Teams to Make the Playoffs from BetOnline with Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 9/3/2016

The NFL Preseason is over - mercifully. That means that the games are finally going to matter. As we get ready for the regular season, it only makes sense that we would look forward to the playoffs. BetOnline has made that more interesting for us, allowing us to bet on whether each team will or won't make the playoffs. Handicapping them is a good exercise for us even if we don't bet them.

2016 Minnesota Vikings Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/1/2016

This season was supposed to be the breakout for the Minnesota Vikings. Last year whet their appetite with a division title and an "oh-my-god-how-did-he-miss-that-kick???" heartbreaking loss in the playoffs. But Minnesota entered the 2016 season with a roster stacked with young talent and had, I felt, the third-best team in the NFC and one of the top five or six in football.

2016 Miami Dolphins Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 9/1/2016

Feels like just yesterday I started my 64 NFL road & home team-by-team season previews, but I began way back on May 12 with the New England Patriots' road slate. I finish them up here with a look at the Miami Dolphins' home schedule.

2016 Green Bay Packers Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/1/2016

The Packers have virtually the same team heading into 2016 as they had on the eve of 2015. Yes, Jordy Nelson is back from injury and that should give the offense the boost they were lacking. But it is essentially the same group. So whether you think that is a good thing or a bad thing depends on your perspective of what this team's realistic capabilities are.

2016 Chicago Bears Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/1/2016

Prior to training camp I thought the Bears might be a little undervalued heading into this season. They won just six games against a hellacious schedule last season. But Chicago was scrappy and a tough and suffered six losses by six points or fewer. With some subtle improvements and in Year 2 of the new coaching regime, I felt as if the Bears were a bit better than people realized.

2016 Detroit Lions Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/1/2016

The Lions were one of the biggest disappointments in football last season. After winning 11 games in 2014 they looked like they were poised as a potential threat to Green Bay's year-to-year dominance in the NFC North. But a disastrous 1-7 start crippled Detroit's season before it began. And the premature retirement of Calvin Johnson has carried a bit of the negativity over through the offseason.

2016 Dallas Cowboys Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/31/2016

That's what I get for writing some of these stories a bit ahead of time to lessen my future workload when possible! My original lead for the Cowboys here was: "I'm sure it has happened, but I can't remember the last time a team was 4-12 one season and last in its division but then favored to take said division the next year. But that's the case in 2016 with the Dallas Cowboys."

2016 Cleveland Browns Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/29/2016

I'm at the point where I feel pretty bad for those fiercely loyal Browns fans, although at least the city ended its long championship drought thanks to LeBron James' Cavaliers back in June. The Browns haven't made the playoffs since 2002 and have won more than five games just once since then. It would be huge upset if that total were topped in 2016. In fact, Cleveland is the +300 favorite to finish with the NFL's worst record this year, and it probably will.

2016 Chicago Bears Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/26/2016

I wonder how painful it was for Chicago Bears head coach John Fox to watch last year's Super bowl considering his previous two jobs were with the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers. And in Fox's second season in those stops, the clubs took a big step forward. In 2002, the Panthers were 7-9 in Fox's first season and then improved to 11-5 the next year and won the NFC title. In 2011 with Tim Tebow as his QB, Fox's Broncos were 8-8 in his first season. They jumped to 13-3 the next year and the AFC's top seed with Peyton Manning under center but were upset in the playoffs by Baltimore.

NFL Betting Advice: What to Expect from Top 5 ATS Teams Last Season
by Trevor Whenham - 8/26/2016

There's consistency in the NFL when it comes to strong betting teams. Of the six best teams against the spread last season, five of the six were also among the 14 profitable squads the year before, and the sixth was essentially a break-even team at 8-8 ATS. It isn't easy to cover spreads, but it makes sense that consistent, quality organizations are more likely to do it more often. It only makes sense, then, to look at the teams that were the most successful last year as an indicator of which teams could be betting successes this year, too.

NFL Handicapping: New Injury Report Guidelines No Help to Bettors
by Victor Ryan - 8/26/2016

The NFL has released an official injury report every game week since 1947. It's widely credited as a byproduct of the gambling that takes place on NFL games. This assertion appears to be correct, as multiple online sources report the NFL created the injury report after allegations surfaced of an attempt to fix the 1946 NFL Championship Game.

NFL Wagering Advice: How the Worst ATS Teams Last Season Might Fare in 2016
by Trevor Whenham - 8/26/2016

This list should really be named in honor of the Titans. Tennessee was tied as the worst team against the spread in the NFL last year. They were outright the worst the year before, and they were far less than profitable the year before that. They have been disastrous to bettors - but a total joy to bet against. But will they again be a terrible betting team, or will they finally turn a corner this year? And will the other bad betting teams from last year improve this year or again be in the cellar? Here's a look at the six worst ATS teams in the league last year - the five worst plus a tie:

Free NFL Preseason Picks for Week 3 from Expert Pro Football Handicappers
by Chris Vasile - 8/26/2016

Late August/early September just might be the best time of year to be an avid sports fan. The NCAA football season kicks off on Friday night in Sydney, Australia. The NFL regular season kicks off just two weeks after that. However, before then I will be breaking down the Week 3 NFL Preseason card for you.

2016 Tennessee Titans Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/25/2016

If you are old-school football fan, I believe the Tennessee Titans will be your cup of tea this year because they are going to try and ground-and-pound teams with their two-headed tailback situation of DeMarco Murray, acquired in trade this offseason from Philadelphia for basically nothing, and second-round pick Derrick Henry, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama.

2016 Seattle Seahawks Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 8/25/2016

Football success in Seattle has been the norm in the Emerald City throughout this century as the Seahawks have made the postseason 10 times in 13 years, won three conference championships, and hoisted the Super Bowl trophy in 2013. Those numbers are better than supposed football powers like Dallas, the Giants or even the Denver Broncos. Pete Carroll will attempt to continue his Pacific Northwest dynasty, and this year's Seahawks should be better than last year's streaky 10-6 outfit.

2016 Arizona Cardinals Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 8/25/2016

The Arizona Cardinals have the best roster in football. This is not an opinion as much as a statement of fact. Arizona has talent, depth and experience on both sides of the ball and at just about every position. They are the only team in the league that doesn't have a weakness anywhere on the 53-man roster.

2016 Washington Redskins Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 8/25/2016

It is difficult to like Washington because they are one of the most despicable, shady, soul-sucking, corporate-whoring organizations in all of sports. Daniel Snyder, the leader of this debacle, is impossible to root for. And time and time again during his stewardship it has been made clear that this front office cares way more about the prospect of winning and selling their fan base on the hope of future wins than it cares about following the necessary steps to being a top-tier organization and actually finding on-field success.

2016 Dallas Cowboys Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 8/25/2016

The fun thing about Dallas is that as long as we are still in the Jason Garrett-Tony Romo Era I don't have to do much scouting on this team. We all know who the Cowboys are. We've seen them. We've seen them perform (and fail) in all manner of situation over the last few years as America's (Mediocre) Team has been forced down our throats in big, nationally-televised games year after year.

2016 New York Giants Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 8/25/2016

The Tom Coughlin Era in the Meadowlands is over. The Giants were apparently the last ones to realize that Coughlin should've rode off into the sunset three years ago. Instead, he stuck around and guided a sloppy Giants team to three straight losing seasons before they finally sent him packing. That means for the first time in a decade New York enters a fall with fresh blood on the sidelines.