The sports betting experts are putting their systems together and getting ready for Super Bowl XLVI and the different kinds of challenges it offers. As each bettor puts together their numbers and makes their picks, the players that will be involved in the game are obviously a prime concern. The quarterbacks, Tom Brady for the Patriots and Eli Manning for the Giants, are getting a lot of deserved attention. Manning has been one of the most accurate passers in playoff history and Brady is a three-time Super Bowl champion. But there are other players that the price per head sports experts are keeping an eye on to see how they will affect the outcome of Super Bowl XLVI.

Jason Pierre-Paul – DE– New York Giants

Jason Pierre-Paul is an extremely fast and powerful defensive end that no offensive line has really been able to handle in these playoffs so far. The Super Bowl odds would be much different if Pierre-Paul was not able to play this game because he makes the Giants’ defense effective. Pierre-Paul only has a half-sack in these playoffs, but the confusion he causes has allowed Justin Tuck to get one and a half sacks in the playoffs and has allowed players like outside linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka to get pressure on the quarterback as well. Pierre-Paul has been dominating and can change the tide of any game he plays in.

Aaron Hernandez – TE – New England Patriots

It is easy to heap all of the praise for the New England tight ends on Rob Gronkowski because he tends to make the big plays. But if it were not for the presence of Aaron Hernandez, then teams could double team Gronk and take him out of the picture. All of the sportsbook reviews of the Patriots’ offense include Hernandez as an important part of the equation because Hernandez is another big, strong tight end that can play deep routes just as good as he can play underneath.

Victor Cruz – WR – New York Giants

It would not be a betonline scam to suggest that the Patriots’ defense is going to be in trouble when it comes to covering Victor Cruz. The Patriots have a defensive secondary that has been under siege all season long. The combination of Eli Manning to Victor Cruz has been going deep all season and there is no reason to expect that the duo will let up in the Super Bowl. With the ability of Cruz to catch the deep ball and the poor coverage habits of the Patriots’ secondary, it could be Cruz that burns the Patriots all day long.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis – RB – New England Patriots

In his four-year career to this point, BenJarvus Green-Ellis has never fumbled the football. He was limited this season by injuries, but based on his performance in playoffs so far, he looks to be completely healthy. Green-Ellis is the kind of running back that could chew up clock time and keep the Giants’ offense on the sidelines where it can do no damage.

The online betting websites are taking action for the upcoming AFC and NFC championship games that will be taking place Sunday. Before you place your bets, you should spend some time analyzing the keys to each of the games and determine which team enters into your Super Bowl betting picture and which teams just do not have what it takes.

AFC Championship: Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots (-7)
The Baltimore Ravens picked an odd time to start questioning the team’s quarterback. First, Joe Flacco himself made statements to the media that questioned people’s perception of him and how he plays. Then pro bowl safety Ed Reed questioned Flacco’s abilities and called out the entire offense in a radio interview earlier in the week. That is bad timing because the Ravens need its offense to be clicking on all cylinders if it wants to win in Foxboro. The Baltimore defense may think that it can win the championship on its own, but without offensive points on the board the Ravens are going nowhere.

When you talk about the New England Patriots, it is inevitable that you talk about quarterback Tom Brady. But it would be a betonline scam to look past the Patriots’ 31st ranked defense entering this AFC Championship game. The Baltimore Ravens’ defense is not the Denver Broncos. Brady and the Pats’ offense will not have carte-blanche over the Ravens like they did over the Broncos. The only question is whether the Ravens’ offense has enough to bowl over the 31st ranked defense in the league. If the Ravens play this one right, then it could be in its second Super Bowl.
Pick: Baltimore Ravens

NFC Championship: New York Giants @ San Francisco 49ers (-2)
The New York Giants are a difficult team to predict. The key to winning this game for New York is to protect the football and cause turnovers. The bookie software has the 49ers as slight favorites, but that is only because no one really knows what to expect from New York. The Giants appear to be as healthy as it can be going into the NFC Championship game and the Giants’ defense definitely has the players that can make plays on defense. The Giants need to make sure that quarterback Eli Manning does not give the ball away and that the New York defense does not give the 49ers’ offense any room to move.

For the 49ers, it is all about consistency. The 49ers post winning NFL scores because its offense and its defense are excellent at staying with the game plan. The 49ers offense is good on the line of scrimmage, at the linebacker level and in the defensive secondary. On offense, quarterback Alex Smith showed that he can make plays when he needs to, but it is unlikely that the 49ers will call on Smith to carry the game in the NFC Championship. More than likely, the 49ers will do what it has been doing all year which is run the ball and then ask Smith to get the ball downfield without turning it over. It is something Smith has done all season and something that he is very good at.

Pick: San Francisco 49ers

The online betting experts know that the NFC is filled with quality quarterbacks and many of them have made the cut into the divisional round of the playoffs. The top NFC teams seem to have taken the approach of bypassing good defense and relying on a high-scoring offense to win games. It flies in the face of the old saying that defense wins championships, but it has also been extremely effective. Lets see what we can find out about the four quarterbacks competing in the NFC divisional playoffs.

Eli Manning – New York Giants
The previous two seasons have been frustrating for the New York Giants because they had not made the playoffs primarily due to the poor play of quarterback Eli Manning. Down the stretch, Manning gave up more turnovers than any other NFC quarterback. But this season was different. According to the price per head sports experts, Manning had thrown 15 fourth quarter touchdowns in the regular season to set a new NFL record. Eli Manning threw for 4,933 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2011, but he also threw 16 interceptions. However, Eli was a clutch player at the times when his team really needed him. When Eli is effective, the Giants are a very dangerous football team.

Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints
Drew Brees is now the most prolific single-season passer in the history of the NFL. Brees’ 5,476 passing yards smashed the old record set almost 20 years ago by Dan Marino. While Brees’ arm makes the Saints a dangerous team, the price per head sportsbook experts point out that Brees does have a decent running game to fall back on. But if it comes down to an offensive shootout in the playoffs, there are few NFL gunslingers better equipped to compete in a foot race than Drew Brees. Considering that the Saints have one of the worst defenses in the NFC playoffs right now, Brees may have to get involved in a couple of shootouts to get the Saints to the Super Bowl.

Green Bay Packers
Drew Brees may have had the best numbers this season, but Aaron Rodgers of the Packers is the league MVP. The Packers have almost no running game to speak of. When Green Bay wins a game, and it won all but one this season, it is due to Aaron Rodgers. But a 5 dimes review of recent events in the news shows that Rodgers and his offensive coordinator Joe Philbin enter the playoffs with heavy hearts after the death of Philbin’s 21-year-old-son. Football can be an emotional game, and this could be something that weighs on the minds of each Packers player as they line up for the game against the Giants. Unfortunately, the Giants will show no mercy. We will get to see how well Rodgers performs under several different kinds of pressure in the same game.

Alex Smith – San Francisco 49ers
It would be a betonline scam to talk about Alex Smith and not give almost full credit for his success to his new head coach Jim Harbaugh. Smith is an effective game manager that can move the offense up and down the field. But he does not have that field vision to take over a game if the 49ers get behind. If the San Francisco defense starts falling behind to the New Orleans offense, do not look to Alex Smith to bring the 49ers back in the game.

The NFL playoffs are ready to get underway and the NFL betting lines are open for business. There are some teams that fans are interested to see and other teams that are expected to skate through the wild card round. When you spend some time looking at each game in detail, you realize that nothing is set in stone. The price per head sports experts have set the odds and now it is time to see who will come out on top in this weekend’s wild card action.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Houston Texans (-3)
The line on this game has not moved since it was set earlier in the week. This is the first time that the Houston Texans have made the playoffs in franchise history, so it is an exciting time for the football fans in Houston. But the Texans enter this game without their starting quarterback Matt Schaub and defensive star Mario Williams. The defense has been able to compensate somewhat for Williams’ absence, but the offense is struggling without Schaub. With third-string quarterback TJ Yates ready to start his first NFL playoff game, things do not look good for the Texans.

The Bengals are healthy and the rookie duo of quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver AJ Green are ready to score points in Houston. The price per head bookmaking experts are looking at the Cincinnati defense to be the key to this game. With the Houston passing game struggling, the Bengals’ defense will be called on to shut down Houston running back Arian Foster.
Pick: Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints (-10 ½)
Of all the teams that the Detroit Lions could have drawn in the first round of the playoffs, it had to be the New Orleans Saints. A bodog review of the second half of the season shows that the Saints ran the board and went 8-0 in its last eight games. In the process, quarterback Drew Brees set the single-season passing record and the New Orleans’ offense was lighting up scoreboards all over the NFL.

The Lions are young and confident. But this Saints team may be too much for the Detroit squad to handle. Detroit is definitely an up and coming team and this playoff experience will be valuable to them.
Pick: New Orleans Saints

Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants (-3)
NFL fans in New York watched the Giants rise to the challenge and win the NFC East. Now they want to see the Giants rise to the challenge and beat the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons have a huge uphill battle as it is a dome team that is not only playing a playoff game on the road in a stadium without a dome, but it is playing that game in New York where the weather is probably going to be cold and unbearable. The Giants probably do not have enough talent to get to the NFC championship game, but it definitely has enough to pull off this victory.
Pick: New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers (-9) @ Denver Broncos
Teams have learned that you need an active defensive secondary and fast linebackers to completely shut down Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos’ offense. The Steelers have everything it needs to beat the Broncos in Denver. The Pittsburgh offense is battered with the loss of running back Rashard Mendenhall and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s bad ankle that will severely limit his mobility. But all of that probably will not matter in this game.
Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers