Price Per Head Betting – NFL Playoffs Drama Continues
Some random thoughts for PPH bettors at WagerHome.com on the NFL playoffs, which are about to enter their second week:
It was a rather heroic, and in some ways, surprising performance by the New Orleans Saints in Philadelphia as they beat the Eagles, with respect to the fact that the running game is what really carried this team to victory. But should such a thing be so surprising? Mark Ingram had 18 carries for 97 yards. He is now the top guy in the backfield with Pierre Thomas injured. When you look at Ingram's stats, he's actually had a very good season, when healthy. The former Heisman Trophy winner has averaged 4.9 yards per carry; the problem is, he's only had 78 carries on the season. Our guess is that you can expect to see a lot more of them as the Saints travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks, where they are an eight-point underdog in the Price Per Head football betting odds at WagerHome.com.
As for Drew Brees, well, let's just say that Sunday's effort was rather inconclusive when it comes to his ability to play on the road. With a touchdown pass and two interceptions, he now has thrown for 13 TD's with eleven pickoffs on the season when he is the visitor, and that offers quite a contrast with his figures of 27 TD's and three interceptions when he is in the Superdome. As NFL bettors know all too well, statistics in the Big Easy mean nothing at this point, since the Saints aren't going to be hosting a playoff game. Over his last seven post-season contests, Brees now has 18 touchdown passes and four interceptions. Three of those games have been played on the road and one of them has been played at a neutral site, which was the Super Bowl in Miami.
How likely is it that the San Diego Chargers are going to go into Sports Authority field in Denver and beat the Broncos? Well, over their last 14 home games, the Broncos have won 13 times, with their only defeat coming at the hands of the Chargers. That was, of course, this season, when the Chargers had to win to stay alive in the wild-card race. In those last 14 home games Denver has also covered the spread in pro football betting on eleven occasions, and San Diego has been responsible for two of those point spread defeats for the Broncos. Just food for thought as they head into this game as 9.5-point underdogs in PPH betting at WagerHome.
The Cincinnati Bengals have not won a playoff game in 23 years. They had 20 unanswered points scored upon them in the second half against San Diego. Marvin Lewis has now lost five playoff games in a row during his tenure as Bengals' coach. It's a tough position Cincinnati's management is in; on the one hand, these are loyal people, and they don't normally throw their staff members under the bus. On top of that, they are getting Lewis for the right salary. But there are fans to answer to as
well, at least to some extent, and you've got to wonder whether they've considered sending a message of those fans that perhaps going in a new direction might help them get to the next level. Just sayin'…...
We are well aware, as are most WagerHome Price Per Head customers, that the front-runners for coach of the year this season are the likes of Andy Reid, who just saw his Kansas City Chiefs get eliminated in heartbreaking fashion, and Ron Rivera, whose Carolina Panthers are 1.5-point under dogs to San Francisco this weekend in the NFL odds. Mike McCoy of the aforementioned San Diego Chargers could rate some consideration as well. But how about an honorable mention, at least, for Bill Belichick, who led his New England Patriots to a first-round bye despite the fact that he didn't have tight end Rob Gronkowski for half the season, lost his partner, Aaron Hernandez, for the entire campaign, had to deal with absences at the wide receiver position, and lost both Tommy Kelly and Vince Wilfork from the defensive line, not to mention Jarod Mayo in the linebacking corps. New England, which is a seven-point
favorite over the Colts this Saturday, according to the WagerHome odds, will now have to go without linebacker Brandon Spikes (known as a great run-stopper), who is out with a knee injury. Dealing with adversity is just another day at the office for Belichick. And maybe that's why the Patriots may not be looking too bad at +600 in the NFL futures odds to win the Super Bowl.
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- Charles Jay, Gambling911.com
