Archive for September 29th, 2013

2013 NFL Week 5 Lines – Week Five Lines Breakdown

September 29th, 2013 by Adam Markowitz (Bankroll Sports Columnist) | Posted in NFL Football   Comments Off on 2013 NFL Week 5 Lines – Week Five Lines Breakdown
Bet The Week 5 NFL Football Lines at JustBet & Get An Exclusive 100% Signup Bonus
Exclusive 100% Signup Bonus (Up to $1,000) From JustBet!
New JustBet Customers: Use This Link & Promocode: “bankrollsports”
(Must Use Above Links – $1,000 Max – 50% Added Bonus For Deposits Over $1K)
The Full List of Week 5 NFL Lines Are Listed At The Bottom Of This Article

Cowboys CheerleadersThe Week 5 NFL odds are out and ready to go, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are breaking down all of the NFL gambling odds for what should be another remarkable week of play on the gridiron.

Are there legitimately playoff teams that are huge underdogs on the Week 5 NFL betting lines? You bet there are! The biggest of those underdogs comes in what might be the best game of the week between the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans. The Texans have dropped two games in a row, and they very well could be an 0-4 team at this point if not for a few breaks in the second halves of games. They haven’t had a game that this year in which they haven’t trailed in either the second half or overtime, and they are going on the road to take on the San Francisco 49ers. It’s a tough game for sure, but as proof as to how far these two teams have come of late… The last time these two met at Candlestick Park was in 2005, and the #1 pick in the NFL Draft was on the line in Week 17. Houston lost the game, won the #1 pick, and took DE Mario Williams, who has since left via free agency. The Niners did knock off the Rams last week, but is the sky still falling? For the losing team, dropping to 2-3 is going to leave a lot of questions to be answered. The Niners are giving a touchdown in one of the biggest NFL point spreads we have seen in a Texans game in quite some time.

Meanwhile, the favorites in the NFC East and the leaders in the clubhouse in the division, the Dallas Cowboys are going to be playing a tough battle against the Denver Broncos. Not only are the Cowboys also +7, but they are +7 at home! Denver though, has been mowing through teams, and it is on a pace to just shatter every single record known to man offensively. It’s really unreal to think of the numbers that QB Peyton Manning is putting up at this point with this team, and things are only going to get better and better as the second quarter of the season wears on. This is the first really tough road test of the season though, and it is one that many will be excited to see if the Broncos can figure out how to pass with flying colors.

And finally, the Detroit Lions, who are 3-1 through four games and sitting atop of the NFC North, are +6.5 on the road against the Green Bay Packers. Once again, this is a huge number, and it is one that is going to be tough to beat, even for a Green Bay team that took its bye week last week and is hoping to get healthy, especially at the running back position. With all three of its running backs getting banged up in the last couple of weeks, the Packers have some explaining to do in this one. We know that they’ll score some points through the air, but can they slow down QB Matthew Stafford and the gang? Stafford’s offense has looked fantastic thus far this year, and the Lions put up 40 last week against the high-octane Chicago defense.

Do Your Football Betting @ Bet Revolution & Get An Exclusive 100% Cash Sign-up Bonus
Click Here For An Exclusive 100% Cash Bonus @ Bet Revolution
(Exclusive 100% Bonus Offer For Bankroll Sports Visitors: Must Use This Link)

The biggest favorites of the weekend though, are the St. Louis Rams. It’s tough to think that a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in quite some time is actually capable of laying 13 points, but without us even saying a thing, you know that it is the Jacksonville Jaguars that are coming to town. The Rams are on a long week of preparation for this game, and they are getting a lame team that is seemingly destined to go 1-15 or worse this year. QB Blaine Gabbert is the worst starting quarterback in the NFL, and it really doesn’t matter whether it is Gabbert or QB Chad Henne, the title is likely the same. If St. Louis doesn’t bounce back from its bad loss to San Fran in this one, there’s no way to fix this team. This is a get well game in every sense of the word for this defense.

Aside from these games that we have mentioned though, there isn’t a single point spread that has opened up at bigger than 4.5 points on Thursday or Sunday. The San Diego Chargers are giving 4.5 on the road against an Oakland Raiders team that just handed the Redskins their first win of the season last week. Oakland’s quarterback situation is still murky. QB Matt Flynn started last week against Washington, but we have to think that it is going to be QB Terrelle Pryor that is getting the call once again to start off on the Week 5 odds as long as he finishes passing his concussion tests.

The next two biggest NFL points spreads in Week 5 are both in primetime games. The second biggest spread of the week thus far pits the New York Jets at +8.5 against the Atlanta Falcons, while the Cleveland Browns are -3.5 against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football. We have to think that this is going to be the third straight start for QB Brian Hoyer, who has led the Browns to a pair of wins thus far on the season, which is more than we can say for QB Brandon Weeden, who was 0-2 in his two starts before getting hurt, and perhaps Wally Pipped.

(Note: This article is written as of Sunday evening. The current NFL betting odds for Week 5 are below. The games between the Patriots and Bengals and the Chiefs and Titans are both off the board at the moment and will be expected to open up later in the week.)

There are definitely some more quirks about the Week 5 NFL schedule that are just completely off the wall. Two more playoff teams from last year, the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts are both underdogs. The Colts are three-point dogs at home against the Seattle Seahawks, while the Ravens are +3 at the Miami Dolphins. The Indy/Seattle game is the far more interesting contest. It’s the second straight week that Seattle is going to have to fly a long ways to play a 1:00 ET game on the road, and it is going to come with a lot of offensive linemen not on the field. The Colts have continued to soar, as they have now rolled to two victories in a row after losing to Miami at home in Week 2, a loss that really had fans screaming that perhaps something was really wrong with this team. This will be one of the better games on the docket.

But the biggest quirk? The winless New York Giants are actually favored by two points at home against the Philadelphia Eagles. Giants fans, fret not! Yes, the G-Men are 0-4 this year, but if they win this game and the Cowboys lose as they are supposed to against the Broncos, they are going to be just a game back five games into the season. Now THAT’S how you know your division is brutal. In fairness to New York, this is the first game this season that the team is going to be favored in by more than a single point. The Eagles have been a wreck since their first half of the season, and wonder is certainly there if the rest of the league has figured out Head Coach Chip Kelly and his offense (or whether they are just exploiting his defense!).

The New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears are meeting in a contrast of styles. The Bears would much rather play a slowed down game that features a lot of defense, while the Saints are going to race up and down the field. Chicago watched its perfect start to the season go by the boards when it was beaten by the Lions last week in a game that was nowhere near as close as an eight-point final score suggests.

To round out the card, the Carolina Panthers are -1 on the road against the Arizona Cardinals, who perhaps aren’t getting all that much respect at 2-2. The Panthers are coming off of their bye week though, so they might have a few new tricks up their sleeve after the long week of rest.

Even with two games off the board at the moment, there is very little doubt as to what the highest ‘totals’ and the lowest ‘totals’ of the week are going to be. No game is going to end up being lower than that Thursday nighter between the Bills and the Browns. Hoyer and QB EJ Manuel don’t exactly put a lot of confidence in bettors, especially with as badly as Buffalo has managed to protect the rookie in the pocket this year. The number to beat is 41.5, and we think that it is very interesting to continue to see how games played with teams on short weeks #1 tend to be unpredictable and #2 tend to feature lower scoring games. The only game that is going to remotely close to this number this week is the one between the Rams and the Jaguars, mainly because the Jacksonville offense has now gone over 30 first half drives without a touchdown. Do keep in mind that the game between the Chiefs and the Titans could end up with a number lower than this if QB Jake Locker, who was injured on Sunday, is indeed out for the game.

On the other end of the spectrum, nothing should be all that surprising. Once again, the Broncos have one of the highest ‘totals’ of the week. And oh, why not? The team already has 179 points scored this season, which we’d be willing to bet could end up being fewer points than the Jaguars will score for the entire season. Depending upon the number you got, all four Denver games could have ended in covers, and all four Denver games have gone past the ‘total’, so the 55 shouldn’t even seem like that high of a number at this point.

The highest ‘total’ of the week though, pits the Giants and their sieve of a defense against the Eagles and their sieve of a defense. These two teams have combined to give up 831 yards and 71 points per game this year, and those are just downright bad numbers. Philly’s offense is still putting up plenty of numbers, but the defense is really holding this unit back in a big time way. The number to beat is 56, and not surprisingly, this is the biggest ‘total’ of the weekend.

Remember when the Lions and the Packers would easily have the highest ‘total’ in any given week if they played against each other on the NFL betting lines? 52 is a high number, but this time around, it’s just third best.

Current NFL Week 5 Odds @ JustBet Sportsbook (as of 9/29/13):
(Get a HUGE 100% Bonus at JustBet When Using This Link)

NFL Week 5 Betting Lines for Thursday, October 3rd (Thursday Night Football Odds)
301 Buffalo Bills +3.5
302 Cleveland Browns -3.5
Over/Under 41.5

Week 5 NFL Spreads for Sunday, October 6th (1:00 ET Kickoffs)
413 Kansas City Chiefs OTB
414 Tennessee Titans OTB
Over/Under OTB

415 Baltimore Ravens +3
416 Miami Dolphins -3
Over/Under 43

417 Jacksonville Jaguars +13
418 St. Louis Rams -13
Over/Under 42

419 New England Patriots OTB
420 Cincinnati Bengals OTB
Over/Under OTB

421 Seattle Seahawks -3
422 Indianapolis Colts +3
Over/Under 43

423 Detroit Lions +6.5
424 Green Bay Packers -6.5
Over/Under 52

425 New Orleans Saints +1
426 Chicago Bears -1
Over/Under 47.5

427 Philadelphia Eagles +2
428 New York Giants -2
Over/Under 56

NFL Week 5 Betting Lines for Sunday, October 6th (4:00 ET Kickoffs)
429 Carolina Panthers -1
430 Arizona Cardinals +1
Over/Under 42

431 San Diego Chargers -4.5
432 Oakland Raiders +4.5
Over/Under 44

433 Denver Broncos -7
434 Dallas Cowboys +7
Over/Under 55

Sunday Night Football Week 5 Odds for Sunday, October 7th (Sunday Night Football Odds)
435 Houston Texans +7
436 San Francisco 49ers -7
Over/Under 42.5

Monday Night Football Week 5 Lines for Monday, October 8th (Monday Night Football Odds)
437 New York Jets +8.5
438 Atlanta Falcons -8.5
Over/Under OTB

2013 Stanley Cup Odds, Predictions: Odds To Win NHL Championship

September 29th, 2013 by Adam Markowitz (Bankroll Sports Columnist) | Posted in General Handicapping   Comments Off on 2013 Stanley Cup Odds, Predictions: Odds To Win NHL Championship

 Exclusive Sportsbook Bonus Offer (With Credit Card Deposits)
Massive 100% Signup Bonus ($300 Max) @ JustBet: Click Here For Info

Newest 2013-2014 Stanley Cup Betting Odds Posted Below

Stanley Cup TrophyIt’s a dawn of a new season in hockey, and that means that there are 30 teams that are joining the fight to beat the Stanley Cup odds. Realignment has messed with the whole course of the league this year, and that means you need expert NHL handicappers like us to get this right for you. The best betting opportunities are there for hockey, and we are going to show you some of the best bets on the Stanley Cup betting lines for 2014!

We would be remiss if we didn’t make mention of the Chicago Blackhawks (2013 Stanley Cup Betting Lines: 6.50 to 1 at JustBet Sportsbook) as the team that is probably most likely to win it all this year. Sure, the Penguins are the favorites (more on them in a second), but the Blackhawks have a team that has shown a lot of grit come playoff time, something that we haven’t seen out of many other teams in the sport. Corey Crawford continues to play well in big time situations, and he stood tall in the face of adversity against the Red Wings in the playoffs and turned out to be a dominating star in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Bruins as well. We can’t advise Boston this year because of all of the turnover that the team had, but the Blackhawks have remained as consistent as could be over the course of the last few years, and they are the overwhelming favorites on the odds to win the Central Division this year as well. Crawford and his stacked offense, which has now managed to win a pair of Stanley Cups together, could be the team to watch more so than any other.

But of course, we know that the team with the most talent on it is the Pittsburgh Penguins (Stanley Cup Odds Favorites: 6.50 to 1 at JustBet Sportsbook). We still question whether Marc-Andre Fleury really has it in him to lead a team in the playoffs. The club beat the Islanders in the first round of the playoffs last year in spite of what Fleury was mucking up, and eventually, Tomas Vokoun had to come in to relieve Fleury in the postseason. Can the man who has mined the Pittsburgh net for going on a decade really get back to his game at this point? If not, the Penguins are going to struggle. We’re sorry, but you’re not just winning games with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby scoring a zillion goals. It’s not going to happen. The defense isn’t strong enough, and it lost Douglas Murray in the offseason, and Fleury still scares the heck out of us. The talent is there to score four goals a night if that’s what needs to be done, but come the postseason when it really matters, the Penguins aren’t nearly as good as most would think.

List Of Previous Stanley Cup Champions (Since 2000)
2013 Stanley Cup Champions – Chicago Blackhawks
2012 Stanley Cup Champions – Los Angeles Kings
2011 Stanley Cup Champions – Boston Bruins
2010 Stanley Cup Champions – Chicago Blackhawks
2009 Stanley Cup Champions – Pittsburgh Penguins
2008 Stanley Cup Champions – Detroit Red Wings
2007 Stanley Cup Champions – Anaheim Ducks
2006 Stanley Cup Champions – Carolina Hurricanes
2005 Stanley Cup Champions – None, Labor Dispute
2004 Stanley Cup Champions – Tampa Bay Lightning
2003 Stanley Cup Champions – New Jersey Devils
2002 Stanley Cup Champions – Detroit Red Wings
2001 Stanley Cup Champions – Colorado Avalanche
2000 Stanley Cup Champions – New Jersey Devils

There are a lot of teams right around that 10 to 1 range that we think are all overplayed at this point. The Kings don’t impress us. The Blues don’t have the offense to capitalize in spite of the fact that they have one of the best defenses in the game. The Red Wings are still old and had their shot last year. The Bruins had too much turnover and don’t have enough help on the back line at this point in the season either. And that brings us down to the New York Rangers (Odds To Win 2013 NHL Championship: 20 to 1 at SportBet Sportsbook). The switch the Head Coach Alain Vigneault might be laughed at by Vancouver fans, knowing that this man hasn’t been able to take one of the most talented teams to a Stanley Cup in all these years. However, unlike in Vancouver, Vigneault has a team that has a defense in front of a great goalie. The Rangers have one of the best defensive teams in the league at this point, and Henrik Lundqvist will make even the smallest of leads stand up more often than not. Still, averaging 2.6 goals per game isn’t going to cut it this year, and with Vigneault calling the shots, we expect that number to come up at least a quarter of a goal per game, which could make all the difference in the world.

Another team that doesn’t have the best playoff history in the world is one that is on our radar. We like the way that the San Jose Sharks (Odds To Win 2014 Stanley Cup: 25 to 1 at SportBet Sportsbook). You probably didn’t realize it, but Antti Niemi was a Top 5 goalie for most of last season. He has a team in front of him that can really score, and last year, it all came together in the opening round of the playoffs against the Canucks. The long layover really didn’t do anything to help out the team, but what might help this year is the division realignment and the postseason picture. The Sharks are good for sure, and if Niemi can continue to bring them a newly found sense of security at the back end, this is a team that can make it up to a #2 seed in the Western Conference, and if that turns out to be the case, there is no doubt that this is a team that is a contender. This is a great price on the Stanley Cup betting lines on a very good team that could be poised for greatness in 2013-14.
Up To Date 2013-14 Stanley Cup Odds @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 9/29/13):
(Get a FREE 100% Deposit Bonus at SportBet.com When Using This Link)
Pittsburgh Penguins 5.50 to 1
Chicago Blackhawks 6 to 1
Boston Bruins 10 to 1
Los Angeles Kings 12 to 1
St. Louis Blues 12 to 1
Detroit Red Wings 17 to 1
Vancouver Canucks 18 to 1
New York Rangers 20 to 1
Anaheim Ducks 22 to 1
Montreal Canadiens 22 to 1
Edmonton Oilers 25 to 1
Minnesota Wild 25 to 1
Ottawa Senators 25 to 1
San Jose Sharks 25 to 1
Toronto Maple Leafs 25 to 1
Washington Capitals 26 to 1
Dallas Stars 30 to 1
Philadelphia Flyers 34 to 1
New York Islanders 35 to 1
Tampa Bay Lightning 35 to 1
Carolina Hurricanes 45 to 1
Columbus Blue Jackets 55 to 1
New Jersey Devils 55 to 1
Colorado Avalanche 60 to 1
Nashville Predators 70 to 1
Phoenix Coyotes 70 to 1
Winnipeg Jets 70 to 1
Buffalo Sabres 100 to 1
Florida Panthers 200 to 1
Calgary Flames 250 to 1

NHL Championship Odds 2013-2014 @ JustBet Sportsbook (as of 9/29/13):
(Get a HUGE $300 Deposit Bonus at JustBet.cx When Using This Link)
Anaheim Ducks 22 to 1
Boston Bruins 9.50 to 1
Buffalo Sabres 100 to 1
Calgary Flames 150 to 1
Carolina Hurricanes 36 to 1
Chicago Blackhawks 6.50 to 1
Colorado Avalanche 65 to 1
Columbus Blue Jackets 55 to 1
Dallas Stars 60 to 1
Edmonton Oilers 25 to 1
Florida Panthers 145 to 1
Los Angeles Kings 10 to 1
Minnesota Wild 25 to 1
Montreal Canadiens 22 to 1
Nashville Predators 60 to 1
New Jersey Devils 55 to 1
New York Islanders 33 to 1
New York Rangers 19 to 1
Ottawa Senators 26 to 1
Philadelphia Flyers 39 to 1
Phoenix Coyotes 80 to 1
Pittsburgh Penguins 6.50 to 1
St. Louis Blues 12 to 1
San Jose Sharks 18.50 to 1
Tampa Bay Lightning 46 to 1
Toronto Maple Leafs 24 to 1
Vancouver Canucks 17 to 1
Washington Capitals 30 to 1
Winnipeg Jets 70 to 1