Articles by Cappers Picks related to online NFL betting, and handicapping nfl football matchups by vegas experts.
On a weekend full of intriguing NFL playoff matchup, possible the best of the bunch may be a battle between the offensive juggernaut New Orleans Saints and the insanely talented defense of the San Francisco 49ers.
Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos will look to stun the football world once again as they continue on the road to Super Bowl 46 this Saturday. After coming in as 7.5-point underdogs, the Broncos will now take on the New England Patriots in Foxboro who are favored by 13.5 points.
The Lions reached the 10-win plateau this season to make the playoffs, but they have a tall task to advance facing a red-hot Saints team.
The NFL playoffs kick off Saturday afternoon in Houston. A few weeks ago the Texans beat Cincinnati 20-19 on a last second touchdown. It looked like that would knock the Bengals out of the playoffs, but they backed their way in because other playoff contenders flopped at the end of the season.
Houston has just missed the playoffs several times, but they are finally a part of the postseason.
Cincinnati Bengals (9-7) vs. Houston Texans (10-6)
Time/Date: 4:30 PM EST, January 7, 2012
Venue: Reliant Stadium
Broadcast: NBC
Bengals vs. Texans Gambling Odds from Bookmaker
Spread: Texans -3
Moneyline: Houston (-170) Cincinnati (+150)
Over/Under: 38.5
The Bengals were expected to be terrible, but this young squad came together quickly.
Which team will move on?
Andy Dalton will get plenty of consideration for Rookie of the Year honors, and he definitely deserves it. Carson Palmer deserted this team after a 4-12 year last year, and many believed the team would do even worse this year. Dalton stepped into a difficult situation and excelled in his rookie season in the league.
He threw 20 touchdowns and had a respectable 80.4 quarterback rating this year. A.J. Green definitely helped make Dalton’s transition easier. Green topped the 1,000 yard receiving mark in his rookie season. He is destined to be a star for many years to come. The Bengals must get Cedric Benson and the ground game going in this one.
It was the Cincinnati defense that led this team to the playoffs this year. Several weeks into the season they were the top ranked defense in the NFL. Key injuries to guys like Leon Hall and Keith Rivers hurt this unit in the last few weeks, but they have continued to be solid. Nate Clements and Reggie Nelson lead a solid secondary, while Domata Peko and Geno Atkins provide strength on the front line. Cincinnati gives up 20.2 points per game.
Houston saw its top two quarterbacks go down with an injury this year. Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart are both expected to miss the rest of the year, so it is up to rookie T.J. Yates. Yates was an unheralded rookie coming into the season, but he has filled in admirably for this team. Yates completed 61% of his passes this year, and he threw for 949 yards in limited action. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Texans are led by a great tailback tandem. Arian Foster and Ben Tate combined for more than 2,100 rushing yards this year. Foster’s versatility in the passing game is a big perk for this team. Tate was a bit of surprise to most of the league, but he averaged an impressive 5.4 yards per carry this year. Andre Johnson missed a lot of time this year, but he is expected to be ready for this one.
Last year the Houston pass defense was the worst in the NFL, and this season they ranked third in the league. Johnathan Joseph, formerly a star for the Bengals, stepped in and made this Texans secondary much better right away. Joseph led the team with 15 pass deflections and four interceptions this year.
Brian Cushing led the team in tackles, and this group of linebackers is ultra-talented. Overall, the Texans finished the regular season ranked second in the NFL in total defense.
Both of these teams are led by a strong defense. I don’t expect either team to put up big points in this one. I like the value on the under.
Free NFL Pick: Under 38.5
Week 17 in the NFL closed out the regular season with 11 home teams covering against the spread verse just five road teams. The favorites had a 10-6 edge over the underdogs and nine games went ‘over’ the total while the other seven stayed ‘under’.
Each week during the heart of the NFL season, and once or twice during the NFL Preseason, we’ll gather the troops around the roundtable and hash out the NFL Power rankings. We check out the stats, looks at the records, and, most importantly, we take a close, close look at the heart of each team.
Wild Card Weekend is nearly here – time to put up or shut up in the fluid world of the NFL. Week 17 was rough from a Handicapper’s standpoint – teams that should have shown up underwhelmed and some teams with little to play for showed up and made life miserable for their opposition.
The Pittsburgh Steelers head to the Mile High City on Sunday to take on a suddenly struggling Denver Broncos team that has already exceeded all expectations.
The NFC fifth-seed Atlanta Falcons and the fourth-seed New York Giants clash in the Wildcard Round of this season’s NFL playoffs this upcoming Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
Week 17 in the NFL is in the books. The Weisguy takes over for Matt and offers up these recaps for your NFL viewing pleasure.
Well, it all comes down to this for a resurgent Broncos team. This game is not exactly short in the story line department either. The most notable one has to be the fact that new Kansas City quarterback, Kyle Orton has the chance to keep the team that cut him earlier this year, out of the playoffs.
Well, the Raiders are not in complete control of their destiny here, but a home win against the surging Chargers will go a long way in securing them a playoff spot for the first time since 2002.
Cappers Picks Weekly Handicapping Preview – Week 17
Merry Christmas everyone – I hope that your holiday was as profitable as mine! Last week was a 3-1-0 week with only the brutal Chargers letting me down.
Being home for the Holidays had a slight edge in Week 16 in the NFL with nine home teams covering against the spread verse seven teams covering on the road. The favorites and underdogs were evenly split at eight games apiece and nine games stayed ‘under’ the total, six went ‘over’, and there was one ‘push’.
The Detroit Lions clinched a playoff berth last week and for all intents and purposes this is somewhat of a meaningless game.
The Chicago Bears have lost their last 5 games to fall out of the playoff race and under .500. Truth be told I never really saw them as a legit contender and if they finish at .500 that seems about right, even though their path to getting there was different than expected.
