I like Buffalo because I expect QB Trent Edwards and RB Marshawn Lynch to have a terrific year. Buffalo has some key advantages in this matchup. First, Seattle was 3-5 on the road last year, with their 3 wins coming against sub .500 teams. Homefield advantage will be a significant factor in this game. Second, the Seahawks are banged up. They will be missing Deion Branch and Bobby Engram, two of his Matt Hasselbeck’s top wide receivers. Linebacker Lofa Tatupu will be playing but will not be 100% as he is suffering from a hamstring injury.

Don’t get me wrong- I’m a Chargers fan by all means. I have faith that they’ll take this one but just won’t cover. The Chargers are ailing as their top guns (Tomlinson, Gates & Merriman) are recovering or suffering from significant injuries. Carolina will be a force to reckon with in the NFC. Julius Peppers seems poised to have a comeback year and they arguably have one of the best tandems of running backs in the league. Expect a hard fought match that may be won in the final minutes of the game.

This line is a real steal! The public does not see Detroit as a decent football team because of its mid season downfall in 2007 going from 6-2 in the first 8 games and finishing 1-7 in the last 8. However, the Lions were the only team that went 4-0 in the preseason, allowing only 8 points per game. The Lions are healthy and enter the season with some serious momentum against an Atlanta Falcons team that are going to be relying on rookie first rounder quarterback Matt Ryan.

Platinum Pick: Dallas -5.5

This is a match up featuring two teams with a substantial amount of talent. Dallas is coming off a disappointing 2007 season with another early playoff exit. Cleveland would have made the playoffs if Indianapolis didn’t rest their starters against the Titans for the final game of the season. That being said, these two teams are looking to build from their success last season.

This prediction is related to my previous one where Cincinnati is going to win but it will be a close low scoring game. Both teams have struggled offensively in the preseason with Baltimore averaging 12.5 points per game and Cincy averaging 14.25 points, scoring 27 points in the final preseason game against a Colts defense that rested its starters.

Let’s face it… The only reason the Bengals aren’t favored by more than 1 point is because they weren’t too impressive in the preseason. A team with offensive weapons including the likes of Chad Johnson, Carson Palmer and T.J. Houshmandzadeh in normal circumstances should be a clear cut favorite over an offensively struggling Baltimore Ravens who are forced to start their first draft pick, Joe Flacco, whom many consider to be third on the Ravens QB depth chart.

Platinum Pick: Giants -4

The match up between the Redskins vs Giants should be an exciting one. Washington is banged up on defense and has struggled offensively in the preseason. Expect the New York Giants to apply a lot of pressure on Jason Campbell and force turnovers and a lot of third-and-longs. The 2007 Super Bowl champions will cover because Washington won’t put up many points on the scoreboard.

Premium Pick: Under 41

Jason Campbell was excellent in the preseason opener against the Colts but since then has been playing quite poorly completing 11/24 passes (45.8%) totaling 70 yards, averaging 2.9 yards per play. If he continues to struggle against the Giants powerful defensive corps, the Redskins will not be putting up many points on the board. It is important to note that the Panthers sacked Campbell 4 times by utilizing blitzing schemes similar to the Giants. Even without Umenyiora, the Giants are still going to apply immense pressure on Campbell.

Identifying and capitalizing on against the spread (ATS) trends in sports is a very profitable activity for sports bettors. One of the most common types of trends that are often analyzed by sports handicappers is isolating sports teams’ performances at home and on the road. I intend on revealing the concept on how to identify an opportunity to beat the spread by determining how one can see a clear advantage in sports betting by picking a team that performs consistently either at home or on the road. I will use the results from the past NFL season as a point of reference.

The key to unraveling any kind of profitable streak in sports is to closely follow the sports teams by watching as many games as possible and by analyzing all relevant statistics. This is quite evident when analyzing a sports team’s home or road performance. For example, the New York Giants who ended the season 10-6 were 3-5 at home and 7-1 on the road. Then they went 4-0 on the road in the playoffs, ending by winning the Super Bowl in what many consider to be one of the biggest upsets in sports history. Their road ATS record for last season was 10-2. Historically, the Giants have never had this kind of success on the road. Therefore making this kind of prediction before the season began would have been impossible. Thus, one would have had to follow the Giants very closely in order to capitalize on this trend.

Betting on sports is not an easy task. In fact, there is a myth that 95% of people who bet online are losing their money. This is because people are making the wrong picks and poorly managing their money. Today I will discuss a successful sports picking strategy that is utilized by numerous professional sports handicappers that will help improve your winning percentage for your sports picks, thus helping you make picks that will be much more profitable for you in the long run. The strategy is identifying streaks and using these streaks to your advantage to make high winning percentage picks. I will use last NFL season as a reference, focusing on against the spread (ATS) results. The key here is to identify noticeable ATS trends and understanding the foundation behind these trends.

One of my favorite examples is the New England Patriots. The Patriots were 9-1 ATS during the first 10 games of the season. On November 18, 2007, as a 16 point favorite, they creamed the Buffalo Bills by a score of 56-10. The following week, they were a 24 point favorite against the Philadelphia Eagles. I remember this game quite well. I had a very strong doubt about New England covering this ridiculously huge spread so I didn’t bet on the game. Sure enough, the Eagles gave the Patriots a run for their money, as New England only won by a field goal. This was the big turning point for New England, in terms of their ATS record, because odds makers were overvaluing the New England spreads and the Pats’ opponents began adjusting their strategies to narrow down New England’s margin of victory. After crushing the Bills, the Patriots were 1-9 ATS for the rest of the season. All in all, if one had bet for the Patriots to beat the spread for the first 10 games of the season and then against them for the last 10 games, their record for betting on the Pats would have been 18-2!