Next up. The Atlanta Falcons. One of my favorite tools in preparing for the 2013 NFL football season and to enhance your nfl wagering knowledge is to look ahead at each teams NFL schedule, and evaluate the games they will play.
Next up. The New Orleans Saints. One of my favorite tools in preparing for the 2013 NFL football season and to enhance your nfl wagering knowledge is to look ahead at each teams NFL schedule, and evaluate the games they will play.
Next up. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. One of my favorite tools in preparing for the 2013 NFL football season and to enhance your nfl wagering knowledge is to look ahead at each teams NFL schedule, and evaluate the games they will play.
Next up. The Carolina Panthers. One of my favorite tools in preparing for the 2013 NFL football season and to enhance your nfl wagering knowledge is to look ahead at each teams NFL schedule, and evaluate the games they will play.
The start of the 2013 NFL regular season is still over two months away, but to get you ready for all the action BetOnline has already released its futures odds for all 16 teams in the NFC in terms of winning their division this year.
NFL division odds are out. At first glance it appears that a season of repeats is in order with seven of eight defending division winners favored to turn the trick again this year, but a closer look shows that there is quite a bit of value to be found in these plays.
The start of another NFL season is right around the corner as all 32 teams head into their preseason games with aspirations of making it all the way to Super Bowl XLVII. The following is a look at each team in the NFC’s current odds as provided by Bovada to win this season’s conference championship.
The Saints have Drew Brees back in the fold after signing him to a massive contract in the off-season, but can they get over the Bountygate scandal? Head coach Sean Payton is suspended for the season, as is one of the leaders on defense in Jonathan Vilma.
The Bucs were a mess last season and one of the main reasons they were 4-12 is that production of QB Josh Freeman. After the 2010 season he established himself as a future star with 25 TD and only 6 INT, but last season he only had 16 TD and a whopping 22 INT.
The Panthers landed the QB they have been looking for in Cam Newton, who had a great rookie season passing for over 4,000 yards. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are a great RB duo and Newton is already a star, but can the Panthers’ defense, which ranked 24th against the pass and 25th against the run, improve?
Once again the Falcons made the playoffs last season, but flamed out in the playoffs. Matt Ryan leads a great pass offense and the rushing offense is solid, but the defense may be an issue again this season in Atlanta.
2012 Atlanta Falcons Team Preview /Predictions
2011 Record: 10-6
ATS Record: 7-8-1
2012 Falcons Futures
Super Bowl Odds: 25-1
Conference Odds: 12-1
NFC South Odds: +140
2012-2013 NFL Regular Season Wins: 9.5 wins
Ryan had a great campaign last season throwing for a career high in yards and he has one of the most explosive WR’s in the game in Julio Jones and Roddy White, who has 215 catches in the last 2 seasons. Jones had some injuries last season and with White no spring chicken Jones has to step up this season. On top of that White led all WR’s last season in drops (15).
Ryan still has the ageless Tony Gonzalez at TE and the Falcons’ pass offense may be on of the best in the league this upcoming season.
Michael Turner had 1,340 rushing yards last season, but struggled down the stretch with only 1 game in his last 7 averaging more than 3.6 yards per carry. Jacquizz Rodgers has to help him out and these guys are the only legit rushers for the Falcons. The offensive line is a good one and they drafted OT Peter Konz in the 2nd round and he was a projected first round pick.
The Falcons’ defense got a big shot in the off-season when Atlanta landed free agent Asante Samuel and he will be counted on to anchor a pass defense that only ranked 20th in the league last season. William Moore is a solid SS, but he has missed 18 games in his 3 years in the league.
While Samuel was a big free name addition this season last season’s addition in Ray Edwards was a bust. He only had 3.5 sacks last season and he has to put more pressure on the QB this season, especially if the secondary struggles again. John Abraham had 9.5 sacks last season, but he is 34 and can he repeat that performance?
Overall, the Falcons’ run defense was pretty solid last season ranking 8th in the league. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The one big loss for Atlanta was Curtis Lofton, who led the team in tackles last season and he left in free agency. He will be missed and to throw salt in the wound he signed with NFC South rival New Orleans.
As a Falcons’ starter Matt Ryan is 26-5 in the Georgia Dome, but he needs to get it done in the playoffs, which he has not been able to do.
Besides the Saints and the Giants the Falcons do not have a tough home schedule, but they have a tough away schedule, obviously, facing the Saints in the Big Easy as well as the Chiefs, Chargers, Redskins, Eagles, and Lions.
Since the Falcons gave up so much a little over a year ago to get Jones they did not have a first round pick and they used their 2nd and 3rd round picks to upgrade their offensive line.
Atlanta has the pass offense and Turner is a solid back, but there are still questions for the Falcons. Can Samuel and Edwards play up to potential and help the defense? Can the Falcons’ pass defense keep legit opposing legit QB’s from shredding them? And the big question is can Ryan finally lead the Falcons to any post-season success?
Place they’ll finish in NFC South 2nd
Place they’ll finish in NFC Conference: 6th
Over/Under Wins Prediction: Over
The Atlanta Falcons won the NFC South last season with a 13-3 record, which also happened to be the best record in the conference, but that may actually work against them this year.
The New Orleans Saints followed-up their victory over Indianapolis in Super Bowl XLIV with a respectable 11-5 record and wildcard berth in the playoffs, but they also posted a few head-scratching losses, most notably a 41-36 loss to Seattle in the playoffs as a 9.5-point road favorite.
The Raheem Morris era in Tampa Bay did not start out the way he envisioned it with a 3-13 record in his first season as head coach.
Carolina’s slide to a 2-14 record in 2010 was fast and steep after tying for the best record in the NFC in 2008 at 12-4.
With hints of some solid progress in the current negotiations between the NFL owners and its players, the prospect that a resolution is reached in time to keep the start of the regular season on schedule looks much better than it did a couple of months ago. 
That being said, it is time to take a look at the future odds for each team in the NFC chances at winning the conference as provided by BetUS.com
Philadelphia +600, Dallas+700, New York +900, Washington +2500
Michael Vick starts his second season as Philadelphia’s quarterback and should once again flourish with full complement of weapons in WR’s DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin along with RB LeSean McCoy. If the Eagles defense can return form, they should not only be the team to beat in the East but in the conference as well. Dallas will get QB Tony Romo and WR Dez Bryant back, after both had their 2010 season cut short by injury, which should help erase the memory of a dismal season.
New York should once again be in the thick of things in the East behind QB Eli Manning and an offense that finished the season ranked fifth in total yards. Question marks at the quarterback position will plague Washington well into the regular season as will a running game that was ranked 30th in the league last year.
Green Bay +350, Chicago +1200, Minnesota +1600, Detroit +2000
The reigning Super Bowl Champion Packers should waltz to a division title as long as they avoid the trappings of a hangover that sometimes accompanies this achievement.
Chicago will once again look to QB Jay Cutler to lead it back to the top of the division, but last year’s run will be difficult reproduce given some of the other holes on this team.
Minnesota begins life without Brett Favre, and will have to figure out who will be their starter at quarterback as right now the Vikings are counting on unproven rookie Christian Ponder to lead the way.
If Matthew Stafford can stay healthy for a full 16 games, Detroit is in great position to make quantum leap in the standings this season and possibly challenge Green Bay for the division title.
Atlanta +650, New Orleans +700, Tampa Bay +1400, Carolina +6000
The only thing we know for sure about the South is that Carolina will not win the division. The other three teams are closely matched and should take turns beating each other up as the season progresses.
Atlanta remains the most talented team behind QB Matt Ryan, WR Roddy White, and RB Michael Turner, but has yet to learn how to win in the postseason. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
New Orleans still has Drew Brees, but this team could actually take another step backwards after its 2009 Super Bowl run.
Tampa Bay appears to be the up and coming team in the division, but QB Josh Freeman still has to prove he has what it takes to lead this team to the next level.
San Francisco +2000, St. Louis +2000, Seattle +3000, Arizona +3500
This is another division that could be completely up in the air, primarily because of the mediocrity of the teams it contains. San Francisco has a new head coach in Jin Harbaugh, but is still undecided as to who will be its signal caller.
St. Louis has the best prospect for improvement behind second-year QB Sam Bradford, who led this team to more wins last season that it had in the three previous seasons combined.
Seattle won the West with a 7-9 record last year, but has quarterback questions of its own as it appears that 12-year veteran Matt Hasselbeck will not be back with the team.
Arizona’s fall from grace was swift after the retirement of QB Kurt Warner and the loss of WR Anquan Boldin as the Cardinals have yet to find suitable replacements for all the offensive production those two provided.
The current lockout will have a varied impact on every team in the conference, so stick with the longest tenured head coach in the league, Andy Reid to have his Eagles ready to make a long run on possible short notice.
NFC 2011 Conference Champion – Philadelphia Eagles
AFC Future Odds | 2011 AFC Picks
