Friday, December 28, 2012

Weekly Philadelphia Eagles Betting Picks: Week 17 vs. Giants

The Eagles tried to play the role of spoiler last week against Washington, but came up just short of sending the game to overtime in the closing seconds of a 27-20 loss. They now have the chance to march into MetLife Stadium this Sunday and knock the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants out of the playoffs as seven-point underdogs on the road.

No matter what happens this Sunday there are a few things that are painfully obvious to every Eagles fan. First, our beloved Birds are in line to finish with their worst record since 1998 when they went 3-13 under the guidance of Ray Rhodes as head coach. Next, Andy Reid, who happens to be the all-time winningest coach in franchise history and the NFL's longest tenured head coach with the same team, should be fired some time early next week. Finally, Michael Vick is slated to get the start for an injured Nick Foles in what will most likely be his last game in Eagles’ green.

This offseason will bring a sea of change to this franchise, but if Jeff Lurie is able to land the right guy as his new head coach, Philadelphia clearly has enough talent on both sides of the ball to turn things around in a hurry. Every single player on the current roster will be auditioning for his job this Sunday and they would love nothing better than being the ones that denied the Giants a chance to defend their title.

I am not convinced that the Birds can actually win this game as that would not be a fitting end to a season where anything and everything has gone wrong. What I do see is another valiant effort that is derailed by untimely penalties, blow coverage’s and a few costly turnovers that result in a three or four point loss.

Below is a link to my final Eagles’ preview and prediction for this season in what has been an ongoing series for Doc’s Sports Services. My overall performance trying to figure out what this team was going to do each week was pretty bad to say the least. However, if I hit on this Sunday’s play it would be my third correct pick in a row, which might be just enough to save my job for at least one more season.

Weekly Philadelphia Eagles Betting Picks: Week 17 vs. Giants

Thursday, December 27, 2012

A shout out to Andy Reid

The Eagles head into their final game of what has been their most dismal season since Ray Rhodes stalked the sidelines as the Eagles' head coach. They head on the road to face the Giants this Sunday as a team with far more question marks than answers.

It is pretty much a foregone conclusion that this will be Andy Reid's last game as the Birds' current head coach after spending his last 14 years in that role. He is currently the longest tenured head coach in the NFL with the same team, but as the saying goes 'all good things must come to an end'. Reid's last two seasons have been tumultuous to say the least but that is what losing brings to the table in this position in this city.

Once the tide of popular opinion turns against you, it rarely turns itself around. Tom Coughlin has been able to survive a couple of close calls in New York but it is amazing what a few Super Bowl titles can do for your job security. Many of the other knuckle-head, die-hard fans I talked to this season actually gave-up on Andy a few years back, giving much of his credit as a head coach to former defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. Nobody was a bigger Johnson fan than myself as I would much rather have a smash-mouth defense than a flashy, big-play offense. However, I was never one to throw Reid under the bus and I am not about start now.

His biggest mistake was hanging around about two or three seasons too long. I believe I read somewhere that former San Francisco head coach Bill Walsh stated that no head coach should stay with the same team for longer than 10 years. Reid was an in-direct disciple of the Godfather of the West Coast offense through his direct mentor Mike Holmgren. Walsh coached the 49ers from 1979 to 1988 (10 years) and won three Super Bowls. Holmgren coached the Packers from 1992 to 1998 (7 years) and went to two Super Bowls and won one in 1996. Reid took over the reins in Philadelphia in 1999 and led the team to four-straight NFC Championship games from 2001 to 2004 and to the Super Bowl in 2004. That is when things started to become unglued with Donovan McNabb and the whole T.O. fiasco.

He steered the team back to the NFC title game in 2008 in his 10th season at the helm. Even though the Eagles made it back to playoffs the following two seasons, he probably should have quit while he was ahead. Unfortunately, without a Super Bowl ring on his finger, he pressed-on and now his legacy in Philadelphia will be forever tarnished with the memory of this past season.

Do not cry for Andy, although I doubt that too many Philly fans would, as he will be back on the sidelines somewhere in the NFL next season. Coaching is the only life he knows and he is far too young to hang up his clipboard and head set for good. I personally wish him the best and only hope he ends up somewhere in the AFC. This way the Eagles would only have to face his team every four years, unless they meet in the Super Bowl, where he would probably end-up getting that ring he was looking for along.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Weekly Philadelphia Eagles Betting Picks: Week 16 vs. Washington

We are down to the final two weeks of the NFL regular season and all the Eagles can do is play the role of spoiler in this Sunday's game against Washington at the Linc and next Sunday's game in the Meadowlands against the Giants.

It has been a trying season to say the least in not only watching the Birds but trying to predict the outcome of their games. I nailed last week's collapse against Cincinnati, but was pretty much dead wrong with every other pick this year. Things got so bad I had to seek out the advice of one of EaglesLincs most loyal followers, Chuck B. Good. He made the call on this week's Redskins game and I have to agree with his pick whole heartedly.

The following is a link to my weekly Eagles' game preview and prediction for Doc's Sport Services as previously posted on their site. With Chuck's help, I actually made this pick one of my top unit plays of the year utilizing Doc's Unit Betting System.



Weekly Philadelphia Eagles Betting Picks: Week 16 vs. Washington

Thursday, December 20, 2012

NFL Betting: Principles of Playoff Success

We are heading into Week 16 off the NFL regular season and the only thing we know for sure about the playoffs when it comes to the NFC East is that Eagles' chances to make it in ended when the leaves were still on the trees and pretty much still green. The Birds actually have an opportunity to have a major say in which team actually wins the East with a home game against Washington and a road game against the Giants to close out the regular season.

I just cannot see Philly derailing the Redskins' chances and Dallas should find a way to get by New Orleans this Sunday, so this season's NFC East title should come down to the winner of a Week 17 showdown between the Cowboys and Redskins in Washington. I cannot bring myself to root for Dallas and the Giants had their shot last year, so I guess I am pulling for RG III and the Skins.

Last season, I boldly stated in one of my posts that it did not matter which team won the division because they were going to be a 'one and done' in the playoffs anyway. There is no way I can be wrong two years in a row, so I am saying it again. Whichever of these three teams claims the NFC East will have a very short stay in the postseason and the other two will end-up in the same boat as the Eagles; watching the playoffs on TV.

The following is a link to an article I recently wrote for SBR Forum as part of a three-part series on tips for wagering on the NFL playoffs.

NFL Betting: Principles of Playoff Success

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Weekly Philadelphia Eagles Betting Picks: Week 15 vs. Bengals

The Eagles make their first appearance on NFL Network's Thursday Night Football riding an unexpected one-game winning streak after last Sunday's thrilling last-second victory over Tampa Bay. This week they have a chance to end another team's slim playoff chances when they face the 7-6 Cincinnati Bengals. The Birds also have a chance to post a 3-1 record against the AFC North, which has already accounted for half their wins this year.

You gotta love the way rookie quarterback Nick Foles hung tough and willed the team to a win over the Buccaneers and you have to hope he takes another step forward against a pretty solid Bengals' defense. Thursday night is also a chance for the Eagles' defensive secondary to prove that last Sunday's unexpected performance against Tampa Bay was not a fluke with Andy Dalton and AJ Green coming to town.

Finally, this game is one of three remaining chances for Andy Reid to add to his running record as the winningest head coach in franchise history. At first I thought Jeff Lurie should have let him go once the Eagles hit seven losses, but in retrospect, I glad he is letting him ride out the string.

The following is a link to my weekly Eagles preview and prediction that has been featured on Doc's Sports Service all season long. My overall record picking these games is as bad as the Eagles playing them, but it has still been fun.

Weekly Philadelphia Eagles Betting Picks: Week 15 vs. Bengals

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Weekly Philadelphia Eagles Betting Picks: Week 14 vs. Tampa Bay

This Sunday, the Eagles travel to Tampa Bay looking to snap their longest losing streak since the late 90's. Things have gotten so bad this season that I have already read a couple of articles talking about how Philadelphia might qualify for next April's top pick in the draft. I myself have questioned whether or not this team will win again this season after suffering through one disappointing performance after another.

Making matters worse for this Sunday's game is the fact that the 6-6 Buccaneers are still in the playoff hunt and in desperate need of a win to keep their hopes alive. Rookie quarterback Nick Foles has been handed the reins to the offense for the rest of the season but he is seriously handicapped with both LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson out of the lineup. The one bright spot has been the emergence of rookie running back Bryce Brown, who is averaging 6.5 yards a carry. He has also fumbled the ball three times in his last two games which obviously needs to be corrected if he is to become a legitimate one-two punch out of the backfield with McCoy.

The best news out of Philadelphia this week was new defensive line coach Tommy Brasher's decision to abandon the 'wide 9' scheme the line had been using the past two seasons. This alignment never made any sense to me as I think it created way too many uncloseable gaps for the opponents running game. I guess it was somewhat of a success last season in helping to create sacks but even that advantage has all but disappeared this year.

Overall, the 2012 campaign has been a complete disaster in every phase of the game as we have watched a once proud team hit rock bottom. The good news is that if Jeff Lurie can bring in the right head coach, this team still has enough talent to turn things around pretty quickly. It is obvious that current coach Andy Reid lost his team somewhere back in early October and is not about to claim it back over the next four weeks.

Below is a link to my weekly preview and prediction for Doc’s Sports Service that was previously posted earlier this week.

Weekly Philadelphia Eagles Betting Picks: Week 14 vs. Tampa Bay

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

NFL Totals Betting: Week 14 Over and Under Predictions

The NFL regular season continues to wind down and with the Eagles already having one of their claws firmly planted in the offseason, I have decided to focus a good deal of my energy on my weekly "over/under" picks for the remainder of the NFL season. That does not mean that I faked my way through the first 13 weeks of games, much like our beloved Birds did, it just means I am going dig even deeper into the last four weeks of matchups to unearth some sure-fire winners each week.

I am actually slightly above .500 for the season on my top plays, but not nearly as good as last season when I hit on just under 60 pecent of my picks. This year has been a challenge especially over the past seven weeks where the Oddsmakers have absolutely nailed to total line with 48 games going OVER, 50 staying UNDER and three ending as a PUSH.

I firmly believe that I have found three solid plays for Week 14 in the NFL so please click the link below to check them out for youself in my weekly piece for Doc's Sports Service. Also be sure to check back later in the week for my complete preview and prediction for Sunday's Tampa Bay game.

NFL Totals Betting: Week 14 Over and Under Predictions

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Weekly Philadelphia Eagles Betting Picks: Week 13 vs. Cowboys

The Eagles season has long been derailed but this Sunday night they get a chance to derail the season of their bitterest rival. What would be better than seeing our beleaguered Birds march into Big D and knock the Cowboys out of the playoff? We have had very little to cheer for this year but that would be an early Christmas present for a loyal fan base that expected the world this year but had their Eagles' stocking filled with coal long before the start of the Holiday Season.

In what has been one nightmare after another, beating Dallas on Sunday night is still just a dream. To put things in simple terms; the Cowboys stink but the Eagles stink worse! The offense has been decimated with injuries and will have just three players in Sunday night's starting lineup that took the field on opening day. For the most part the defense has remained healthy, but that might be part of the problem. Things got so bad after last Monday night's pathetic showing against the 2-8 Carolina Panthers that, in an attempt to shake-up the locker room, Andy Reid decided to send one of his best lineman, Jason Babin packing. The effort on this side of the ball has been downright embarrassing for players that consider themselves pros.

The current state of affairs on this team will most likely prevent it from winning another game all season long, but something tells me that the Birds will pack a bit of pride for their trip to Cowboys Stadium that will actually work to keep this game competitive for all four quarters.

The following is a link to this week's game preview and prediction that was previously posted on Doc's Sports Service as part of my weekly series covering the Eagles.


Weekly Philadelphia Eagles Betting Picks: Week 13 vs. Cowboys