NFL Betting: Look into the Futures

Parity is looming large through the first two weeks of the NFL season with eight teams at 2-0, eight more at 0-2 and the remaining 16 teams sitting with a 1-1 straight-up record.

It has set Week 3 up as a pivotal start for several teams and sportsbook have posted some tight lines. Out of 16 games, online sportsbook, Sportsbetting.com, has 10 teams favored by four points or less.

One way bettors can take advantage of the situation is to look ahead to Week 4 matchups and check ‘Prospective Betting’ lines that are currently being offered.

Prospective Betting involves picking sides from an upcoming point in the season and placing a bet based on odds being offered today. When the game comes "live", odds for the bet that’s already in your pocket don’t change.

For example, if you place a bet on a Week 5 underdog at +7.5 points and by game time the number is down to +5.5, you have given yourself a two-point advantage. And if the favorite wins by a touchdown, your play on the dog +7 is still a winner.

Indianapolis (-6) is at Denver this week and the following week the Colts travel to Jacksonville. Sportsbetting.com currently lists the Colts (-6) and while it will be second of back-to-back road games, if Peyton Manning plays in Denver the way he did last Sunday vs. his brother, laying six points will be a steal. You can check all the NFL odds.


CAUGHT RED HANDED
The new location for the umpire this season has had an immediate impact on the number of offensive holding penalties this season and teams that can’t help but hold are getting beat by the books.

Of the seven most-penalized teams (Jets, Cardinals, Raiders, Eagles, Titans, Rams and Cowboys), not one team has been a good bet this year.

New York, Arizona, Tennessee and St. Louis are 1-1 ATS while the others are a combined 0-8 ATS.

Compared with early season stats from 2007-09, offensive holding calls are up nearly 75-percent and while teams take time to adjust, bad offenses will continue to struggle, setting up solid plays AGAINST for bettors.

EAGLE FLYING HIGH
The Philadelphia Eagles have announced they will stick with Michael Vick as their starter for this week’s matchup in Jacksonville. Vick took over when Kevin Kolb was injured vs. Green Bay and led the Eagles to a road win in Detroit last weekend.

It was thought that Kolb would take back the starter’s job once he was cleared by medical staff but in the NFC East, where three teams share a tie for first, a Reid’s gotta do what a Reid’s gotta do!