I have been making selections on the NFL total line all season long for Doc's Sports Service and while I am far from being a professional handicapper, I did post another winning season with an overall record of 26-20-2 and a 2-1 record in last weekend's Wildcard Round games.
This week, I turned my attention to the four matchups in the Divisional Round of the playoffs to come up with my final three top plays of the year. All four games last week stayed UNDER the total but with teams such as New England and Denver on this weekend's slate it is hard to see that being the case this time around.
Copied below is a link to this week's picks as originally posted on Doc's. Thanks to those who followed my selections over the course of the NFL season and I look forward to getting back at it next season.
NFL Totals Betting: Divisional Round Over and Under Predictions
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Seattle Seahawks vs. Washington Redskins NFL Wildcard Free Pick
The NFL's Wildcard Weekend wraps things up late Sunday afternoon with perhaps the best matchup on the slate. The red-hot Seattle Seahawks come into the playoffs as the sixth seed in the NFC and travel to FedEx Field to face Robert Griffin III and the upstart Washington Redskins.
The Seahawks finished the regular season with a five-game winning streak and a 4-1 record against the spread to wind-up 11-5 both straight-up and ATS on the year. The Redskins actually topped that with a seven straight wins to close out the season while covering the spread in every game. Their 10-6 SU (11-5 ATS) record was good enough to win the NFC East title for the first time since 1999.
The most intriguing aspect of this showdown is the fact that both teams enjoyed this kind of success with a rookie quarterback at the helm. Anyone who follows the NFL is well aware of the big-play capability of RG III with both his arm and legs, but Seattle's Russell Wilson is as equally as dangerous with the ball in his hands. After a slow start to the season, he has worked his way into the discussion for offensive rookie of the year along with Griffin and Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck. Whichever of these two phenoms can elevate their game the best with the dialed-up intensity of the playoffs gives their team the best chance to come out of this game with a win.
The following is a link to my preview & prediction for Sunday's game as originally posted on Bang the Book.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Washington Redskins NFL Wildcard Free Pick
The Seahawks finished the regular season with a five-game winning streak and a 4-1 record against the spread to wind-up 11-5 both straight-up and ATS on the year. The Redskins actually topped that with a seven straight wins to close out the season while covering the spread in every game. Their 10-6 SU (11-5 ATS) record was good enough to win the NFC East title for the first time since 1999.
The most intriguing aspect of this showdown is the fact that both teams enjoyed this kind of success with a rookie quarterback at the helm. Anyone who follows the NFL is well aware of the big-play capability of RG III with both his arm and legs, but Seattle's Russell Wilson is as equally as dangerous with the ball in his hands. After a slow start to the season, he has worked his way into the discussion for offensive rookie of the year along with Griffin and Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck. Whichever of these two phenoms can elevate their game the best with the dialed-up intensity of the playoffs gives their team the best chance to come out of this game with a win.
The following is a link to my preview & prediction for Sunday's game as originally posted on Bang the Book.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Washington Redskins NFL Wildcard Free Pick
Friday, January 4, 2013
Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers Wildcard Playoffs Pick
The Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers will meet for the third time this season on Saturday night, but this time it is for a chance to advance to the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs.
Each team has already won this season on its home field with Green Bay upending the Vikings 23-14 as a seven-point home favorite in Week 13 and Minnesota returning the favor last Sunday in a thrilling 37-34 victory as a three-point underdog at home. Overall, the Packers have won five of the last six meetings straight-up and they are 4-2 against the spread. The total has gone OVER in three of the last four meetings.
The following is a link to my preview and prediction for this NFC North showdown as originally posted on Bang the Book.
Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers Wildcard Playoffs Pick
Each team has already won this season on its home field with Green Bay upending the Vikings 23-14 as a seven-point home favorite in Week 13 and Minnesota returning the favor last Sunday in a thrilling 37-34 victory as a three-point underdog at home. Overall, the Packers have won five of the last six meetings straight-up and they are 4-2 against the spread. The total has gone OVER in three of the last four meetings.
The following is a link to my preview and prediction for this NFC North showdown as originally posted on Bang the Book.
Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers Wildcard Playoffs Pick
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Who should be hired as the Eagles next head coach?
As expected, the ax fell on Andy Reid this past Monday thus ending his 14-year reign as the Eagles head coach. Since team owner Jeff Lurie has only had to hire two head coaches since buying the team in 1994, he is definitely under the gun to find the right replacement that can finally deliver that elusive Super Bowl title that Reid never could.
The team has already set up interviews with Denver offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, Atlanta defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and Oregon head coach Chip Kelly, so it appears that Lurie is going the route of trying to find the next, great NFL head coach as opposed to chasing down proven entities such as Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher. It remains to be seen if Gruden or Cowher even want to return to the coaching ranks of the NFL after establishing a successful career in broadcasting, but if they do it appears that it will not be in Philadelphia.
This whole process could drag on for quite awhile so the debate over who the Eagles should hire can rage on for now. As for me, I am torn over which direction the team should head in trying to find the best possible candidate. I am not thrilled with the idea of dipping into the college ranks to find a new head coach as for every Jim Harbaugh, there are four or five other busts out there when it comes to a top college coach trying to make the transition to the NFL.
I must admit that Chip Kelly could be an interesting prospect with the wealth of offensive weapons the Eagles currently have. He could be the one coach capable of resurrecting Michael Vick's career but that is a crap shoot at best.
When it comes to hiring a NFL assistant with no prior head coaching experience, the No.1 prerequisite should be a Super Bowl ring in his current or previous role. Reid came to Philadelphia fresh off his experience helping Green Bay win Super Bowl XXXI as an offensive line coach and helped the Packers get back to the title game the following season as the Packers’ quarterback coach. While he could never seal the deal in Philadelphia, he always knew what it took to get there and built his team accordingly based on what he learned from his long-time mentor Mike Holmgren (who happened to get his shot after working for Bill Walsh when the 49ers were winning Super Bowls on a regular basis).
As crazy as it may seem, maybe there is some up and coming assistant lurking in the shadows on Tom Coughlin’s staff in New York or possibly on Green Bay’s or Pittsburgh’s staff from when they won their Super Bowls a few years back. New Orleans won a Super Bowl in 2009 but I would not touch anyone from that staff with a 10-foot pole.
I fully realize that there are many more factors that go into a major decision such as this, but a big part of winning a title is having the confidence along with the knowledge of how to actually get it done. Whether you were or were not a big Andy Reid fan, you do not keep a job in the NFL for that long without doing something right. As I am writing this post it looks like his total time unempolyed as a head coach will end up lasting less than a week as he finalizes a deal to take over the helm at Kansas City.
My only hope is that Lurie thoroughly does his homework so it will be another decade or so before the Eagles have to go through this kind of job search again.
The team has already set up interviews with Denver offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, Atlanta defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and Oregon head coach Chip Kelly, so it appears that Lurie is going the route of trying to find the next, great NFL head coach as opposed to chasing down proven entities such as Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher. It remains to be seen if Gruden or Cowher even want to return to the coaching ranks of the NFL after establishing a successful career in broadcasting, but if they do it appears that it will not be in Philadelphia.
This whole process could drag on for quite awhile so the debate over who the Eagles should hire can rage on for now. As for me, I am torn over which direction the team should head in trying to find the best possible candidate. I am not thrilled with the idea of dipping into the college ranks to find a new head coach as for every Jim Harbaugh, there are four or five other busts out there when it comes to a top college coach trying to make the transition to the NFL.
I must admit that Chip Kelly could be an interesting prospect with the wealth of offensive weapons the Eagles currently have. He could be the one coach capable of resurrecting Michael Vick's career but that is a crap shoot at best.
When it comes to hiring a NFL assistant with no prior head coaching experience, the No.1 prerequisite should be a Super Bowl ring in his current or previous role. Reid came to Philadelphia fresh off his experience helping Green Bay win Super Bowl XXXI as an offensive line coach and helped the Packers get back to the title game the following season as the Packers’ quarterback coach. While he could never seal the deal in Philadelphia, he always knew what it took to get there and built his team accordingly based on what he learned from his long-time mentor Mike Holmgren (who happened to get his shot after working for Bill Walsh when the 49ers were winning Super Bowls on a regular basis).
As crazy as it may seem, maybe there is some up and coming assistant lurking in the shadows on Tom Coughlin’s staff in New York or possibly on Green Bay’s or Pittsburgh’s staff from when they won their Super Bowls a few years back. New Orleans won a Super Bowl in 2009 but I would not touch anyone from that staff with a 10-foot pole.
I fully realize that there are many more factors that go into a major decision such as this, but a big part of winning a title is having the confidence along with the knowledge of how to actually get it done. Whether you were or were not a big Andy Reid fan, you do not keep a job in the NFL for that long without doing something right. As I am writing this post it looks like his total time unempolyed as a head coach will end up lasting less than a week as he finalizes a deal to take over the helm at Kansas City.
My only hope is that Lurie thoroughly does his homework so it will be another decade or so before the Eagles have to go through this kind of job search again.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
NFL Betting: Three Important Post Season Betting Tips
The NFL postseason gets underway this Saturday afternoon with the first of four Wildcard Round games. I was already correct on my first prediction that the Cowboys and Giants would be at home watching the playoffs along with the Eagles, so it might be in your best interest to pay attention to this post if you want to make some money wagering on the games.
As part of my three part series for SBR Forum on how to bet on the NFL playoffs, I have provided a link (copied below) to the second installment; Three Important Post Season Betting Tips. These are fairly common sense concepts, but a vital part of successfully handicapping a particular matchup in the postseason.
As an added bonus the following are my picks for this weekend's games:
Cincinnati (+4.5) over Houston
Green Bay (-7.5) over Minnesota
Baltimore (-6.5) over Indianapolis
Washington (+3) over Seattle
I know I said that whichever team won the NFC East would be a one and done in the playoffs, I just do not have confidence in Seattle's ability to head all the way out to the East Coast and win on the road as a favorite. The ideal situation would be a one or two point Seahawks' win.
NFL Betting: Three Important Post Season Betting Tips
As part of my three part series for SBR Forum on how to bet on the NFL playoffs, I have provided a link (copied below) to the second installment; Three Important Post Season Betting Tips. These are fairly common sense concepts, but a vital part of successfully handicapping a particular matchup in the postseason.
As an added bonus the following are my picks for this weekend's games:
Cincinnati (+4.5) over Houston
Green Bay (-7.5) over Minnesota
Baltimore (-6.5) over Indianapolis
Washington (+3) over Seattle
I know I said that whichever team won the NFC East would be a one and done in the playoffs, I just do not have confidence in Seattle's ability to head all the way out to the East Coast and win on the road as a favorite. The ideal situation would be a one or two point Seahawks' win.
NFL Betting: Three Important Post Season Betting Tips
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