Can the New England Patriots cover the spread against the Baltimore Ravens in AFC Conference game?

With the point spread floating in the 7.5 to 9 point range, the New England Patriots are favorites to win the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens.
New England earned a regular season ranking in offense of number one overall and the Ravens were ranked 16th. However in the post season Baltimore has the number one rank and the Patriots are ranked 6th.

I think a lot of the outcome of this game will depend on the Patriot’s quarterback Tom Brady. In fact, as of last week with their win against the Texans, Brady surpassed Joe Montana’s record and now has the most post season wins with 17. A win against the Ravens today would give Brady his 6th Superbowl appearance.

Another record Brady could surpass in this game is that of total number of post season touchdown passes held by Joe Montana, currently at 45. Brady has 41 right now, so although breaking the record would be a feather in his cap, he needs to complete 5 to break the record, which he obviously has a better shot at doing with a win against Baltimore.

These two teams met earlier in the year in week 3. Baltimore won that game 31 to 30, and their game winning drive was in the last two minutes.

I honestly do not see this game ending the same way although the Ravens defense is going to give Brady as much trouble as they possibly can.

The Ravens had a great year and their quarterback, Joe Flacco has put up some decent numbers in many games this year, but I think that Brady will be victorious tonight.

The Ravens defense is going to do everything they can to keep the Patriots from covering the spread and getting the football back into the hands of Flacco and giving them the opportunity for the win, I just don’t think they will be able to do it.

I am picking New England to win and making the spread. I think they can win and should be able to win by 10 points.

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Can the San Francisco 49ers cover the spread against the Atlanta Falcons in NFC Conference game?

Picked as favorites by the sportsbooks to win the NFC Conference championship game, the San Francisco 49ers face the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta this afternoon. The bookies have the 49ers winning this game with a 4 point spread.

Obviously when the post season reaches this point a number of people may not agree on who will come out of this game with the victory. In fact I do not agree with a number of my friends on who will win, but that is a normal occurrence with friends when discussing just about any sporting event.

This is a great matchup. Both of these teams have conquered not only their opponents to reach this spot in the post season, but each of them have won games which many analysts and even the sports books did not pick them to win.

Looking at their rankings it is easy to see why the game will be full of excitement and why it was likely not very easy for the books to set the line on the game. We have seen many instances this season where the numbers alone are not the only factors to look at when making your picks or football betting choices.

Who is Football Betting World picking to win the game between San Francisco and Atlanta?

This is a tough question to answer. When we look at offense rankings, the 49ers have a better overall ranking as well as passing and running games in the post season. If we look at who has the better post season record then you would choose the 49ers but when you look at the regular season, the Falcons get the nod. Whoever wins this game, they both deserve the kudos for reaching this point and the opportunity to play in today’s game.

But the nature of gambling and betting on a football game demands that you make a choice. Although I do think they both have great offenses and also think that they have each done well against the odds in many games I think that the San Francisco defense will be able to defend against Matt Ryan and will come out on top.

If I was making picks based solely on offense I would pick the Falcons, but the 49ers defense has had a great year both against the passing game as well as defending against the run.

I think this game will be determined in part by the 49er defense stepping up and making the big plays needed to take the Falcons off the field, or keeping them, from making that touchdown that would have given them the edge.

I am picking San Francisco to win the game, and cover the spread. I think the Falcons will put on a good show, and in fact I see Atlanta having the lead at least once during the first half, but I pick the 49ers by 5.

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Which teams will win the Wild Card Games in 2012 Season?

Well it’s January 2013 and as we start a new year with our resolutions still fresh in our mind we take a look at the wild card games and make our predictions for the first 4 games that lead to the Divisional Round as we prepare to get ready for the Superbowl.

This is a year of firsts in many ways. In this week’s games we have 3 teams that have rookie quarterbacks that have earned their spots in the playoffs. A number of analysts and commentators have called a few of them the “new breed” of quarterbacks and that we will see more of this type of back in the future.

The kind of quarterbacks we are talking about is Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks and Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins. If you have not seen either of these guys play, I suggest you watch the matchup between these two on January 6th in the 4:30 pm game.

The mobility of both of them in the pocket, as well as the sheer speed and how fast they can turn a play action play into a rushing play that gets the yards, the first downs and the scores is so much fun to watch that everyone should get to see it.

Whether it’s true and that we will see a lot more of this type of quarterback in the future remains to be seen, but those rookies that brought their teams this far should certainly be commended for the work they have done and what they have accomplished.

To provide a single simple list of our predictions and picks for this week’s wild card games, see our list below. We have listed our pick for the game and a link to the article of why we made the prediction that we have.

After the games actually take place, we will also update the page with the final scores for the games so you can easily come back and see how we did with our picks and have easy access to the final scores.

Wild Card Games Picks, Results and Final Scores

#1
Houston Texans against the Cincinnati Bengals

As of Tuesday afternoon the books had the Texans winning this game with a 4 point spread. Although I think the Bengals will do very well in this game, I will side with the sportsbooks and pick them to win and to cover the spread.

#2
Green Bay Packers against the Minnesota Vikings

Almost all of the bookies have the Packers winning this game. Minnesota is a great team and this is the third time these two met this year each of them winning once. Providing that the Green Bay defense can at least somewhat contain the Viking running back Adrian Peterson, I think the experience of Aaron Rodgers will help take the Packers to the win and they should cover the spread just fine.

#3
Seattle Seahawks against the Washington Redskins

The Battle of the Rookie Quarterbacks! This is the game that I am personally looking forward to the most this week. There is a lot of hype and fans leaning on the side of Seattle and the sports books have picked the Seahawks to win this game and have given them a 3 point spread.

I am going against the grain and disagreeing with the books on this game. My money is being bet on the Washington Redskins to beat the Seattle Seahawks in this wild card game. I say bet the Skins, they will win by 2 points.

#4
Baltimore Ravens against the Indianapolis Colts

The Ravens are favored by the sportsbooks to win this game by 6.5 points. After losing 4 of their last 5 games I see them having some trouble this game and with some of the other shakeups, even with Ray Lewis back on the field I see the Colts winning this game by 2 points.

Can the Baltimore Ravens cover the spread against the Indianapolis Colts in the 2012 wild card game?

Picked by most of the sportsbooks to win, the Baltimore Ravens are 6.5 point favorites over the Indianapolis Colts. The winner of this game will meet either the Denver Broncos or the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional playoffs next week, in their quest for the Conference title and their ticket to the Superbowl.

Let’s take a look at their stats breakdown a little because I am just not so sure the bookies have this pick right. The Ravens are a little different football team today then they were at the the beginning of the season. What I mean is something happened to them about mid season and they seemed to have lost a bit of their consistency.

Now some may say that it coincides with the loss of inside line backer Ray Lewis due to a torn triceps injury in week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys. Up until that point, the Ravens had won 5 of their 6 games. Yes, Lewis is a great linebacker, and more than that he was a true leader on the Raven’s defense, and is part of why he was a 12 time Pro Bowl pick. But even after the injury Lewis was found on the sidelines cheering his teammates on and inspiring them where he could.

But I think the Ravens problems seemed to go a little deeper and were more far reaching then not having Lewis on the field. The defensive line was pretty beat up throughout the mid season. They lost a number of corners, tackles and linebackers throughout the end of October and November. Thankfully for Baltimore fans most of those guys have healed and are probable for the balance of the playoffs.

Then there are some of the jokes that have been made after a few of the Raven’s losses this year. There have been comments such as, “I wonder which Baltimore is showing up” or “I wonder which Joe Flacco, Raven’s quarterback, will show up for today’s game”.

I think these kinds of comments are based purely out of seeing how inconsistent they have been. After a 10 and 2 start, they lost 3 games in a row to Pittsburgh, Washington and Denver. They then won against the Giants and lost last week to Cincinnati. That is 4 losses out of the last 5 games to end the season. The Colts have won 5 of their last 6 games, so they have a bit more momentum coming in to his game.

Taking a look at their overall ranks we see that Ravens have a 15th ranked offense and are ranked 16th for their passing and 11th for their rushing. Indianapolis is ranked a little higher at 10th overall and 7th on their passing but lower at 20th on the run.

On the defensive side of the ball, Baltimore has a 17th ranked defense and are 17th against the pass and 20th against the run. Where Indianapolis needs to improve their numbers is they are ranked 26th on defense and 21st against the pass and 22nd against the run.

I think one thing that will have a bit of an effect on this game is the recent staff changes in Baltimore. Shortly after the loss to the Washington Redskins in week 14, Baltimore fired the offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. Raven’s quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell has stepped in to the position. Ironically, he is a former head coach at Indianapolis.

This kind of change shortly before heading in to the post season would be tough enough, but after the inconsistent play prior to that it might be a bit more of a shakeup then the offensive line can take. Some might also say that this is the kind of thing that can breathe new life in to an offense also.

There is no doubt that they are a great football team, but this kind of inconsistent play, the injuries they have suffered, and the loss of their offensive coordinator, depending on which Baltimore Ravens team shows up will affect the outcome of the game.

I haven’t spent much time of critiquing the offense of the Colts much. Like two other teams heading to the wild card games this week, Indianapolis also has a rookie quarterback they can be pretty proud of. He doesn’t have quite the completion stats of the other two, but his are respectable enough to have earned his team a post season spot.

Colt’s quarterback Andrew Luck has completed 339 for 627 and 54% with 23 touchdowns. The numbers he has acquired that have hurt them the most are that he has been sacked 41 times and he has thrown 23 interceptions. Despite some of the stats that can hurt a team, often seen from quarterbacks in their rookie season, Luck has managed to rally his team to a number of wins late in the season and they have clearly earned their playoff berth.

I have no doubt that 3 or 4 weeks ago, before the Ravens lost 3 in a row, I would likely have agreed with the books and picked Baltimore. But this is one game where I am going against the sportsbooks and I am picking the Indianapolis Colts to win the wild card game against the Baltimore Ravens. I am picking them to win by 2 points.

Whether you agree with my picks, or if you feel the sportsbooks are right about this wild card game and you want to bet on the favorites or maybe make your prediction and bet on the superbowl, be sure to bet with a safe sportsbook and never wager more than you can afford to lose. For a safe and trusted book, visit Bet Online Today!

My buddy MrDeposit over at Minimum Deposit Gambling actually disagreed with my picks and is picking the Ravens to win this game by two touchdowns. Visit his site to read the article to see why he thinks the Baltimore Ravens will win over the Indianapolis Colts in this Wild Card game.

Can the Seattle Seahawks win against the Washington Redskins in the 2012 wild card game?

This is likely one of the best wild card matchups we will see and is a first in many ways. Some have said that the style of game play by each of these quarterbacks is the wave of the future.

Ironically, both of them are rookies and they each have quite a following and have earned the respect and adoration of fans, not only in their home cities, but across the country. Both are candidates for the Rookie of the Year and both of them have just had fantastic years and have been wowing fans and opponents all year.

Both quarterbacks are very accurate passers and have been completing in the mid 64% and 65% of their passes. Both of them have passed for over 3100 yards and each of them has more than 20 touchdowns. Robert Griffin III of the Redskins has thrown 5 interceptions and Russell Wilson of the Seahawks has thrown 10.

Not too bad when you consider that each of them have attempted 393 passes, RG3 has completed 258 and Wilson completed 252. Damn close numbers there aren’t they? RGIII has been sacked 30 times for 212 yards and Wilson has been sacked 33 times for 203 yards. Again another stat that is very close.

But the most unique things that make these two picked as the new breed of quarterbacks are their other abilities they throw into the mix. They both are very fast runners and both are extremely versatile when it comes to moving around in the pocket, breaking tackles and avoiding sacks, and running the ball when the play action falls apart or the pocket collapses in on them.

The running ability of these two would be considered acceptable as running backs, but they are quarterbacks. Russell Wilson has rushed for 489 yards and 4 touchdowns and RG3 has rushed for a whopping 815 yards and 7 touchdowns. And don’t forget, they are both rookies.

And these two are not the only guys on each team that run the football either. Washington running back, also a rookie, Alfred Morris has 1613 yards with 13 touchdowns. Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch, in his 6th season, has 1590 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Seattle’s offense is ranked 17th overall and they have a 27th ranked passing game and are ranked 3rd with their offense on the ground. Seattle has the 4th best ranked defense and is ranked 6th against the pass and 10th against the running game.

Washington on the other hand is ranked 5th overall and 20th on their passing game and they have the number #1 best ranked rushing game. Washington’s defense has a rank of 28th overall and is 30th against the pass and is 5th against the run.

This matchup will likely make this wild card game the most exciting and best game of the entire weekend. Of all the games I managed to watch this year during the regular season, I can clearly say that a few of the most exciting games had one of these two teams in them.

Both of these two teams are a lot of fun to watch. You never know if they are going to have play action, hand the ball off, or if the quarterback will run the ball. This will be a battle of offenses for sure and how each of their defenses are able to defend against it will be interesting.

Who are the sportsbooks picking to win, Washington Redskins or Seattle Seahawks and what is the point spread?

Checking on the sports betting shops like Bet Online, as of Wednesday night most of the books had the Seahawks winning the game with a 3 point spread.

Like I said above I think this will be the best matchup of the weekend and a game we might be talking about for the next week. I will however go on record against the bookies on this one though.

I think the Washington Redskins will win this game against the Seattle Seahawks. Originally I leaned toward a much larger win; but I will stay on the conservative side and pick the Redskins over the Seahawks by 2 points.

Whether you bet on the conservative side, always go with the bookies picks or you only pick long shots and play against the point spread, take a look at the sports betting at Bet Online.

Can the Green Bay Packers win against the Minnesota Vikings in wild card game?

Meeting for the third time this year and the second time in a week, the Green Bay Packers host the Minnesota Vikings for the 1st NFC Wild Card Playoff game.

The Packers won their first meeting this year in week 13 with a score of 28 to 10, and these two football teams just played in a game this past week in which the Vikings won 37 to 34 clinching them the wild card spot. That win was the 4th straight win for the Vikings and was the much needed shot for their momentum heading in to the post season.

One of the big stories for Minnesota this year has been the success of running back Adrian Peterson. After coming off a near career ending injury to his left knee, he has had phenomenal success running for 2097 yards just missing the single season rushing record of 2105 yards set by Eric Dickerson.

This back is a play maker and a yard earner and the Packers will certainly have a difficult time in trying to contain him. Part of his success is the amount of yards that he is able to get after contact with defenders. This is one of the biggest threats to the Packers.

It’s not a question of whether he will carry the ball a lot; it’s how well the Green Bay defense can stop him when he does. In their previous 2 games this year he rushed for 210 yards and 199 yards so the possibilities of him having a 200 yard game are a serious threat.

As much as Peterson carries the ball he rarely fumbles it. In fact he has only done so 4 times this year, once each in two different games with Chicago, once against San Francisco and once against Tampa Bay each of which have very high ranked defenses against the run.

Although the ultimate goal of the defender may be to strip the ball away, they need to concentrate to reducing the yards gained and try and stop them from gaining those first downs which is something the Vikings have done a pretty decent job of in recent weeks.

On the offensive side of the ball, I think the Packers are very capable of gaining the edge as long as they can cut the mistakes. Packer’s quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for 356 yards last week and although he did not have any interceptions he was sacked 5 times in the game. One of those sacks in the 3rd quarter turned into a fumble, which the Vikings were able to convert into points for them.

One of Green Bay’s top receivers this year, Randall Cobb, was out last week due to a recent ankle injury, but is expected to play this week. With Cobb back on the field, and as long as Green Bay’s offensive line can close up the holes that the Vikings defense were able to penetrate last week, and provide the kind of protection that they have in so many games earlier in the season, I think they can win this game.

Who are the sportsbooks picking to win and what is the spread?

We checked with the sports betting books on Tuesday evening and the books are picking the Green Bay Packers as favorites in this game, and are giving a spread of 7.5 points.

I think the experience of Green Bay’s quarterback Aaron Rodgers will also help them win the game. This is a big game and the fact that Rodgers and his team have been down this road before, will help with their confidence. Many times this season the Packers have had their backs up against the wall and were able to get the win when they needed it.

I sill haven’t made a personal decision on how comfortable I feel about them going all the way but I do think they can pull off this win against the Vikings. Minnesota is a good football team, and they will be playing hard from the first snap until the last whistle of the game, but the Green Bay Packers will cover the points.

Will the Houston Texans win the wild card game against the Cincinnati Bengals?

Having won their final game against the Baltimore Ravens, who had been resting a portion of their starting players, the Cincinnati Bengals meet the Houston Texans in the first AFC Wild Card game of the 2012 season.

If you asked some Houston fans they might say that the Bengals would not have been able to win their final game had they not been resting their starters, then some Bengals fans might say they could have won regardless. Either way what ultimately matters are that the Bengals have made it to the post season and every game is now must win to continue.

Houston earned the 7th ranked offense spot during the season, with an 11th ranked passing game and 8th on the ground. Cincinnati on the other hand is ranked 22nd with their passing game ranked 17th and the ground game ranked 18th.

The Bengal’s defense is ranked 6th and is 7th against the pass and 12th against the running game. Houston’s defense is ranked 7th, 16th against the pass and 7th against the run.

Based upon simple stats it appears that even though the Bengals defense may be making the kinds of plays to get their offenses back on the field, but I am not so sure they have the kind of offense that can complete enough scoring drives to win this game.

Bengal’s quarterback Andy Dalton is completing around 62% of his passes, but he has been sacked 46 times and when you compare that to Texan’s quarterback Matt Schaub we see that he has completed 64% and has only been sacked 27 times. The offensive line of the Texans just does a much better job of pass protection and I think that will be reflected in Saturday’s game.

In the last few weeks the Bengals defense has been outscoring their offense and even though that has helped them win games recently, this may not work against the Texans.

Who are the favorites and what is the point spread on the Bengals and Texans game?

Most of the sports betting books have listed the Texans as favorites in this game. The point spread has been averaging in the 4 to 4.5 point range with Bet Online, our preferred bookie for football betting odds, at 4 points on Tuesday afternoon.

I really like the Texans to win, and although I do in fact think that Houston might actually come out and take an early lead and keep it the whole game, the Bengals faced a mid season uphill battle and they handled the fight well. They have a fair amount of momentum and have won their last 3 games where Houston has lost 2 of their last 3 games.

I think the Cincinnati defense will shake things up a bit and maybe even make the game a little closer then some fans and bettors are expecting. I do in fact side with the books on this game and think that Houston will win. I think they will cover this spread but I also think that the Bengals will give them a difficult game.

The preferred online sportsbook we recommend is Bet Online.