Betting Blog » afc

NFL: Picking Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots

Charlie — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:20:50 +0000

The AFC boasts a couple great match-ups and this one is probably the better match-up of the 2. Anytime the New England Patriots are in the playoffs you know they’ll be well prepared and that they will play well. Baltimore is no slouch either. They are a team that plays their best football in the playoffs.

So, something has to give. And the Patriots are at home so that’s an advantage. However, the Pats will be without Wes Welker. Welker is the security blanket for Tom Brady. Without him there will be some problems for this offense against the Ravens defense.

Throw in the fact that Brady is nicked in a few different places (finger and ribs) and this could quickly become a game that is out of reach for the Pats.

Now, you can expect the Ravens to do everything in their power to get to Brady. They better be careful because Brady always gets roughing calls even when they aren’t deserved. However, something tells me that the Ravens would trade a couple 15 yard penalties for a chance to take Brady out of the game. Look at how the Ravens beat the Titans last year in the playoffs. They took out Chris Johnson on a dirty play where they bent him backwards after the whistle.

I do think the Ravens will do their job and I wouldn’t be surprised if Brady doesn’t make it much past halftime. But the Ravens offense better protect the ball when they have it. The Pats defense will have a good plan. They’ll try to shutdown the run and force Flacco throw the ball on third and long. But I don’t think they’ll be very successful with stopping the running attack of McGahee and Rice. But it will be a lot of fun to watch and see which unit imposes their will on the other.

So, I am taking the Ravens to win this game. A reasonable score would be something like Ravens 24 and the Pats 16.

NFL: Picking the Bengals and the Jets

Charlie — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:24:05 +0000

The Sunday night match-up on the final week of the NFL schedule will feature the Cincinnati Bengals at the New York Jets. The Bengals have nothing to play for and the Jets have everything to play for. The Bengals are already in the playoffs, they’ve clinched their division, and they are all set. They will have a a home game next week in the first round of the playoffs. But the Jets still have to clinch a playoff spot and they need to win in order to do so.

So, this would seem like a game that is tipped in favor of the Jets. That’s just like last week when the Jets faced a Colts team that rested many of their starters for most of the game. The Jets seem to be a team that is destined to go to the playoffs thanks to the way their schedule rounds out. But don’t expect any apologies from the Jets. And they shouldn’t give any either.

Because the Jets have everything to play for, and because the Jets are at home, I fully expect the Jets to win this game easily. They will get up early and stay ahead the entire game. If the Jets can’t win this game easily with everything they have to play for, then they don’t deserve to make the playoffs.

So, that would mean the Jets take the last playoff spot in the AFC. And it would mean the Bengals can go into next week’s game with their players fairly rested and healthy. So, both teams would get what they want.

And that would wrap-up the regular season for the NFL. And it would set-up some great games in the AFC and the NFC. In fact, I would fully expect every round of the playoffs to be highly competitive and very entertaining.

NFL: The Best Team in the AFC: San Diego Chargers

Charlie — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:59:01 +0000

Yeah, I know the Indianapolis Colts are undefeated. I know it appears that they will be just the 2nd team in the history of the NFL to go a perfect 16-0 during the regular season. I know. I know.

And I also know that they aren’t even the best team in the AFC. That distinction belongs to the San Diego Chargers and will be proven when these 2 teams meet in the playoffs. How can I be so sure? Well, it’s very simple. I’ve seen these 2 teams play and the Chargers are simply the better team.

Did you see the way the Chargers beat the Dallas Cowboys a couple weeks ago? Then did you see how the Cowboys beat-up on the previously unbeaten New Orleans Saints? Did you see how the Chargers manhandled the Tennessee Titans? The same Titans who were fighting for their playoff survival? Yeah, I did too.

Now, you give me one game in the playoffs and anything can happen. This is especially true when you have Peyton Manning behind center. So, I’m not saying that the Chargers would definitely win the game. I’m not even saying the Chargers would be favored. But I am saying that the Chargers should win that ball game.

I am saying that the Chargers have a better offense and a better defense than the Colts. And the Chargers have been the better team for the past 2 months. I expect them to be the better for the rest of the year. And I fully expect the Chargers to be representing the AFC in the Super Bowl. If the so-called “experts” covering the NFL had any guts, they’d all be saying the same thing.

But everyone sees the Colts chasing history. They see the 14-0 and that makes them automatically take the Colts as the best team. But they aren’t; The Chargers are the best team. And they will be going to the Super Bowl.

NFL: Looking at the AFC Playoff Picture

Charlie — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:18:57 +0000

The bottom of the AFC playoff picture is every bit as crazy as the NFC. But at the top we know just about everything there is to know.

First of all, the Indianapolis Colts have clinched a #1 seed. So they know they’ll be home throughout the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if they shut some of their players down now. I don’t think they will. I think they’ll go for a perfect season.

It looks like the #2 seed will go to the San Diego Chargers. They are 10-3 and have won 8 straight games. They should be able to clinch their division and grab the #2 seed. Then the Cincinnati Bengals are looking really good to win the AFC North. The New England Patriots are a game up in the AFC East with just 3 games left to play.

Now, certainly the Pats haven’t clinched the division yet and they have the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets chasing them hard. Both teams are just a game behind. But I don’t see the Pats losing the division.

So, we have the Colts as the #1 seed, the Chargers as the #2 seed, the Bengals as the #3, and the Pats as the #4.

The Denver Broncos look like they’ll take the first Wild Card slot. But they better not slip-up. They’re 8-5 and a game behind a whole mess of teams. And it’s that mess of teams that will battle it out to take the final playoff spot in the AFC.

The teams who are 7-6 are the Miami Dolphins, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the New York Jets, and the Baltimore Ravens. It’s too tough to choose which one of these teams will be able to put it together and take that final spot. The Ravens and Jaguars are tough to figure. Miami is steady and the Jets are the craziest team to figure out.

I’ll discount the Jets right off the bat. I just don’t think the Raven’s defense is good enough. So, it will come down to either the Dolphins or the Jaguars.

NFL: Trends Heading into the Last Quarter of the Season

Charlie — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:25:50 +0000

The NFL season is now coming down the stretch. We are just passing the 3/4 poll and now all the teams are trying to sprint to the finish. And in the middle of the sprint, there are a number of trends that I’m looking for.

The #1 trend I’m looking for is a downward spiral of Brett Favre. I’ve been calling for this all season – a late season collapse. And I think we began to see it last week. Now, the Vikings have a pretty easy schedule these last 4 games but I don’t expect Brett to do very much. Sure, he might have another good game or 2, but he will collapse in the playoffs. I fully expect this.

Another trend I’m looking at is how the Cowboys will play in December. I know they just lost to the Giants in New York but that doesn’t mean anything to me. Dallas clearly outplayed the Giants. But we’ll see how they bounce back this week against the Chargers. And then we’ll see how they do at New Orleans. More importantly, we’ll see how they play at Washington and at home against Philly in the final game. Yes, these next 2 games are important but if Cowboys win their last 2 then they’ll probably be in the playoffs.

Finally, I am looking to see how the Saints and the Colts play down the stretch. Can they continue their undefeated seasons? I don’t think either one of them will make it to the end of the season with a perfect 16-0 record. However, what a great match-up that would be if the Saints and the Colts met in the Superbowl with perfect 18-0 records. I think the Saints would crush the Colts in that match-up. They are just a lot better of a team. And the NFC is head and shoulders above the AFC. But that’s a topic for another blog post.