Friday, November 4, 2011

NFL Offers Plenty to Look Forward To

As good as the NFL has been so far in the first half of the sports betting season it figures to only get better as there are some intriguing possibilities that loom ahead to make for outstanding opportunities for all fans.

After a horrendous 0-3 start the Kansas City Chiefs won 4 consecutive games to earn a tie for first place in the AFC West Division. Kansas City has two winnable home games ahead against the last place Denver Broncos and last place Miami Dolphins before a brutal Sunday Night road test at New England against Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots. Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli was Belichick’s right hand personnel man at New England to add to the potential fireworks.

The Buffalo Bills have taken the town by storm as they are the surprise leaders of the AFC East Division with a record of 5-2 straight up and 4-2-1 against the spread. Buffalo hosts the team favored to win their division, the New York Jets, on November 6 before a make or break three game road trip at the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and ending with a rematch at the New York Jets. If Buffalo can withstand that November lineup of games they stand a real chance of pulling off one of the biggest single season turnarounds in recent history.

Speaking of turn around sports betting campaigns, the San Francisco 49ers merit a mention as they are 6-1 straight up and 6-0-1 against the spread as they are breaking away from the pack in the NFC West. First year coach Jim Harbaugh has crafted a team in his image that can run, play defense, and manhandle opponents which is a style perfectly suited for the playoffs. The 49ers play the slumping Redskins on November 6th in Washington before coming home to host the NFC East leading New York Giants and the struggling Arizona Cardinals.

And as a reminder of sports betting matchups ahead, keep in mind what the then winless St. Louis Rams did to the New Orleans Saints on October 30 when they scored a 31-21 win as 13.5 point home dogs. This was a great lesson on how anything can truly happen in pro football and that nothing can be taken for granted. The big question now is if St. Louis can sustain momentum with back to back road games at Arizona and at Cleveland.