Categories
Cappers

2010 NFL Conference Championship Handicapping Tips

We are the Champions

It’s Championship Week in the NFL and with it two teams are one win away from playing in Miami for Super Bowl XLIV. Like most football fans nationwide, everyone has an opinion on which those two teams will be. Our database does, too.

There are generally two schools of thought when it comes to handicapping the final four teams on this week’s card. You can look at them statistically, or you can analyze them technically.

Categories
Cappers

2009 NFL Divisional Previews: NFC West

NFC WEST DIVISION 2009 FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Marc Lawrence
Marc Lawrence

By Marc Lawrence • Playbook.com

Last year we went out on a limb and predicted that a sleeper team could emerge from the NFC WEST DIVISION and that the Cardinals appeared ready for a breakthrough year.

And like the amazing Karnac, Arizona opened the envelope and answered when the Redbirds came within 30 seconds of winning the Super Bowl.

Categories
Cappers

2009 NFL Divisional Previews: NFC South

NFC South DIVISION 2009 FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Marc Lawrence
Marc Lawrence

2008 marked the first time in the last six years that a team from the NFC SOUTH DIVISION failed to move from the outhouse to the penthouse, or last place to first place.

That’s not to say that Atlanta, the NFC SOUTH DIVISION cellar dweller in 2007, didn’t deliver last season. They did. It’s just that Carolina won one extra game and edged out the Falcons for division honors.

Categories
Cappers

2009 NFL Divisional Previews: NFC North

NFC North DIVISION 2009 FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Marc Lawrence
Marc Lawrence

Life is a struggle during these troubled times in the Motor City.

It’s sad when the biggest selling souvenir on Sundays at Ford Field during the football season these days is a paper bag. That’s because the Lions’ football team is deeper in the tank than the auto industry.

Categories
Cappers

2009 NFL Divisional Previews: NFC East

NFC EAST DIVISION 2009 FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Marc Lawrence

Marc Lawrence

Hands down the toughest division in the NFC, and arguably in the entire NFL, the NFC EAST DIVISION is home to the best defensive brand of football in the league.

The division completed a ‘grand slam’ of sorts in 2008 when all four residents ended the season with sub 300-yard defenses.

To further enhance their stance, a message was sent to the rest of the league when all four teams shored up their stop-units in the off-season.

Categories
Cappers

2009 NFL Divisional Previews: AFC West

AFC WEST DIVISION 2009 FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Marc Lawrence

Marc Lawrence

Three new coaches went camping for the first time with teams in the new-look AFC WEST DIVISION this summer. Not surprisingly, none of who are expected to produce winning seasons in 2009. Welcome to the mild, mild West.
By deduction, that leaves San Diego as the team to beat in the AFC West this season.

Categories
Cappers

2009 NFL Divisional Previews: AFC South

AFC SOUTH DIVISION 2009 FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Marc Lawrence
Marc Lawrence

Thought by many to be the toughest division in the NFL, the AFC South has fielded only two teams that have suffered a losing record the last three years.

As a result these teams are 23-10 SU and 24-9 ATS as non-division dogs of less than six points in that span, including 7-0 SU and ATS last season.

Will the South rise again in 2009? Stay tuned.

Categories
Cappers

2009 NFL Divisional Previews: AFC North

AFC NORTH DIVISION – 2009 FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Often looked upon as a mediocre division, the frigid AFC North is home to three of the last eight Super Bowl winners.

Marc Lawrence
Marc Lawrence

It’s also where residing teams are 4-1 SU and 5-0 ATS on the conference playoff road outside the North since the division realignment in 2002.

Check out conditions in the AFC North before dipping your toes in the water this season. You might be surprised at what you find.

Categories
Cappers

2009 NFL Divisional Previews: AFC East

AFC EAST DIVISION – 2009 FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Q: How wacky of a season was it in the AFC East Division last year?

A: A one-win team (Miami) the previous year won the division while another team (New England) managed 11-wins, yet saw its five-year playoff skein snapped.

Such is life in the AFC East, where Bill Parcells’ presence paid huge dividends for the Dolphins while Tom Brady’s injury left a lasting impression that Patriots’ fans would soon like to forget.