NFL Handicapping Articles

2016 Philadelphia Eagles Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 8/25/2016

It's a new, old era in Philadelphia this year as former Andy Reid assistant Doug Pederson makes his head coaching debut for in The City of Battery Love. The irony of Pederson's hiring is pretty thick; Eagles fans and management ran uber-successful Andy Reid out of town - the scapegoat of some horrific personnel decisions gone wrong. Now just three years later the Eagles bring in a guy who will try to mimic everything Reid did and to pick up the pieces of the failed Chip Kelly experiment.

2016 San Francisco 49ers Expert Predictions and Season Win Totals Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 8/25/2016

Most football coaches - high school, college or pro - are dickheads. Between the mix of rage and daddy issues there is always a distinct, undeserved air of faux toughness and authority. Football coaches are generally delusional and antisocial dicks. Chip Kelly fits that mold.

Expert NFL Picks: Props Odds and Predictions for Most Receiving Yards
by Trevor Whenham - 8/25/2016

Last year it was a two-horse race for the receiving title in the NFL. Julio Jones of the Falcons and Antonio Brown of the Steelers both led the league with 136 receptions, but Jones had the slightly better average yards per catch and came out 37 yards ahead with 1,871 yards. The odds suggest that those two again are in the driver's seat of what promises to be another tight and exciting race. BetOnline has posted their odds for the top receivers this year, and there is plenty of interest:

2016 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/24/2016

The NFL has a rule that teams can block other clubs from interviewing their personnel if it's for a lateral move. So, for example, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can refuse the Philadelphia Eagles permission to speak with Bucs offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter if that's the job the Eagles want to hire him for. I mention this rule because if the NFL didn't have one, then Lovie Smith might still be Tampa Bay's head coach instead of in the same role at the University of Illinois.

Free NFL Betting Picks: Props Odds for Most Rushing Yardage with Expert Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/24/2016

Last year Adrian Peterson led the NFL in rushing with 1,485 yards, edging runner-up Doug Martin by a decent day's work for either of them - 83 yards. It was the third time that Peterson topped the list of top yard producers. Can he do it again? Or will someone else take his place? It's an interesting question by itself, but it's even more interesting because we can bet on it. BetOnline has odds listed for pretty much every running back you could imagine. Here is a look at some of the more interesting:

NFL Betting: Handicapping the All-Important Third Preseason Game
by Trevor Whenham - 8/23/2016

We have made it to the third week of the NFL Preseason. This week can also be referred to as the only week of the NFL Preseason that deserves even a little bit of attention. It's still garbage football compared to the regular season, and there are several reasons for bettors to be very cautious, but if you are itching to get some action it's by far the best week of the preseason to consider a bet. Here are four reasons why the third preseason game is the best of a bad bunch of games and three reasons why you still need to be cautious when selecting your bets.

2016 San Diego Chargers Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/22/2016

Frankly, what happens on the field this season for the San Diego Chargers is mostly irrelevant compared to what happens in a Nov. 8 ballot initiative on whether the city should raise taxes to build the Chargers a new stadium. Voters will decide whether to increase the hotel room tax to 16.5 percent, up from its current rate of 12.5 percent, with the proceeds to help fund a $1.8 billion new downtown stadium and convention center. The team and NFL are pledging $650 million.

2016 San Francisco 49ers Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/19/2016

You can find a prop on the lowest-scoring team in the NFL for the coming season at various sportsbooks. The favorites are the Cleveland Browns (+600), Los Angeles Rams (+650), Tennessee Titans (+800) and San Francisco 49ers (+1000). I'll be putting my money on the Niners.

2016 Buffalo Bills Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/19/2016

I think you can go ahead and get your resumes in with the Buffalo Bills if you are an NFL head coach or general manager candidate. That's because Coach Rex Ryan and GM Doug Whaley reportedly have been given a make the playoffs mandate or be fired, and I don't see the playoffs happening because of injuries/suspensions.

NFL Wagering Advice: Best and Worst Backup Quarterback Situations
by Trevor Whenham - 8/19/2016

The backup quarterback is a guy you never want to think about as an NFL bettor. You hope that teams will only play their starters all year - especially the teams you bet on. It is inevitable, though, that due to injury or poor play several guys who are backups now will be forced into starting roles at some point in the season. For some teams that won't be a big deal - the backup is capable and the drop off should be fairly small. For other teams, though, the loss of a starter for an extended period would just be a disaster. Here's a look at the best and the worst backup QB situations at this point:

NFL Betting and Handicapping: Teams Having Very Strong Camps
by Trevor Whenham - 8/19/2016

There are some NFL franchises that we know are always going to run very competent, almost dull training camps. They know how to run a team, and it leads to a lack of headlines but strong results on the field. Unless it is due to a commissioner's vendetta, the Patriots always run a dull camp. So do the Packers and the Seahawks. From a handicapping perspective, then, the training camp activities of those teams aren't particularly useful or interesting.

NFL Odds and Betting Predictions for Defensive Player of the Year
by Trevor Whenham - 8/18/2016

Defensive players may not get as much attention overall as the truly elite offensive stars in the NFL, but the very best have nothing to complain about when it comes to media attention or what they bring home on payday. The big individual prize for those players, of course, is the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. As is almost always the case, it is truly a wide-open race for that hardware this year. A wide-open race is one that is interesting to bet on, and this is no exception. Here's a look at how the race shapes up, with futures odds from BetOnline.

2016 New York Giants Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/17/2016

While I'm a bit baffled why the Giants fired head coach Tom Coughlin yet basically kept the status quo by promoting inexperienced offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo to head coach, I'll just get right to the point and say this team is my pick to win the NFC East this year. Is it that I think the Giants are a great team? No. But the NFC East is pretty weak.

NFL Betting Advice: Teams with a Great Chance to Improve ATS
by Trevor Whenham - 8/17/2016

With the NFL Preseason underway, and the regular season now just around the corner, it is a good time to look to the past to imagine what could happen in the future. We know which teams were consistently good performers against the spread last year and which ones really struggled to covers spreads and deliver profits to bettors.

NFL Preseason Handicapping: Concerning Camps for Certain Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 8/17/2016

Training camp and the NFL Preseason don't always mean much. Every year we see teams that look great in the preseason falter badly when the games actually matter, and vice versa. You have to take everything you see in the NFL in August with a gigantic grain of salt. There are some teams, though, that shows signs in August of issues that you just can't ignore.

Free NFL Preseason Picks for Week 2 from Expert Pro Football Handicappers
by Chris Vasile - 8/17/2016

Week 1 of the NFL Preseason played out just as we should have expected it. It was very slow and sloppy, with plenty of third- and fourth-stringers playing the majority of the snaps. There were a few things bettors could take away from these games, but it must be taken with a grain of salt, as preseason Week 1 only serves as a glorified scrimmage. The top two storylines for Week 1, in my opinion? Watching how the first and second overall draft picks fared.

2016 Baltimore Ravens Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/15/2016

Murphy's Law most definitely applied to the Baltimore Ravens in 2015, so if you are one of those believers that luck evens itself out, then Coach John Harbaugh's club should have a great 2016 season. But until I see all those key guys who suffered season-ending injuries last year on the field, it's hard to handicap this team.

2016 Detroit Lions Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/12/2016

On Thursday I looked at the Jacksonville Jaguars' 2016 home schedule and my lead was about how Gus Bradley is among the favorites on the "First NFL Coach Fired" prop. He was priced at +1200. Well, the second-favorite on that prop at +400 is Detroit's Jim Caldwell, and many are still surprised that Caldwell is still in charge in Motown. But the Lions were a playoff team under Caldwell in 2014, and after a 1-7 start last year the team played much better and finished at 7-9.

NFL Week 1 Lines: Handicapping and Expert Pro Football Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/12/2016

This is a pretty good time to be looking at first week lines in the NFL. Training camps are underway, and the preseason is slowly getting rolling, but the general betting public has not yet been bitten by football fever - at least not compared to what they will be like in a few weeks. The lines that have been posted for a few weeks now have been hit hard by sharp bettors, then, but have not yet been attacked by the public. That makes it potentially easier to find some interesting value than it will be in a month when the season starts. Here are the six most interesting lines available at this point from BetOnline:

2016 Jacksonville Jaguars Home Schedule Odds and Picks with Win Total Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/11/2016

On the "First NFL Coach Fired" prop, Jacksonville's Gus Bradley is one of the favorites at +1200. And I agree that Bradley is squarely on the hot seat entering 2016. After all, the former Seahawks defensive coordinator is just 12-36 in his three seasons.