Sports Betting Overview
New York Giants’ fans don’t want to admit it, but that hissing sound coming out of the New Meadowlands is the sound of the air being let out of the Giants’ season. You can almost set your calendars by it. By the time the ninth or tenth game of the season rolls around, the Giants will surely start to squander their lead in the NFC East and lose any chance it had of making the playoffs. Same players and same coach for the past three years will yield the same results. Most price per head bookie experts would call trying to get different results from the same people insanity. The Giants call it the standard operating procedure for the New York franchise.

This was supposed to be the season that the New Orleans Saints passed the NFC South torch on to the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons finally got the memo and started winning after a horrible start to the 2011 season. But someone forgot to get the memo to the Saints and New Orleans has amassed a 7-3 record and sits on top of the NFC South standings. The pay per head fans in New Orleans are a little nervous about their team because the defense has not played consistently this season. But quarterback Drew Brees and the New Orleans offense has been unstoppable and, as Brees has shown in the past, he is more than capable of winning a Super Bowl title on his own.

New York Giants
In past seasons, much of the collapse of the Giants could be laid on the shoulders of quarterback Eli Manning. However, this season it looks like offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride may be the culprit this year. The Giants have lost its last two games in a row, and in both games Gilbride’s pass-happy offense was shut down by the opposing defense. The Giants’ offense has done nothing to try and establish the run in the second half of the season. A 5 dimes review of Eli Manning’s season shows that Manning is playing well in the second half of the season even with throwing three interceptions in the past two games. But the running game needs to get going or else the Giants will lose out on the playoffs once again.

New Orleans Saints
The numbers that New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees has compiled so far this season reads like a video game set on expert level. In 10 games played, Brees has thrown for 3,326 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. That puts Brees on pace to throw for more than 5,300 yards and almost 40 touchdowns this season. When NFL fans want to understand how the New Orleans Saints win football games, they only need to look as far as Drew Brees.

The Bottom Line
Drew Brees will pick the Giants defense apart, so the pressure of winning this game falls to Kevin Gilbride and the Giants’ running game. The Saints love to get involved in shootouts. Eli Manning can keep up, but if the Giants cannot run the ball then the Saints’ defense will just take the pass away and make this a very lopsided game.

Pick: New Orleans Saints

Sports Betting Overview
It is difficult to tell why the Chicago Bears keep winning football games. One of the most obvious reasons is the inexplicable desire that NFL head coaches have to kick the ball to Devin Hester. NFL coaching 101 includes an entire chapter on the reasons why it is a bad idea to kick the ball to Devin Hester, yet teams insist on doing it. The Chicago offense is not great at moving the ball, but it is great at utilizing the field position it is given and scoring points. Many football fans would be surprised to know that Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler has 2,033 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns in nine games played. That is just further proof that the Bears can move the ball with the passing game but rely on the running game and special teams to score. Running backs Matt Forte and Marion Barber have scored a combined seven touchdowns this season, which is one reason why the Bears are winning.

It is difficult to tell why the San Diego Chargers keep losing football games. The price per head sports fans in San Diego may have finally had enough of the damaged relationship between head coach Norv Turner and quarterback Philip Rivers. The Chargers, once again, have a top 10 offense and a top 10 defense but cannot win football games. Horrible special teams play and bad penalties have put the Chargers at 4-5. But more than that, it looks like the Chargers do not believe they can win games. The pay per head enthusiasm that used to be in San Diego is gone, and Norv Turner may wind up leaving with it.

Chicago Bears
The Bears are 2-2 in the division while the Detroit Lions are 2-1 in the division. Luckily for the Bears, the Lions do not have a divisional game this week either. But a sportsbook review of the past couple of games for the Bears shows a new determination to win that the team may have lacked earlier in the year. The Bears’ coaching staff is still making questionable decisions and Jay Cutler is not finding consistency with getting the ball in the endzone. But when the Bears are given a chance to score points, it is becoming much better at taking advantage of those opportunities. Whether it is a Marion Barber touchdown run or cashing in on the bad mistake of kicking to Devin Hester, the Bears are making the most of their chances.

San Diego Chargers
The NFL fans in San Diego get the feeling that their team just looks dejected. It has now become obvious that the window that the Chargers had to be champions has come and gone. Now San Diego is losing games it should be winning and running into morale problems. There needs to be some changes in San Diego when this season is over. But, for now, the Chargers need to try and reduce the mistakes this week to win this football game.

The Bottom Line
The Chargers have been giving games away all season long. The Chicago Bears have become very good at accepting gifts from other teams which will probably be the thing that swings this game in favor of the Bears.

Pick: Chicago Bears

Sports Betting Overview
The best part about the Carolina Panthers is its offense. In week nine, the Minnesota Vikings defense shut down the Panthers’ offense to get the Vikings a 24-21 win. The Vikings offense is playing much better under rookie quarterback Christian Ponder than it did for veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb. Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson is on a pace to rush for 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns this season. Peterson is definitely getting the action he thought he would see when Brett Favre left Minnesota. But at 2-6, the Vikings are not a playoff team. The Vikings are improving, and that is why this week 10 game against the division rival Green Bay Packers should be interesting.

The price per head fans in Green Bay are ecstatic that the Packers are 8-0 on the season. But there is also this sentiment running through the fan base that the Packers have still not put together a complete game yet. The price per head bookmaking experts know that the Packers have been dominant on defense and prolific on offense when necessary. But the team has not come out and dominated a game for a complete 60 minutes yet this season. The Vikings are hoping that the Packers do not start dominating games for a full 60 minutes in week 10. But it could happen.

Minnesota Vikings
Rookie quarterback Christian Ponder is 1-1 as a starter this season and he looked very good in the Vikings’ week nine win over the Panthers. It would be a betonline scam to say that Ponder is the long-term answer to the Vikings’ quarterback problems, but he could be. The biggest improvement Ponder made in week nine was protecting the football. He took four sacks in that game, but he did not throw any interceptions. In week eight against the Packers, Ponder was sacked only twice but he also threw two interceptions. Now that he is getting his NFL confidence, and he has some experience in playing the Packers, that could make this a very competitive football game.

Green Bay Packers

NFL fans all over the country are well aware of the history of the Green Bay Packers. Would Coach Lombardi be proud of this group of players? Maybe not, because the Packers have yet to dominate a game from start to finish. It is nice to have the tools to pull out a win when needed but, at some point, the inability to play 60 minutes will catch up to a team. The Packers have a perfect record to this point in the season, but they have not been perfect. Look for quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the guys to step up the play a little bit in the second half of the season. But also look for Christian Ponder and the Vikings to push back.

The Bottom Line
The Vikings will lose this game, but it will not be the 13 ½ point blowout that the odds makers are expecting. The Packers will allow the Vikings to stay close for most of this game. The meeting between these two teams in week eight was not a 13 ½ point blowout, and there is no reason to expect this one to be that way either.

Pick: Packers to win straight-up but take the Vikings with the points

Game Overview
The Breeder’s Cup betting will be coming to an exciting conclusion two days before the Chicago Bears travel to Philadelphia to take on the surging Eagles. After consecutive losses in weeks four and five, the Chicago Bears went into its bye week with two consecutive wins. The Bears had two weeks to think about its week seven win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and prepare for its week nine battle with the Philadelphia Eagles. While the Bears were resting and preparing, the Eagles were out winning ball games.

The price per head sports fans in Philadelphia are hesitant to get excited about the direction the team is headed in. After a horrible 1-4 start, the “Dream Team” won two critical divisional games back to back. The Eagles handled the struggling Washington Redskins in week six by a score of 20-13, and then downed the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 34-7 on national television in week eight. The Eagles can see the first place spot in the NFC East that is currently held by the New York Giants. As the Redskins and Cowboys continue to fall to the wayside, the Eagles stand as the one legitimate challenge to the Giants for the NFC East crown.

Chicago Bears
The bookie software shows that the Chicago Bears have been rolling lately with two wins in a row. The Bears have a 1-2 road record, but that is a bit deceiving. Chicago played a solid game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when both teams were forced to play in England. The Bears are having problems throwing the ball and defending the pass. The Chicago defense is ranked 28th in the league at stopping the pass, and the Chicago offense has the 17th ranked passing game in the NFL. The burden for the offense has been carried by running back Matt Forte. The Chicago defense needs to start picking up the pressure if it wants to give the offense a chance at winning these important games that the team has coming up.

Philadelphia Eagles
A 5 dimes review of the Eagles’ week eight win over the Dallas Cowboys shows that the Philadelphia offense really missed offensive lineman Jason Peters. With Peters in the lineup, the Eagles were much more effective at running the ball and at giving Michael Vick time to find open receivers. The entire Eagles offense looks like it is coming together, while the defense is starting to find its rhythm as well. But Philadelphia has to remember that the Bears have a very good offensive line. The Eagles have had trouble containing the run as of late, and the running game is one of the primary weapons of the Chicago Bears.

The Bottom Line
NFL fans in Philadelphia are cautiously optimistic about the team’s future. It looks like the Eagles have finally put its bad start in the past and is ready to start building on recent success. But the Bears have been able to hang in there on big games this season and will offer some serious resistance to the new and improved Eagles.

Pick: Philadelphia Eagles

Price Per Head Overview
The excitement surrounding the Breeder’s Cup betting is still in the air as the Arizona Cardinals try to figure out what keeps going wrong with its offense. The Cardinals’ passing game has improved dramatically with the arrival of new quarterback Kevin Kolb as Arizona owns the 13th best passing game in the league. But the offense cannot run the ball or put points on the board consistently, and that is costing the Cardinals games. Another thing that is not helping the Cardinals is its 26th ranked defense. Arizona made very few changes to a bad team in the off-season. If it wants to develop, it needs better players.

The Baltimore Ravens are cruising right along and should be in contention for the AFC North title all season long. While Joe Flacco and the Ravens’ offense has improved significantly over last season, the real surprise this year is the potent Baltimore defense. After an average pay per head performance last season, the Ravens rank 1st overall in lowest points allowed this year and 1st overall in total team defense. Ray Lewis and his defensive unit have been able to dominate the pass and the run all season long. The Ravens hit hard and can run fast. This is definitely going to be a team to be reckoned with all season long and will give the Pittsburgh Steelers a run for its money in the race for the AFC North title.

Arizona Cardinals
It looks like quarterback Kevin Kolb is still adjusting to being a starter in the NFL. He has seven touchdown passes this year, but he also has seven interceptions. But Kolb is moving the offense, and he is being effective at quarterback. When running back Tim Hightower was allowed to go to the Washington Redskins, that left Beanie Wells to run the ball. Wells has done a good job but he is also proving to be a little injury prone. The Cardinals look like a team that just needs to keep making smart NFL picks in the draft and improve through free agency. Arizona needs a lot of parts to be competitive, but it looks like the team may slowly be headed in the right direction.

Baltimore Ravens
Linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed are elder statesmen by NFL standards. But they are the leaders of a defense that has come to dominate the NFL. Lewis is still a significant factor up the middle for stopping the run, and NFL quarterbacks still will not throw the ball in Reed’s direction. If they do, Reed makes them pay. The Baltimore offense features quarterback Joe Flacco, running back Ray Rice and a whole host of very talented NFL receivers. It took a few years to build this Baltimore team, but it finally looks ready to be a playoff contender.

The Bottom Line
The Cardinals are a few years away from being a good football team and the Ravens are already there. This will be a good learning experience for the Cardinals, but it will not be a game to help boost its confidence.

Pick: Baltimore Ravens

Online Sportsbooks Overview
This could be one of the more interesting NFL picks of the week. The Dallas Cowboys are not allowing itself to get close enough to the top of the NFC East standings to make an impact. When the Cowboys had a chance in week six to go 3-2, head coach Jason Garrett tried to sit on a lead against the New England Patriots and Tom Brady made the Cowboys pay. Now things at Valley Ranch are in complete chaos. Quarterback Tony Romo is taking heat for bad decisions, owner Jerry Jones is questioning the play calling of head coach Jason Garrett and half of the Cowboys’ offensive line is out on injured reserve.

The St. Louis Rams came into this season with so much promise. After challenging for the NFC West title last season, the Rams expected this to be the year that quarterback Sam Bradford really blossomed into a team leader. What has happened is that the Rams are only averaging 9.4 points per game, Bradford only has 1,177 passing yards and three touchdowns in five games and the Rams just cannot score points. But that is the good news. When you switch the conversation over to the St. Louis defense then that is when things really get bleak.

Dallas Cowboys
The price per head bookmaking experts have never really been sold on the Dallas Cowboys as a playoff contender ever since Tony Romo became the starting quarterback. As long as players like Dez Bryant roam the Cowboys’ sideline screaming like mad men at a crazy convention, the Cowboys will never be a contender. The Bryant outburst on the sidelines against New England proved two things. The first is that the offensive players do not expect Tony Romo to be an emotional leader, so they feel that they have to take matters into their own hands. The second is that Dez Bryant still has no respect for veteran players or other leaders on the team. Jason Whitten or Miles Austin should be trying to get the team pumped up and not the overly aggressive Bryant.

St. Louis Rams
If you would have made a preseason statement that said the St. Louis Rams could go 0-16 this season, no one would have believed you. But after five games this season, the price per head services experts would have to concede that 0-16 is possible. However, the Cowboys offer a unique opportunity. When the Cowboys start to sink, it sinks lower than any other team in football. This version of the Dallas Cowboys is incapable of sustaining a winning season, and that could work in the favor of the St. Louis Rams.

The Bottom Line
NFL fans in St. Louis know that 1-15 is not much better than 0-16, but if that win can come against the Cowboys in Dallas then that would make things a little easier to swallow. It is difficult to say if it is the system in St. Louis or Bradford that cannot score points. I guess we will find out the answer to that question when the Rams either choose quarterback Andrew Luck in the 2012 NFL draft or trade the pick away.

Pick: St. Louis Rams

Sports Betting Overview
Every time the sports headlines come out for the day, the Houston Texans lose another half-point to the Baltimore Ravens. It has been nothing but bad news for the AFC South leaders as key players continue to nurse injuries. This is supposed to be the year that the Texans break through, win the division and make the playoffs. But Houston is getting some stiff competition from the Tennessee Titans, and the Texans are running out of key players to lose to long-term injuries. The Texans were unable to stand up to an emotional Oakland Raiders team at home in week five, and now Houston has to travel to Baltimore to try and combat a healthy and determine Ravens team. The Texans need to stop reading the sports headlines if they want to finish the season in one piece.

The cost per head fans in Baltimore were expecting a battle from the Pittsburgh Steelers all season long for the AFC North title. Baltimore made things a lot easier on themselves by beating the Steelers in week one to set up a very important game with Pittsburgh in week nine. But Baltimore did not count on the entire AFC North being competitive this season. None of the four AFC North teams have a losing record, and three AFC North teams have three wins. The Ravens had a bye week last week and watched as the Steelers and Bengals moved up to 3-2. If the Ravens lose to the Texans, then it will be a three-way tie at the top of the division with the Cleveland Browns going to Oakland to try and become 3-2 themselves.

Houston Texans
Price per head sports fans in Houston could not believe their bad luck when it was announced that quarterback Matt Schaub has a sore shoulder and did not practice on Wednesday of this week. The Texans insist that Schaub will play and that holding him out of practice was a precaution. But the mounting injuries to the Texans make this NFL pick easier. Defensive star Mario Williams is out for quite a while with a muscle tear and wide receiver Andre Johnson is gone with a nagging hamstring injury that the Texans are not taking any chances with. The Texans will have to lean back on its running game that features running backs Arian Foster and Ben Tate. But the Ravens can attack a one-dimensional offense and shut it down. The Texans will have to come up with a clever game plan to win this one.

Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens have been in the NFL playoff hunt for years, but playoff success has eluded Baltimore ever since its Super Bowl win in 2000. With the exception of an AFC championship game berth in 2008, the Ravens have not been past the first round in a decade. This year could be a very different year for Baltimore as it finally has all of the important elements it needs to be successful. But the Ravens will have to keep winning if it wants to take the AFC North title as the AFC North could be the most competitive division in football.

The Bottom Line
The Ravens have everything it needs to take advantage of the key injuries to the Texans. Unfortunately for Houston, the loss of Williams and Johnson does put the Texans at a severe disadvantage that the Ravens will exploit all day long.

Pick: Baltimore Ravens

Before you get into your free fishing games, head over to your sports betting book to make some picks for the third week of the NFL regular season, and here are the games we’re keeping an eye on.

Patriots Bills Odds – Sunday, 1:00 PM ET

The Patriots are 9-point favorites in Buffalo according to NFL betting lines, and the Bills haven’t beaten New England in 15 straight games, including seven at home. However, they’re filled with confidence after a 2-0 start and they’ll keep it close. Ultimately, they’ll fall to Tom Brady and company, but the Patriots won’t over.

Online Betting Pick: Buffalo +9

Packers Bears Odds – Sunday, 4:15 PM ET

The Packers are 3.5-point road favorites on the road in Chicago, where they beat the Bears in last year’s NFC title game, and they should come away with the win again unless Chicago can protect Jay Cutler, who was sacked six times and hit on seemingly every offensive play against New Orleans. The Packers also love to blitz and they knocked Cutler out of last year’s postseason meeting. The Bears are also missing two starters up front.

Online Betting Pick: Green Bay -3.5

Steelers Colts Odds – Sunday, 8:20 PM ET

Finally, the Steelers are 10.5-point favorites in Indianapolis, but the Colts are going to prevent them from covering that double-digit spread as Kerry Collins has decent numbers against Pittsburgh, and he has to be more familiar with his receivers by now…in theory. Pride will keep the Colts in this game, so take the home team.

Online Betting Pick: Indianapolis +10.5

The first week of the 2011 NFL betting lines season was an incredible one. There were some absolutely fantastic games both to start and finish the week. As well, there were several absolute blowouts, that no fishing games enthusiasts could have seen coming from a mile away. With week two right around the corner, here are some picks for you to consider.

Chicago Bears At New Orleans Saints (-6.5) – This past weekend, the Chicago Bears made a huge statement to both their fans and critics that they plan to make it to the Super Bowl this season. Despite being a seven and a half point underdog to the Atlanta Falcons, the Bears showed that the offseason additions of Roy Williams and Marion Barber were all they needed to help a woeful 2010 offense move into elite level status. The 30 to seven blowout of the Falcons also showed that Bears defense expects to be amongst the top five for another season.

Nevertheless, many sportsbooks are expecting the Bears whose offensive line gave up a league high 52 sacks last season, to return to form this week against the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are coming off a loss to defending Super Bowl Champions the Green Bay Packers. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was able to dissect the Saints defense all game long. Now a week later, we are supposed to believe the Saints will return to form?

Cincinnati Bengals At Denver Broncos (-6) – The bookies were nice to the zero and one Denver Broncos, who many people, we included expect to finish near the bottom this season, when they gave them a six point advantage over the Cincinnati Bengals. Fans expecting the Bengals to lose to the Broncos should change their bet now, because if the game against the Browns was any indication, the Bengals defense minus Jonathan Joseph, seems to have returned to 2009 form.

Your fishing video of the trip you took this summer won’t be able to hold a candle to Sunday’s excitement as the NFL cranks up the heat after Thursday’s opener in Green Bay featuring the Packers and New Orleans, the last two teams to win the Super Bowl. Here is a look at the top three games on Sunday.

Falcons Bears Odds – Sunday, 1:00 PM ET

The Falcons are favored by a field goal if you’re doing some football betting online, and these two have aspirations of reaching the Super Bowl. The Bears fell to Green Bay in the NFC title game last season, while the Falcons were routed by the Packers as well, and a big win this week could set the tone for the season.

Sports Betting Pick: Atlanta -3

Colts Texans Odds – Sunday, 1:00 PM ET

No player means more to his team than Peyton Manning does to the Colts, and when news leaked that he was going to miss the first game of his career, Indy went from a slight road favorite to a 9-point favorite. Essentially, if the Texans can’t take advantage of this situation, they’re never going to win the AFC South. Watch the spread, though; Indy could be inspired, especially defensively.

Sports Betting Pick: Indianapolis +9

Cowboys Jets Odds – Sunday, 8:20 PM ET

In a primetime showdown of Ryan brothers (Rex is the Jets’ head coach, Rob is the defensive coordinator in Dallas), the Jets are 4.5-point favorites, and this is a matchup of the Cowboys’ explosive offense against New York’s lockdown defense. This should be an intriguing matchup for online sports betting players.

Sports Betting Pick: New York Jets -4.5