The NFL combine rolls on, and it is curious to see who is raising their value in the sports betting world with their performance in the combine.

Quarterback Sam Bradford of Oklahoma had a rough 2009 season. He hurt his shoulder early in the season, and then hurt it again when he tried to come back. He did not get a chance to play in a bowl game, and he had to miss the Senior Bowl as well. Bradford’s abilities were never called into question. The buzz is that this kid is the real deal at quarterback. The questions were about his durability and whether or not he could avoid long-term injury in the NFL.

Bradford needs to impress at the combine. He is scheduled to work out towards the end. Scouts want to see all of the tools that has made Bradford a tempting prospect, and they want to see if he has the stamina to get in the weight room and add the bulk he will need to survive the NFL.

Another quarterback that needed to impress at the combine is Tim Tebow. After a terrible showing at the Senior Bowl, Tebow needed to be hitting on all cylinders at the combine to raise his value in the draft. While Tebow is not breaking any combine records, he is turning in consistently high numbers in everything he is doing. In some cases his speed numbers are better than the running backs and receivers in the draft. That is not too surprising considering that Tebow’s strength is his ability to run. But Tebow is not showing too well in the upper body exercises, and it is his inability to throw an accurate long ball that will keep Tebow out of the top 15 picks and maybe even drop him to the second round.

The NFL odds were stacked against the Saints, but they put the final touches on a season that was exactly what the city of New Orleans needed. Now that the season is over, we can all focus on how the league will look when they kick the ball off in 2010.

If you are hearing rumblings of Reggie Bush leaving New Orleans you do not need to get your hearing checked. Bush wants a contract extension and he may need to leave the Big Easy to get what he wants. The emergence of Pierre Thomas puts the Saints in a position of power in this negotiation. What adds to the Saints good fortune is the possibility that LaDanian Tomlinson may be looking for a new contract as well, and San Diego is probably not going to offer it to him. L.T. to the French Quarter? It just may happen.

Derek Anderson of the Browns is also ready to test the free agency waters this offseason as well. The only question that surrounds Anderson is whether his dismal performance in Cleveland as the starting QB was due to him or his supporting cast. Brady Quinn laid an egg in Cleveland as well, and while Quinn is not the most accurate passer in the world he is still a good QB. Until Cleveland fixes their offensive line problems, they will continue to be a QB wasteland.

So Tim Tebow is now on the clock. The Heisman Trophy winner looked like a first rounder for sure just 12 months ago, but after a lackluster performance in the 2010 Senior Bowl many GMs had knocked Tebow way down on their prospect list. The question that comes up now is whether Tebow will even go in the first round or if waiting that extra year to enter the NFL draft has cost him millions of dollars in upfront money.

Betting management players will have their eye on the total of 56.5 points for Sunday’s super Bowl betting matchup between Indianapolis and New Orleans, because these two offenses are the best in the NFL.

Indy is paced by Peyton Manning, who may be a robot, he’s so efficient and prepares so well for the opposition. He has had arguably the best season of his storied career because his ground game, led (a term that is used loosely) by Joseph Addai, has been shut down all season, putting more pressure on Manning’s shoulders. Manning has a strong group of receivers, led by Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, but Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon definitely stepped up in the AFC championship game against the Jets. It’s insane to think of how the Colts would be with a decent running game

The Saints have one with Pierre Thomas, and occasionally Reggie Bush, who is a force in the open field as a receiver as well. But the bread and butter of the Saints’ offense is Drew Brees and the passing game, which tore up the league this year. Brees finished second to Manning in the MVP race, and he also has a solid group of receivers in Devery Henderson, Marques Colston and Lance Moore, all of whom can stretch the defense with deep plays. This will open up the middle of the field for Jeremy Shockey, but the tight end has battled injuries over the second half of the season. The Saints are much better when Shockey is in the lineup, and we’re willing to bet you won’t be able to keep him off the field on Sunday.

Super Bowl betting is always huge when it comes to the NFL Championship Game but the props are really where there is money to be made. Here are three worth betting:

Total Number Of Field Goals Missed: Over 1 +380

The over under for this category is just one, which means on you only need one miss to tie. Garrett Hartley, the Saints field goal kicker, has only 25 field goals in his NFL career. You can bet that he’ll be nervous. Expect him to miss one on his own to get you the tie and maybe even two. If Matt Stover contributes, you can cash in +380 on this over.

What Will Happen On the First Challenge: Overturned -115

In the Super Bowl, we have two smart head coaches that rarely challenge unless they need to. Knowing this, a good play would be to bet that the first challenge will overturn a play.

The magnitude of this event cannot be understated and if either coach plans to challenge, it’s because he is getting definitive evidence from upstairs to do so.

Total Number Of TD Passes By Colts QB’s: Over 2.5 +110

Seriously? In a shootout?

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is going to light up the Saints secondary and considering how poor their running game is, they may not even bother with it. The Colts will score four or five touchdowns in this game with three coming through the air.

The Super Bowl XLIV odds are a big showdown between two excellent offenses. We all know about the Indianapolis Colts explosive offense and the New Orleans Saints had the No. 1 unit in the NFL. Furthermore, we all know about Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. Here is a position-by-position breakdown of the offenses minus the quarterback comparison, which is a wash.

Running Backs

While the quarterback matchup is basically even, the Saints have the edge in the backfield. Talent-wise, Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas are probably only slightly better than Joseph Addai and Donald Brown, but the edge clearly goes to the Saints in productivity.

They just find a way to have offensive balance while the Colts don’t.

Offensive Line

Both teams have similar offensive lines in caliber and both teams have Pro Bowlers in their front five but when you boil it down, numbers speak the loudest.

The Colts offense allowed only 13 sacks on the year and three of them came when the backups were in and Curtis Painter was playing quarterback in the last two weeks.

By the numbers, the Colts have the edge here.

Receivers

This is another area where the race is tight but the Colts have the slight edge when you do the math and they again leave with the edge.

Reggie Wayne is a better receiver than Marques Colston, Pierre Garcon is more rounded than Robert Meachem while Austin Collie and Devery Henderson are probably about even but offer different skills.

Meanwhile, Dallas Clark is a Pro Bowl tight end while Jeremy Shockey is battling a knee injury.

When you add it up, the Colts have the better pound-for-pound unit and the better pound-for-pound offense.

Those waiting for the Super Bowl line will first have to get through the conference championships, and they’ve probably been following the Brett Favre story throughout the year. Favre came back to win a Super Bowl in Minnesota, but they’re facing a team of destiny in the New Orleans Saints, who will make their first appearance in the big game.

Vikings vs Saints odds – Sunday, 6:40 PM ET

The Saints stumbled down the stretch, but came back hard in a 45-14 thumping of Arizona at home, and they recovered some of the swagger they had lost. The Vikings destroyed Dallas 34-3 at home, but it’ll be a different story at the Superdome as Minnesota has lost their last three games on the road. In particular, the quarterback matchup will be one to watch as Drew Brees was a force at the Superdome this season, while Favre struggled on the road after beating such teams as Cleveland, Detroit and St. Louis. Their only decent road win was in Green Bay, and you can bet that emotion carried Favre through that game. Expect a big play or two from New Orleans safety Darren Sharper, who played with Favre for eight seasons in Green Bay, and another two against him in Minnesota. Take these betting tips and go with the Saints.

Step away from the racebook this weekendl; there are a ton of great matchups on the NFL Week 4 odds.

The biggest will be the Monday Nighter where Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings will take on Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Yes, that’s right - Favre will be starting for the Vikings and not the Packers.

Favre has already been trash talking this week, calling Aaron Rodgers a liar. People making their NFL picks should know that firing up Favre is never a good plan.

The Packers offensive line is brutal and that’s going to be the difference. Look for Jared Allen to go wild and pressure Rodgers all day as the Vikings get the win.

The New England Patriots are not the favorites they once were in the sportsbook. Clearly, not as many people have the same type of faith in them now as they did at the beginning of the season.

But as the Baltimore Ravens come to visit this week, this is an easy opportunity for the Patriots to make a statment that the Super Bowl still goes through them.

The Patriots are a mild two-point favorite on the NFL betting line but that is a very short price for this squad. Sure, they haven’t played to their potential but they are improving.

Tom Brady is still working on his mechanics and both Wes Welker and Randy Moss are getting healthier. Once everyone is back and this offense is in rhythm, they are going to dominate again.

As far as NFL picks go for this weekend, take the Patriots -2.

Let’s be honest: how many of you online betting fanatics thought that the Cleveland Browns-Minnesota Vikings betting line looked like a trap in the sportsbook?

Then the Vikings rolled to victory. It might be time to recognize that bringing back Brett Favre might be a great decision for the Vikings.

The truth of the matter is that Adrian Peterson - and even Chester Taylor - are going to run wild for the Vikings this year. Few teams are going to be able to slow those guys down. For the Vikings, though, what they needed was a quarterback to make a few throws and do some damage in the air to keep opposing defenses honest. Well, it looks like they found their man.

You heard it here first: the Vikings are going to the Super Bowl. Their team is complete now and in the NFC, it’s wide open, so they have a great chance to do it.

At this upcoming UFC odds event, we’ll see Matt Serra and Matt Hughes fight - two guys that have recovered from some serious surgeries. Brett Favre is apparently encouraged and might be going under the knife himself.

If I could place and online bet right now on whether Favre will play in 2009 or not, I would bet on ‘yes’.

Favre visited with Dr. James Andrews - the chief NFL medical expert - and we all know what that means. If he was staying retired, he wouldn’t have to do it. Since he’s not, he’s looking for ways to recover from his biceps injury.

It’s too early to care about the NFL season right now, especially with French Open betting and Indy 500 odds up on the board. Even so, it looks like Favre will be wearing purple and playing this season.