Sportsbooks<\/strong> Regular Season Wins Prop: Over 10.5 (-140) \/ Under 10.5 (+110)<\/p>\nStatFox Steve’s Take: Pittsburgh managed to win another Super Bowl despite less than stellar play from its offensive line. The Steelers couldn’t protect QB Ben Roethlisberger and couldn’t run like usual either. I also think the personnel losses in the offseason outweigh the gains. Unless the defense is record-setting once again, I have a hard time seeing this team beat 10.5 wins.<\/p>\n
TOP STATFOX HANDICAPPING ANGLES<\/strong>
\nPITTSBURGH is 25-17 SU & 28-10 ATS in their last 42 games vs. excellent teams (>75%)
\nPITTSBURGH is 37-12 SU & 35-14 ATS in their last 49 games vs. good passing QB (>7 PYA)
\nOver the last three seasons, PITTSBURGH is on a slide of 5-7 SU & 2-10 ATS when coming off a game scoring >=30 pts.
\nOver the last two seasons, PITTSBURGH is just 1-6 SU & 0-7 ATS on the road when coming off a win<\/p>\n2009 OUTLOOK<\/strong>
\nThe last time Pittsburgh was the defending champion, in 2006, it stumbled out of the gate with a 2-6 start and finished .500 and out of the playoffs. One thing they have going for them this time around is a much softer schedule. After tackling the league\u2019s toughest slate, head coach Mike Tomlin\u2019s team will play one of the three easiest based on last year\u2019s records. On paper, only Baltimore appears capable of challenging the Steelers for AFC North supremacy. No team had won back-to-back division titles before last season when Pittsburgh went 12-4, including 6-0 against their biggest rivals. Lawrence Timmons takes over for Larry Foote at inside linebacker which could make the defense even scarier, if you can believe that. They know all too well what can happen in the wake of a championship, and there\u2019s no reason to believe they\u2019ll fail to get 10 wins and go deep in the playoffs as long as no serious injuries arise.<\/p>\nBALTIMORE RAVENS<\/strong><\/h3>\n2008 Record: 13-6 SU (8.55 ML Units), 14-5 ATS
\n2008 Totals (Over-Under): 11-8<\/p>\n
Odds to win Super Bowl XLIV: +2000, AFC Title: +900
\nSportsbook\u2019s Regular Season Wins Prop: Over 8.5 (-185) \/ Under 8.5 (+145)
\nStatFox Steve’s Take: After last year’s successful season, I believe it is Baltimore, not Pittsburgh, who is the team to beat in the AFC North. The Ravens’ StatFox Power Rating is #1 in the NFL, their Outplay Factor Rating was #2 in ’08. That adds up to double-digit wins once again.<\/p>\n
TOP STATFOX HANDICAPPING ANGLES<\/strong>
\nBALTIMORE is 54-15 SU & 42-25 ATS in their last 70 games as a home favorite
\nBALTIMORE is on a 0-7 SU & ATS skid on road when the total is 38.5-42
\nOver the L3 seasons, BALTIMORE is on a slide of 5-7 SU & 2-10 ATS vs. bad rushing D (>130 RY)
\nBALTIMORE is on a 15-3 SU & 14-4 ATS run at home vs. poor defenses (>=5.65 YPP)<\/p>\n2009 OUTLOOK<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s been feast or famine for the Ravens since they won Super Bowl XXXV. They\u2019ve reached the playoffs four times since hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and also suffered through a couple of horror shows, most notably in 2007 when they plummeted to the bottom of the AFC North after a 13-win campaign. Nobody expected the Ravens to dust themselves off so quickly. Yet with a rookie head coach (John Harbaugh) and a rookie quarterback (Joe Flacco) they not only earned a wild-card berth by going 11-5 but played for the conference championship. It\u2019ll be interesting to see what Flacco, the only first-year signal-caller to win two playoff games, can do for an encore. With a better grasp of what defenses will send his way, along with an improved offensive line, Flacco should be able to avoid the sophomore jinx. If the defense can overcome the loss of its beloved coordinator (Rex Ryan) and difference makers like Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard, who are with the New York Jets, the Ravens could make back-to-back playoff appearances for the second time in franchise history.<\/p>\nCINCINNATI BENGALS<\/strong><\/h3>\n2008 Record: 4-11-1 SU (-3.9 ML Units), 7-9 ATS
\n2008 Totals (Over-Under): 5-10<\/p>\n
Odds to win Super Bowl XLIV: +7500, AFC Title: +4000
\nSportsbook\u2019s Regular Season Wins Prop: Over 7 (-130) \/ Under 7 (+100)<\/p>\n
StatFox Steve’s Take: This team faces a very difficult first five weeks of the season and thus I believe will be very fortunate to reach the 7-win mark.<\/p>\n
TOP STATFOX HANDICAPPING ANGLES<\/strong>
\nOver the last 2 seasons, CINCINNATI is 2-9 SU & ATS on the road against conference opponents
\nCINCINNATI is on a 0-6 SU & ATS run as a underdog of 3.5 to 10 pts.
\nCINCINNATI is 11-19 SU & 8-22 ATS at home in their last 30 games in the first month of the season
\nOver the last three seasons, CINCINNATI is 1-9 SU & ATS vs. good defenses (<17 PPG)<\/p>\n2009 OUTLOOK<\/strong>
\nWhile the Bengals started to clean up some of their tired act off the field, they didn\u2019t enjoy too many positives on it until the second half of 2008. With quarterback Carson Palmer absent for all but four games, they didn\u2019t visit the win column until Nov. 2 and finished with double-digit losses for the first time since \u201902. But for all the problems Cincinnati endured, it enters the new season riding a three-game winning streak that saw the defense allow a total of 19 points. Head coach Marvin Lewis can use the positive finish as motivation when training camp breaks. The absence of T.J. Houshmanzadeh (Seahawks) is sure to be felt, but the offense will be productive as long as Palmer plays. Everything comes down to Palmer\u2019s elbow. If he\u2019s good for the full 16, the Bengals will put up points in spite of a questionable backfield and win between six-to-nine games. If the injury flares up again, Lewis will be hard-pressed to keep his team out of the AFC North basement barring major improvement on defense.<\/p>\nCLEVELAND BROWNS<\/strong><\/h3>\n2008 Record: 4-12 SU (-5.3 ML Units), 6-9 ATS
\n2008 Totals (Over-Under): 6-9<\/p>\n
Odds to win Super Bowl XLIV: +7500, AFC Title: +4000
\nSportsbook\u2019s Regular Season Wins Prop: Over 6.5 (+100) \/ Under 6.5 (-130)
\nStatFox Steve’s Take: The Browns have questions marks at positions all over the field and are beginning anew under Eric Mangini in 2009. This all adds up to a rebuilding season, one which will not produce more than six wins.<\/p>\n
TOP STATFOX HANDICAPPING ANGLES<\/strong>
\nOver the last two seasons, CLEVELAND is 8-1 SU & ATS as a favorite
\nCLEVELAND is on a 12-3 ATS run vs. winning teams
\nCLEVELAND is on a 7-0 SU & ATS run when coming off a road loss
\nCLEVELAND is 5-1 SU & 6-0 ATS on the road when coming off a road loss over the last three seasons<\/p>\n2009 OUTLOOK<\/strong>
\nEven the NFL schedule makers thought Cleveland would contend for a playoff spot in 2008 off the heels of a 10-win season. They placed the Browns in five primetime games and turned out half of their victories came under the lights. So after an embarrassing 4-12 campaign that ended with a thud (31 points scored in a six-game losing streak), both general manager Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel were let go. Eric Mangini, fired by the New York Jets, is the Browns\u2019 fourth head coach since they re-entered the league in 1999. He and new general manager George Kokinis will try to get the most out of a roster filled with question marks. On paper, the schedule isn\u2019t as difficult but nothing will come easy for the Browns. Mangini would be wise to nip any quarterback controversy between Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn in the bud and give the offense every opportunity to jell and forget about last year\u2019s finish. Six victories would be considered a step in the right direction.<\/p>\nSportsbook.com – Home of TGIF Reduced Juice Friday’s For NFL & College Football Betting! Get better odds and bigger payouts with Reduced Juice (-105) odds. Click Here Today! <\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here is our 2009 AFC North Preview. Pittsburgh allowed the fewest points in the NFL, and that dominating defense will allow it to keep the Steel Crew at the top of the heap in the AFC North division…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[13524,7908,13792,13793,13794,16146,14599,16664,16663,16662,11358,13801,13525,1618,16665,13515,1175,1178],"class_list":["post-12616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl","tag-2009-nfl-odds","tag-7908","tag-afc-division-lines","tag-afc-division-odds","tag-afc-lines","tag-afc-north-futures","tag-afc-north-odds","tag-baltimore-ravens-odds","tag-cincinnati-bengals-odds","tag-cleveland-browns-odds","tag-futures-betting","tag-nfl-betting-futures","tag-nfl-divisional-future-odds","tag-nfl-futures","tag-pittsburgh-steeler-odds","tag-sportsbook-nfl-futures","tag-sportsbook-review","tag-sportsbookcom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12616"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109096,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12616\/revisions\/109096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}