Oh yeah, football is back and we’re going to be here every week to try and grid iron into gold. Or euros. More likely euros.
We’re so excited that the NFL is back that even many hours before the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks kicks off we already have our cheesehead hat on and a big bowl of Skittles is being demolished as we type.
It has been a long gap between games (215 since Super Bowl XLVIII to be precise) and while we have found other ways to fritter our cash away (World Cup topscorer Gonzalo Higuain was a beaut) we have missed the wonders of NFL betting.
Few sports offer the scope of betting that NFL does and the simultaneous nature of the games on Sunday, the often dramatic twists and the better than decent value most bookies offer means that it is gambling heaven for sports fans. Or sporting heaven for gambling fans, I’m not sure which.
Anyway, every week we will try to pull out the best best for you and remember, if they come in, you owe us a hotdog.
This week’s treble
Bengals (+2) over the Ravens
Saints (-3) over the Falcons
Bucs (-2) over the Panthers
Paying out at over 6/1 with Ladbrokes, we really like this treble to kick us off with a win. Sure, the Bengals record against the Ravens is terrible (lost the last five in Baltimore) but in AJ Green Cincinnati have one of the best wide receivers in the game, and I fancy him to get off the mark on Sunday.
I also don’t believe that Baltimore will be any better than they were last year when they managed an 8-8 record. Also shorn of Ray Rice for his domestic abuse offences, I believe this Ravens side is not a patch on the Super Bowl winners of 2012 and are in for another average year.
The Saints line at the Falcons is a real steal. The Saints could be the most potent offence in the league this year. Last year Drew Brees was sensational (68.6 pass completion percentage, 5,162 passing yards and 39 TDs) and we don’t see him slowing down this year. Usually poor travellers, the Saints have won six of eight at Atlanta and I reckon they’ll beat Matt Ryan’s mob by at least a touchdown.
As for the Bucs, I think they are due a very big year, with Lovie Smith now running the show. A total disaster zone last season, I think Carolina may take that honour this time. Cam Newton (below) is already banged up, half the team has gone from last year and they could go from being a 12-4 team to a 4-12 team.
Green Bay v Seattle total points over 47, 10/11
The very first game of the new season promises to be a doozy. And, more importantly for us, a high-scoring doozy. Both these teams averaged exactly 26.1 points per game last season, so on that metric alone this should be quids in. Plus, I think Green Bay could be defensively weak (or should I say even weaker than before) without man mountain BJ Raji doing the tackling, leaving a large hole for the likes of Marshawn Lynch to drive through and score.
Add in Aaron Rodgers explosive arm and this could be a shootout. I’d back it if the line was 50, so at 47 I’m jumping at it.
Upset pick
Dolphins to beat the Patriots, 9/5
I really think the Pats could be Super Bowl bound this year but that doesn’t mean they are guaranteed to get off to a winning start, especially in a stadium that gives them a lot of trouble. It is going to be as hot as hell in Miami on Sunday afternoon and while New England won’t melt, the Dolphins have shown enough last year, and improved enough since, to pull off a shock here.
