Ten NFL Bets I Love

With football season starting just around the corner it's just about time for me to do something I do every year; pick out at least 10 online bets that I would consider to be a really good value. Normally I would just put this down somewhere and save it for the end of the year but I thought this might be interesting enough to put on here. The bets are from sportsbook.com and they aren't in any real order, just whichever I come across first.

1. Philip Rivers to win NFL MVP, + 1200

The MVP award usually goes to a quarterback who leads his team to a division title while also putting up big numbers to win the voters over. Other then Aaron Rodgers, I don't think there is a better lock to meet those criteria then Philip Rivers. He threw for 4700 yards and 30 touchdowns last year and that's without Vincent Jackson being there for 6 games. Add in the sting of missing the playoffs last year along with the very real possibility that Aaron Rodgers ends up missing a few games like last year and I believe that Rivers is as good a candidate as you'll find. He's also considered a long shot apparently by sportsbook.com as you'd only have to bet $10 to win $120 and this first bet is a great, great value.

2. Cam Newton to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, +400

At first I was going to put a combo of both Cam Newton and Julio Jones as they both have the same 4-to-1 odds so putting the same amount on both would give you basically 2-to-1 odds that one of them hits and ends up with the award but for the sake of this list, I decided to just pick the one I thought was more likely to win. While I love Julio Jones, it's hard enough for a rookie wide receiver to get up to speed with a full off-season, let alone a lockout. And while that'll give Newton problems as well, I just think Newton is going to have tons of chances to prove he can play and he'll win the award with his legs, not his arm.

3. Sam Bradford to have the Most Passing Yards, +2000

4. Philip Rivers to have the Most Passing Yards, +270

I'm piggybacking a little bit off of the Bradford hype but with odds like this, it's hard to not like the idea of throwing a 20 dollar bill on him and if he happens to put everything together with as much as they throw the ball, you could have a $400 ticket at the end of the year. They are going to throw the ball a lot like they did last year and while I don't think this is one that is very likely, the fact that the odds are so big makes it worth a second look if only for the fun of rooting for the second year quarterback throughout the year.

Philip Rivers on the other hand is the favorite in this category but it doesn't make him a bad bet. He managed to throw for the most yards while missing a combined 17 games from his two best targets in Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates. It isn't flashy, but it's a solid bet.

5. Ray Rice to have the Most Rushing Yards, +2000

6. Adrian Peterson to have the Most Rushing Yards, +300

Another unlikely one with Ray Rice, but with McGahee gone I expect Rice to get close to the curse of 370 and with a little luck, he can certainly be right in the mix for a chance at the rushing title. With the odds he's getting this is much like the Bradford pick in one that could just be fun to root for but there is value to be had with Ray Rice. As for Peterson, he's also the favorite but for good reason. He's the most talented back in the entire league with a good-but-not-great quarterback. He's going to get more then enough carries to get the most yards and I'd say he probably will. Still, with 3-to-1 odds it's hard to not see the value there.

7. Sam Bradford +4.5 to throw more Touchdowns then Joe Flacco

Another Bradford love bet, last year Flacco threw 7 more touchdowns then Bradford. But the jump from rookie to sophomore should be big for last year's #1 draft pick and while I don't think Flacco is going to have a big drop off, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bradford throw for more touchdowns before even factoring in the spread. Add the fact that it's a pretty big number at 4.5 and I think this is a pretty safe bet.

8. Larry Fitzgerald +90.5 to have more Receiving Yards then Greg Jennings

Larry Fitzgerald is going to catch a lot of passes. I mean, a ton. He had 170 targets last year and instead of a ragtag group of under-achieving quarterbacks he's going to have Kevin Kolb under center throwing him the ball. Meanwhile, with JerMichael Finley back and the numerous weapons that Aaron Rodgers has at his disposal, I just don't see how Greg Jennings is going to be able to have 90 more yards then Fitzgerald.

9. Roddy White -1.5 to have more Touchdowns then Hakeem Nicks

This bet is most about the fact I expect the Giants to be on the down slide this season coupled with teh fact I expect the Falcons to be airing the ball out all year long. Julio Jones will be raw but he should help take some of the pressure off of Roddy White so while I expect Roddy's catches and yards to go down this year, I'd be surprised if he doesn't have at least as many touchdowns as he did last season if not a few more.

10. Calvin Johnson -2.5 to have more Touchdowns then Dwayne Bowe

I know there is a ton of hype around the Lions coming into the season. While I'm not on that bandwagon nearly as much as most people are (I think they are going to be the NFC version of the Texans these past few years, mostly hype) I am a huge Megatron fan. I also know that Bowe led the league in touchdowns last year. But instead of having one of the easiest schedules this year, they are going to have one of the hardest. Because of that, I really expect for Matt Cassel to fall off while if Johnson can get 8 games out of Stafford, I think he has a real chance to have 5 more touchdowns then Bowe will.

Extra Credit: Heisman Hopeful Luck Lays Out Wright

While I won't be writing much (if anything) about college football as it goes on, I will be watching today as the season kicks off and as the favorite for the Heisman, I decided to look up some Andrew Luck highlights. While the one above won't be the ones he'll be needing to make if he ends up hoisting the trophy later this year, it's still a great play.

Extra Credit: Sting Is Here!

A great time in wrestling and a great ending to a pay per view, Sting makes a shocking return to take out the nWo. On a side note, I've been without internet access for the past two weeks so I'm sorry for the disappearance but I'm back now.

Extra Credit: The Miz is Awesome

After talking with people about how WWE doesn't put enough effort into their hype videos anymore I remembered this one from this year's WrestleMania. It was excellently done and really put The Miz over as someone who deserved to be wrestling at WrestleMania instead of a reality TV star who was riding that to some WWE fame.

Extra Credit: DeSean Jackson Rips Out New York's Heart

Does it get any better then this? After a huge comeback to tie the game and with just seconds remaining on the clock, DeSean Jackson bobbles the punt but picks it up and takes it to the house for the victory with no time left on the clock.

Bautista and the Blue Jays Caught Stealing

If you haven't heard yet, Jose Bautista is a really good baseball player. And when he's playing up north of the border, he's one of the best and most feared hitters in baseball. After his first boost in 2010 that saw him go from a season high of 16 home runs to a total of 54 and his OPS jump .240 points the rumors started swirling about steroids. But with the lack of a positive test, the claim that Bautista made an adjustment to his swing accounting for the added power, and that most of his home runs were pulled to the same side of the field left the steroid rumors without a lot of fuel to put on the fire.

Well, now it isn't just rumors that are going to around about Bautista and the rest of the Toronto Blue Jays and it doesn't have anything to do with performance enhancing drugs. Players and managers are accusing the Blue Jays of using the aide of people in the outfield to steal signs and the stats are backing up those claims.

There is a great article about it up here from ESPN and in that article it has the stats that suggest there is something going on whenever the Blue Jays step up to the plate at the Rogers Centre. The numbers are so out of control that Cris Myers, a writer for Baseball Prospectus, even wrote a piece on how in was more then just a statistical anomaly before this report came to light. It isn't as if it's just for Bautista either, there are other players that are having huge splits between home and away games.

As for what is allegedly happening, it boils down to this. There is man in a white shirt in the perfect spot to be seen by a batter in the outfield seats. The batter wouldn't even have to adjust his stance to be able to see this fan, and the placement is obviously of the utmost importance. Somehow, whether someone else is watching the signs through binoculars and relaying the signs or something else, the “fan” is being told what pitch is being thrown. If it's an off-speed pitch such as a change-up, curve, or slider the “fan” will raise his arms up over his head. And if he doesn't raise his arms, the players know that they can sit on a fastball and swing for the fences.

Personally, I think that it's the truth. Teams will try anything to get an edge, especially in your division includes the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Add that to what the players have said and the stats that back up the idea that it's more then just a conspiracy theory and you have a believer in me.  

Extra Credit: Devin Hester Returns a Field Goal for a Touchdown

As a Bears fan I've seen all of Devin Hester's returns for touchdowns but this one is by far my favorite and with the NFL season quickly approaching I couldn't think of any better way to get ready then to watch some of our favorite plays from seasons past. First up, Hester surprises the Giants by catching their field goal attempt and takes it to the house!