NFL Betting Lines

Stefan Logan: Signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers

Since he signed on with the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, Logan has already been impressive. The running back, who was brought in to be primarily a kick and punt returner, has impressed the coaches and fellow veterans enough that they have considered him as a third down running back.

Kenton Keith: Signed with the Indianapolis Colts

Colts fans will likely remember Keith for the one season when he was somewhat of a star for the Colts. Keith rushed for 533 yards with the Colts in 2007 with 4 touchdowns and a 4.4 yards per carry average.

Jeff Garcia: Signed originally by the San Francisco 49ers

Garcia has had success ever since coming from the CFL to the NFL.

Playing with Doug Flutie in Calgary, Garcia led the Stampeders to a Grey Cup victory and has been one of the most successful Stampeders in history. Garcia was also a multiple award winner in the Canadian Football League.

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Doug Flutie: Signed originally by the Buffalo Bills

Famous for his Hail Mary throw, Flutie has been another example of a player coming from the CFL to the NFL to have success.

Playing in the CFL, Flutie had a record of 99-27, and threw for a record 6,619 yards one season. Three Grey Cup victories, six Most Outstanding Player awards, and a number of personal accolades later and Flutie has been considered to be one of the best quarterbacks to play in the CFL.

Warren Moon: Signed originally by the Houston Oilers

Moon has been regarded as the best player to play in both the NFL and CFL.

With the Edmonton Eskimos, Moon won five consecutive Grey Cups to help form the Eskimos dynasty.

Once heading to the NFL, Moon continued his success. Moon was a nine-time Pro Bowler in the NFL, the fourth all-time leader in passing yards. In fact, if you combine his CFL and NFL stats together, Moon would shatter a lot of NFL records.

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NFL lines at midseason, such as NFL lines in Weeks 7, 8, 9, and 10 are seen by many handicappers as some of the easiest NFL betting lines to handicap. Such is the case because handicappers of these NFL lines have the opportunity to look at numerous previous weeks of performance against the NFL lines, and are not yet contending with the issue of teams tanking at the end of the season. Nevertheless, in order to successfully handicap NFL lines around midseason it is important that you keep close tabs on which teams are coming together and which teams are falling apart.

NFL lines for the weeks around midseason certainly give handicappers the benefit of not having to guess how teams have evolved since last season, as handicappers must do in the first few weeks of the regular season. Also, when you handicap NFL betting lines at midseason you do not have to concern yourself with teams holding back effort because they have already made or missed the playoffs, as is the case in the final weeks of the year. Nevertheless, as you assess the NFL lines you still must be careful about recognizing what you do know and what you do not know.

For example, just because a team is 5-3 at the season’s midway point does not mean the team will likely go 10-6 and make the playoffs. Rather, it is quite possible that the team enjoyed a fairly easy schedule during the first half of the season. Furthermore, after having handicapped the NFL lines for numerous weeks, you may become overconfident in your familiarity with each team. In fact, many gamblers of the NFL lines make the mistake of feeling they have identified the strengths and weaknesses of each team by midseason and can use those insights to successfully handicap NFL betting lines throughout the rest of the season.

The fact of the matter, however, is that teams continue evolving throughout the season. Therefore, it is erroneous to assume that teams will be playing the same in Week 17 as Week 7, thereby assuming you can handicap the Week 17 NFL lines just how you handicapped the Week 7 NFL lines. Rather, what you want to achieve by Week 7 is an identification of the direction in which teams are going. By midseason one can generally judge which teams are coalescing for a playoff run and which teams are falling apart at the seams.

Sometimes those teams that have bright futures for the second half of the season actually performed poorly against the NFL lines in the first half, simply because the teams were still building chemistry. Consequently, as you handicap the NFL betting lines you need to pay careful attention to the different issues being dealt with inside of any locker room. Disputes between coaches and players may seem minor at midseason but prove to be a death sentence for the remainder of the year.

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NFL lines in the Pro Bowl can be some of the most confusing NFL lines to handicap because in the Pro Bowl most players do not try particularly hard.  In other words, handicapping NFL lines for the Pro Bowl is a little like handicapping NFL betting lines in Week 17, when you know that some teams are not very interested in winning.  Nevertheless, you can still handicap the Pro Bowl NFL lines fairly well by predicting which players will seriously try to win and which Pro Bowl team has lots of players from the same franchise.

NFL lines for the Pro Bowl are quite different from the NFL betting lines for the Super Bowl, which handicappers wager on directly before the Pro Bowl.  Such is the case because during the Pro Bowl most players are mostly indifferent about winning and are much more interested in enjoying themselves in Hawaii and avoiding injury.  Naturally, handicapping NFL lines when you do not even know how much effort players will put forth is particularly challenging.  However, it is possible to predict the effort that will be put forth by each team, and therefore assess the NFL betting lines, by gauging the effort likely to be put forth by each individual player.

Some players tend to play to win during the Pro Bowl, while others are almost completely apathetic.  Because many of the players competing in any given Pro Bowl will have competed in a previous Pro Bowl, you can actually use past performances as a good indicator of how hard many of the players will perform.  In other words, by looking at past individual Pro Bowl performances you will be able to achieve a more accurate analysis of the Pro Bowl NFL lines.  Also, players from the same team often play well together in the Pro Bowl.  Therefore, if you see, for instance, that the quarterback, tight end, and wide receiver all from a single team are playing together in the Pro Bowl, then that fact should definitely be recognized as you handicap the NFL lines.

While the strategies mentioned above will certainly help you examine the NFL lines for the Pro Bowl, the fact remains that the game’s NFL lines can still be extremely challenging to handicap.  Consequently, some gamblers examining the game’s NFL betting lines consider the game as basically a pick ‘em.  However, the NFL lines generally have one team listed as a favorite and, therefore, these bettors will automatically pick the underdog, being that the underdog can lose and still cover, while the favorite will need to win by the number of points established in the NFL lines.

Types of wagers

NFL betting lines are handicapped differently for each team, as each NFL squad has its own particular strengths and weaknesses.  While most teams are fairly balanced in their offensive and defensive abilities, there are always a few teams whose NFL lines you must handicap knowing that their offense is far superior to their defense.  The NFL betting lines for such teams are best handicapped by carefully considering the opponent featured in the NFL betting lines and considering what type of point total will be observed.

NFL betting lines for teams that focus on offensive power are often set in accordance with such a team’s aerial attack.  Such is the case because many offensive teams are also passing teams, focused on putting quick points on the board and moving across the field quickly.  Those gamblers handicapping the NFL betting lines know that such teams win not by stopping their opponents, but rather by outscoring them.  When these offensive teams are clicking, they can provide amazing value in the NFL lines because the teams regularly blow out their opponents.

However, when the offense falters then there is nothing else to fall back on and these teams can lose by huge margins.  Therefore, as you handicap the NFL betting lines it is important to pay particular attention to how well the offense will fare against its opposing defense, as this is the match up that will determine where the value lies in the NFL betting lines.  Also, when a strong offensive team is an underdog, if you find value in the NFL betting lines then there may be even better value in the money line NFL betting lines, because you know that when the team is playing well it can win big games.

Nevertheless, at the end of the day such teams typically offer only limited value in the NFL betting lines.  Even if such teams can achieve some amazing victories and provide wonderful entertainment, veteran handicappers of NFL betting lines generally believe that it takes a strong defense to win a championship.  Going undefeated throughout the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl is simply a herculean task for any team, let alone a team with a feeble defense.

Also, when you are evaluating NFL betting lines for teams with especially strong offenses and weak defenses, you should often pay attention to the totals.  These NFL lines will naturally be set fairly high, so your job in handicapping the NFL betting lines is to determine whether the team can really cover such high NFL lines.  Your handicapping strategy should similarly focus on the strong offense and its opposing defense.  However, you should not be afraid to bet on the under, even when the NFL betting lines involve a high-scoring team, as the NFL betting lines will be set to accommodate such a team’s strengths.

Types of wagers

NFL betting lines are handicapped with attention to individual players which is focused on playmakers instead of players like defensive linemen.  However, defensive linemen provide the foundation for any defense and therefore deserve careful consideration as you analyze NFL lines.  As you consider defensive linemen in your handicapping of NFL betting lines you should also pay attention to related issues such as the weather and characteristics of opposing quarterbacks.

NFL betting lines should always be analyzed with at least some attention directed toward defensive linemen because a defense without a strong defensive line will regularly be picked apart.  The defensive line is responsible for closing gaps that opposing runners can rush through and also putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks.  Failing to do either of these jobs well means that gamblers should likely be favoring the opposing team as they handicap the NFL lines.  On the other hand, when you are analyzing NFL betting lines involving a team with a strong defensive line, then you know that the opposing offense featured in the NFL betting lines will have trouble scoring.

Veteran handicappers who have been evaluating NFL betting lines for many years know that a strong defensive line is the key to a strong defense.  If the defensive line does its job then it is much easier for other defensive players, like cornerbacks, to perform well.  Because defensive linemen are so important, they should be factored into your handicapping whether you are looking at sides in the NFL betting lines or totals in the NFL betting lines.

When you are considering the potential of a defensive line as you handicap NFL betting lines there are some other related factors you should acknowledge.  For instance, all handicappers know that the weather is an important variable that must be considered as they evaluate NFL lines.  However, the weather is particularly important when you are considering defensive linemen, as defensive lines are typically most effective on dry fields, because on wet fields they lose traction and have trouble reaching the quarterback.

Consequently, as you handicap NFL betting lines you should consider how the predicted weather conditions will impact a given defensive line.  Also, as you handicap the NFL lines you should recognize the characteristics of an opposing quarterback.  Some quarterbacks have trouble getting rid of the ball quickly enough, and such players will naturally struggle against a defensive line known for bringing lots of pressure.  Therefore, if you are assessing the NFL betting lines for a game involving a strong, fast defensive line against a slow quarterback, then you should evaluate the NFL betting lines with the knowledge that the slow quarterback is going to be hit regularly.