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 Arizona Cardinals are going to be facing the New Orleans Saints this Saturday’s afternoon. Kurt Warner’s aerial performance was quite spectacular in their wild card victory over Green Bay. And the team still managed to make 156 rushing yards for that game. More then half of those carries were completed by freshman Beanie Wells. He is fast, agile and strong and could make a difference this Saturday.

The Saint’s defense now has to find a way to stop Warner from throwing like he did last week. Because the Saints are certainly going to have to get their awesome back if they plan to control Arizona’s QB, who threw 29/33 for 379-yards with no interceptions and 5 touchdowns on his last game. The Saints also need to cover Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston, a duo that meant so much trouble for Green Bay.

Although the Saints were coming super-strong from the beginning of the season, with a franchise record 12-game win steak, their recent performance has surprised many. In their last couple performances the Saints have been more righteous then perfect, and they brought down their tempo. There is one big issue here when it comes to choosing sides. New Orleans is playing at home, and its men are well rested.

Drew Brees has proved to be solid in the air attacks, and the Saint’s offensive line counts with at least 5 players with more then 45 catches per head. As of press time, Instant Action Sports is offering the following odds for the Saints: -7-110 / ML-300 with a ML+250 comeback for the Cardinals.

Let us begin with the New York Jets. They are looking good. They took down the AFC North champion with a bit of ease. Their defense is strong. Strong enough to have kept Cincinnati Bengals’ Chad Ochocinco under control for most of the game: he only ran 28 yards for the night. Quarterback Mark Sanchez had a brilliant performance in his first ever playoffs. He completed 12 of his 15 attempts for one touchdown and 182 passing yards. And both the defense and the team’s ability to run the ball have given quite good results.

In the Jets last 7 games, the team’s defense has not allow more then 15 points per game. But now Sanchez is going to face the San Diego Chargers at home, and it’s not quite certain if he is going to play like he did last week. Even though the Jets have an impressive defense, they are facing a team that has scored more then 20 points in their last 20 games.

Now the Chargers have won 11 games in a row, and they might just keep up their momentum. Actually, they are looking so strong that they are the second most favorite team in the odds to win Super Bowl XLIV with a ML of +325 just behind the Colts. Quarterback Phillip Rivers has passed the ball along 4254-yards completing 28 touchdown passes this season.

The New York Jets have a great defense, but just take a look at these numbers by the Chargers: both Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates have more then 1100 yards each, and if this is not enough LaDainian Tomlinson has rushed 730 yards for 72 points. Tomlinson had a rough game against Washington two weeks ago, but he has had time to recover, and there’s a big chance he could play. As of press time, the Chargers are the favorite by 7½ points on Sportsbook industry leader Instant Actions Sports.

By Ally White

After winning the first game of the 2009 NFL season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Indianapolis Colts did it again. This time, the team faced the Miami Dolphins at the Land Shark Stadium and won with a closer score of 27-23.

The outcome came as an enormous surprise and probably a tremendous disappointment for Miami’s new star-studded minority owners (including Jennifer Lopez, Serena Williams, and Tiger Woods), who made a Hollywood-type appearance on an orange carpet into the stadium. But even beyond the disappointment of the VIPs, the Colts took possession of the ball for only 14:53 to the Dolphins’ 45:07. In fact, the Colts needed only 35 plays to take the win.

The reason for the astonishing win? Cast your eyes on Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, a key player during the game who was able to convert two passes into touchdowns with great skill and precision. The first pass was finished in the first play of the game; the second, at the end of the fourth quarter, with only 3:18 left to play.

Manning pushed the game from the very beginning. In the first play of the first quarter, Manning stunned with a surprise pass to Dallas Clark, who then scored an 80-yard touchdown to put the score at 7-0. The Dolphins, however, were able to tie the game in the next offensive series thanks to Ronnie Brown, who scored a touchdown after a 14-yard run.

In the second quarter, the teams were kept at a tie, with both scoring intercalated field goals. Indianapolis scored with Andy Vinatieri a 43- and a 48-yard field goal while Miami scored a 45- and a 44-yard field goal in the hands of Dan Carpenter. By halftime, the score was tied 13-13.

The third quarter added no points; however, in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins took the lead after Ronnie Brown scored a touchdown in 3 yards. The Colts responded quickly, tying the score at 20-20 with a 15-yard run by Donald Brown. Minutes later, Dan Carpenter managed another field goal for Miami to put the score 23-20 in the Dolphins’ favor.

With just over 3 minutes left in the game, Manning came to the rescue, demonstrating why he is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. He found receptor Pierce Garcon, who then escaped 48 yards down the field to score the winning touchdown for Indianapolis. With the play, the Colts closed the game and took their second victory of the season.

Manning ended the game with 14 of 23 passes for 303 yards. He converted the two passes and committed no interceptions. For Miami, runner Ronnie Brown was the most notable player, with 24 runs and a total of 136 yards and 2 touchdowns.

After the game, Manning said that it was a change of approach that changed the game. He began pushing himself and his teammates from the very beginning.

“You aren’t bothered in the first and second quarters, but in the fourth quarter, it is time to get going. You normally feel so much pressure that you press. It was just the opposite tonight. I kept telling the guys that we had to score every time that we went out there,” said the quarterback sensation.

With the win, the Colts improved their record to 2-0 whereas the Dolphins are 0-2. Indianapolis’ next game will be against Arizona, while Miami will face San Diego at the Qualcomm Stadium; both games will be held on Sunday September, 27th.

About the Author

Ally White has been a prominent writer on daily NFL Football Season reviews, sports news and sports betting industry updates for many exceptional sports web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.