Sports Betting Blog

The Big Game is right around the corner. Because of this season’s early Pro Bowl game, the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts are going to have one extra week to prepare for the Super Bowl. Perhaps the extra days of rest are going to make up for a more intense match-up. What this also implies is that you are going to have an extra week to prepare and find out as much information as you can to place your wagers.

This is it: the biggest day in football and perhaps the busiest and most exciting day of the year in the Sportsbook Industry’s calendar. If you browse around different handicapping sites, you will see that they are prompting players to place their wagers early. Coming in as an early bird has its pros and cons, sure, but the trend is worth taking into consideration when placing your wagers. We are still a whole week away from Super Bowl Sunday and as of press time the Colts are favorite by 5½ points on the spread.

Most players are going to start taking action on the weekend. This factor alone is going to be enough to force line movers into drifting from one side to another.  On the weekend, when the gross of the wagers are placed, the lines are going to change according to market pressure. Therefore, some players will try to pick up early lines, while they are still soft. For example, if a bettor believes that most players are going to take the favorite, he will place his wagers early, before most other players come in and force the line to move up. This kind of early bird wagering also has its downside. A lot of things could go wrong in a week worth of training sessions:  injuries could play (and have had played) a big roll in NFL games. This is an additional risk that the player will have to take into consideration when placing bets long before kickoff.

Instant Action Sports is offering an extensive selection of Super Bowl Props bets. No other game gets as much attention from the Props Department as this. Sharp players do their homework: they do research and do it extensively. Although they don’t take every trend and statistic as a sacred omen, they do look up as much information as possible to make more informed choices. So just to get you started, these are some random stats you might want to take into account when making your wagers.

• The team leading after first quarter has won 22-10 straight up
• The team leading by first half has won 33-8
• There has never been a punt return for touchdown in a Super Bowl
• No Super Bowl game has ever gone to overtime
• Every winning team has at least scored one touchdown
• No team has gone scoreless in a Super Bowl
• No Super Bowl game has been scoreless by halftime
• Every Super Bowl has had at least one touchdown

The Saints had to go to overtime (and a bit into overdrive) to leave behind Bret Favre and the Minnesota Vikings and grasp a spot in this year’s Super Bowl. The Indianapolis Colts, on the other hand, made it look a little easier with their 30-17 win over the New York Jets. But this is the big game, and anything can happen.

The Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints have had a superb season. Both teams held perfect records until they lost their first games very late into the season, when they decided to sit down their starters before the playoffs. Quite a clever move, if it meant earning a trip to the Super Bowl. They were expected to take over do well in the postseason. In their two playoffs’ games, both in the Divisional Round and the Conference Championship game, they were the spread favorites. Now they are going to face each other in the Sun Life Stadium on February 7th for the National Championship Game.

All eyes are going to be upon star quarterback’s Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. Truth be said, they have had an amazing season, and if you look at their numbers, it would seem like it is going to be a close match. Manning has 68.8 completion percentage while Brees’ has 70.6 and 4388 passing yards, just a tad behind Manning’s 4500.   The Colts QB has completed 33 touchdown passes and has had 16 interceptions; Brees has completed 34 touchdown passes and only 11 interceptions. One figure stands out a bit, thought. The Colt’s defense has only allowed 11 sacks to their QB. The Saints’ defense has allowed twice as many.  If the Saints want to stay in the game, they need to hold back the Colts and give Brees just enough time to do his part.

The Saints are the underdog. But oh, wouldn’t it be a Cinderella story if the Saints made it to their first ever Super Bowl and won? It took New Orleans 21 years to have its first winning season. Hurricane Katrina left the team homeless and wrecked. But now the Big Easy is back, in their best-ever season. The team has enough motivation to actually go out on the field and win it. They have proven to be a team worthy of a Super Bowl. The Aints might just not fit their nickname anymore. The Colts are expected to win it; in fact, yes - the Colts probably are going to win it. (Although I have to confess having a thing for underdog stories.) At least we can rest assured that both Manning and Brees are going to give us a thrilling three and a half hours of entertainment.

As of press time, Online Sportsbook industry leader, Instant Actions Sports has made the Indianapolis Colts favorite by 5½ points. The over/under line is set to 56½ points. The Colts are the clear favorite on the Money-Line by -220 with a comeback of +180 for the Saints.

Minnesota must be a bit worried about this game. They are certainly motivated. This is their first shot at a Super Bowl game since 1976, but playing in the Superdome is not going to make things that easy for the Vikings. Brett Favre and the team have been quite impressive at home this season.  They are 9-0 and the veteran quarterback has thrown 25 touchdown passes and only 2 interceptions at their home field. Things in the road have not been as smooth: with a 4-4 record in hand, we are quite sure that the Vikings would have loved to play at the Metrodome.

The Saints, on the other hand, are having their best season ever. They have a good chance of making it into the Super Bowl for the first time. They are only one home game away from their trip to Florida. And if that is not motivation enough for the players to go out to the field and give us one heck of a game, they don’t belong in the NFL. No matter whom you are cheering for, this is going to be one hell of a match.

Favre is having his best season ever. Even more so if one considers that he wasn’t committed to play for the Vikings until just a couple weeks before the season’s start. He has enough experience to guide his team in this difficult game. But if we try to keep an objective eye on the game, the Saints have an amazing QB, and Minnesota’s defense is going to have to go on overdrive to control Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees. This is going to make for one great match-up.

Both teams won their previous games with some unexpected ease. Now they face each other for a spot in the big one. If you are interested in taking some action on the sides or total, don’t forget to check out the game, halves and quarter lines BetIAS has to offer. As of press time, online sportsbook industry leader, Instant Actions Sports has made the New Orleans Saints Saints favorite by -3½ points on the spread. And while you are at it, don’t forget to visit the many different features and props that they have to offer. Its just a little example of what they will be offering for the Super Bowl.

The Vikings have a solid team. They have 9 Pro Bowl players, and are ranked 6^th in the NFL for both offense and defense. They are going to face the top-ranked scoring offense in the league. It’s going to be a good game with a lot of activity close to the end zones.  The combination Favre-Peterson-Rice could mean trouble for the Saints’ defense. But the Superdome is still one of those stadiums that can and will get loud, and can still give a significant advantage to home team. If Reggie Bush can perform like he did last week, well, he is certainly going to give his team a bit of an edge on the offense.

It’s a bit funny how things work out sometimes. Lets take this year’s AFC Championship game for example. We covered this story a couple weeks ago, but here is a recap.  During week 16 of the regular season, The New York Jets were 7-7 and about to be kicked out of the playoffs. They were facing the Indianapolis Colts and with MVP Payton Manning at the helm the Jets were down 15-10 with 5:36 left in the third quarter. And that is when the Colts´ Head Coach, Jim Caldwell, pulled out Manning and some of his other key starters. Backup quarterback Curtis Painter came into the field and before a booing crowd guided the Colts to their first defeat of the season, 29-15.

The Jets then went on to pull off some spectacular games. They faced the Bengals in their last regular season game, and just swipe them off their feet with a 37-0 victory. So, at the moment, it seemed that the Bengals were not trying too hard. They had already secured a spot in the Wild Card Round and there was no reason to push its players harder. So, one could say, they had an “easy” entrance into the Playoffs.

But they have fought with all their might to stay in. In their Wild Card Round game against the Bengals, the Jets were the underdog by 3½ points. And this time, the Bengals were going at it for real. But it mattered very little if the Bengals were trying harder or not. With a strong defense, and some nice plays by rookie Mark Sanchez the Jets just whooped them again, 24-14.

Last week they were facing non other then the well rested San Diego Chargers in what seemed like a tough road game.  With an 11-0 win streak the Chargers were the favorite team by -7 points in the spread by midweek. An hour before kickoff, Instant Actions Sports line movers had made them favorite by -9 points with a -115 juice. But then the unexpected happen. The Jets came back from a 7-0 halftime deficit to win the game 17-14.

The bottom line: they played the game quite smartly. First they set up their top-rated strong and agile defense. Then they ran the ball in a swift offensive strategy that kept pushing the chains. They didn’t ask much from rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez and with good rushing plays they were able to leave the Charges behind. It seems simple, but it has allowed the Jets to win 7 of their last 8 games.

And that sure makes one team extremely happy. Peyton Manning and the Colts have enough experience behind them to know that they cannot (and will not) take their game against the Jets lightly. But if we look back into their last two seasons, it must be quite a relief for the Colts to know that the Jets already took care of the San Diego Chargers.

The San Diego Chargers have defeated the Colts in their last 4 games. What is more important here is that the Chargers have kicked the Colts out of the Playoffs in their last 2 seasons. And truth be said, all though the Colts have already lost to the Jets earlier in the Season, the Jets defeated Curtis Painter´s version of the Colts.

As of press time, according to IAS wagering lines the Indianapolis Colts are the favorite by 7 ½ points on the spread. Just like the Chargers were last week. It is not quite certain if the Jets are going to be able to pull out and upset. It seems quite possible that the Colts are going to take the game. If by any chance, circumstance, or fate, the Jets do win, one cannot forget that it was the Colts, and the Colts alone who gave them an easy pass into the Playoffs.