american football

The Road to Super Bowl XLVI betting got very interesting in the Divisional round last weekend, and now we have the Conference Championships to look forward to. The last four teams are lining up a position in the final now and two of the main frontrunners for the Super Bowl are no longer in contention. The Divisional Round threw up some fantastic matches with the highlight being the fall of the defending champions the Green Bay Packers. So this Sunday sees the last four battle it out for a place at Super Bowl XLVI and we have new outright favourites to win it, and that is the New England Patriots. The excitement builds towards the Super Bowl and we have two great match ups to look at in NFL betting this week.

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots Betting
The Ravens squeezed out the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional Round, winning 20-13 at home to move ahead. Baltimore walked straight into the Divisional Round, missing the Wild Card round courtesy of such a strong season, but yet they still continue to fly under the radar. Baltimore are the next team to try and contain the incredible New England offence and it goes without saying that they will need a pretty strong defensive effort. But that is just what the Baltimore Ravens have, and it has been arguable much tighter than New England’s throughout the season. So at least they have that to rely on in Baltimore at New England betting. However there is a big question mark about the composure of quarter back Joe Flacco, who was less than ordinary in the Divisional Round win over the Texans and he has come under some serious flak, especially with comparisons naturally being drawn against New England’s pretty much immaculate Tom Brady. There is an uneven tilt there in that department, but the Ravens do have a big ace up their sleeve and that is Ray Rice who has always done extremely well running against the Patriots. Talk about a game winner and that falls on the shoulders of Rice and they have to get him into the game to take some pressure off Flacco. As good as Baltimore’s defence has been for the season it will still need to produce its best defensive effort if they are going to take down New England. New England don’t have the defence that the Ravens do, and New England do give up a lot of yardage, however, opponents do still have trouble converting ground into points against the Patriots. That is simply going to be the problem for the Ravens, keeping up with the scoring of the Patriots, because they will get on the board. You are talking about the second best offence during the regular season (the Patriots) up against the 15th best. The offence that the Patriots can throw out is just too powerful for most teams, having racked up over 500 points during the regular season. The Patriots coasted through their AFC Divisional Round match, crushing the Denver Broncos 45-10 with that man Tom Brady at quarterback having a spectacular game. The Patriots are now everybody’s favourite to lift the Super Bowl this year and are looking for their fifth Super Bowl appearance. The last time these two met in the Post Season, it was the Ravens who took a win in the Wild Card Round back in 2009. It may take a while for the Patriots to break through the Ravens defence, but they are expected to get the job done in the end.

New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers Betting
Most people were expecting a match up between the New Orleans Saints and the almost invincible Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championships. However, there were big turn ups for the books in the Divisional Round. The San Francisco 49ers, using home advantage in an open stadium, where the Saints aren’t that happy (as they are better suited to their home indoors conditions) squeezed out a dramatic late win over Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. It was a cracker of a match, with the Saints looking set to take the game after a late score with about ninety seconds left on the clock, to go to take a narrow points advantage. However, the 49ers weren’t finished in the match as talk about ‘The Grab’ resounds on. There was nine seconds left on the clock when 49ers quarter back Alex Smith nailed a touchdown pass to Vernon Davis to sneak over the line in to the Conference Championships. That was the first time in nine years that the 49ers had won a play off game. Now a Super Bowl berth is at stake. The 49ers face off against the New York Giants, who have come up so big time and time again when it has mattered this season. After a big win against the Cowboys late in the regular season to take the NFC East, the often unpredictable Giants have produced when it has mattered and it has been down to their defence. The play offs have largely been defence dominated, a switcheroo from the regular season, when it has been all about the incredible offences of New Orleans, New England and Green Bay. The Giants triumphed where only one other team this season has (Kansas City Chiefs) and that has been limiting the Packers offence, led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Giants, whose defence has looked shaky at times this season and has conceded a wealth of points, have suddenly tightened up and gotten smart, and the down to earth, power game which they are running has suddenly seen them find a consistent winning formula. If you are looking for the more complete team, that will be the 49ers. It was the 49ers who took a 27-20 win on home turf against the Giants and we will probably see an equally tight match up against in New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers betting. Giants quarter back Eli Manning, generally either brilliant or frustrating needs a big game. The Giants can bully this if their defence continues to do what it has done in the post season. The 49ers will go as favourites though, because they are the stronger of the sides with the better offensive options.

Super Bowl XLVI Outright Winner Betting
New England Patriots: 5/4 at William Hill
San Francisco 49ers: 17/5 at Bet365
New York Giants: 11/4 at Paddy Power
Baltimore Ravens: 7/1 at Boylesports

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There are just eight teams remaining on the road to Superbowl XLVI after a thrilling Wild Card round on the weekend. Now we head to the Divisional Round, where the top two seeds from both Conferences, take on the respective winners from the Wild Card round. So the four teams who sat out the Wild Card Round, now enter back into the race after getting a week off, a reward for their high seeding. We have the last eight standing and four great looking match ups, with the highlight being the New Orleans Saints at the San Francisco 49ers. The race for the Superbowl is on. Just two games stand between the remaining teams and a shot at NFL glory. Here is an NFL Betting look at next weekend’s Divisional Round of matches. The games are being played on Sunday 15th, apart from the Saints at 49ers which is on Saturday.

Denver Broncos at New England Patriots
The Broncos pulled off a great win against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card. The Steelers went into the match up with a thrilling win in Overtime. The Bronco’s fired off twenty points in the second quarter, and the only points outside of that was three points in the fourth. It left the game poised and balanced at 23-23 at the end of regulation. But then up stepped Tim Tebow after just eleven seconds of Overtime and nailed a touchdown pass. That was the first play off win for the Broncos since the 2005 season and their defence carried well with five sacks on the Steelers’ quarterback Roethlisberger. So a great effort from the Broncos, but now they will have to face the rested New England Patriots. The Patriots are running as second favourites in Superbowl outright betting. New England went 13-3-0 for the season, and that stands up against the Broncos 8-8-0. Top seeds in the AFC, the Patriots have not managed to land a win in the playoffs in the last four years. The Patriots have incredible firepower going forward, but they also hold up defensively sound. The Patriots carry a 7-1 home record for the season. A lot of the weight of the game will depend on which Tim Tebow shows for the Broncos, but with the Patriots winning in Denver 41-23 back in the middle of December, there is likely only going to be one outcome to this.
Patriots 1/7, Broncos 11/2 at Boylesports
Points Spread: Patriots -13.5 for 10/11 at BetFred

Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens
The Texas, after overhauling the Cincinnati Bengals in their Wild Card match up, now face a tough Divisional Round encounter against the Ravens. This is the first time that the Texans have been in the post season, as the franchise is just ten years old. They are led by rookie quarterback TJ Yates, landed some great touchdown passes against the Bengals, but will have a much tougher time picking things out against the Ravens. The Ravens hold a 8-0 home record for the season and with the Texans 5-3 on the road, then home advantage is likely to pay out big here. The Ravens beat Houston 29-14 at home during the regular season, with Ray Rice rushing for over 100 yards. The Ravens finished the season strongly with a couple of wins, and went 4-1 in their last five, while the Texans, they could only muster up a 2-3 record in their last five matches and entered the post season on the back of three game losing streak. The Bengals lack of any real threat may have flattered the Texans a little in the Wild Card round, and can’t see Houston winning this in Baltimore. The Ravens have that extra quality.
Ravens 1/4, Texans 3/1 at VC Bet
Points Spread: Texans +7/5 for 10/11 at Bet365

New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers
The Saints are still many people’s tips to take the Superbowl this year, and they fired off a 45-28 win over the Detroit Lions to move through to the Divisional Round. There is an interesting stat to look at with regards to the Saints heading to San Francisco, because New Orleans are not as effective going forward in outdoor arenas, as they are undercover of indoor fields. The Saints found the Lions defence in a generous mood and that won’t happen against the 49ers. The Saints do have one the strongest attacks, led by star Quarterback Drew Brees and a tremendous power running unit. Arguably the best in the league. So this is going to be about the great Saints offence against the tight and mean 49ers defence. When Brees is hot, as he has been for pretty much the second half of the season, then the Saints can steamroller opposition defences. The Saints went into the post season on the back of an eight match winning streak. However, the 49ers have the kind of defence that can really disrupt him and take him out of his comfort zone. That is pretty much going to be the key in New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers betting. Whether or not the 49ers can limit the Brees factor. The San Francisco 49ers are not as prolific going forward, so they need their defence to carry them through matches and to give them a chance. It has worked for most of the season in their 13-3 record and with the Saints also carrying a 13-3 record in the regular season, this should be a war of attrition which Brees could make or break.
Saints 20/37, San Francisco 33/20 at Bet365
Points Spread -3.5 for 5/6 at VC Bet

New York Giants at Green Bay Packers
This should be a treat for the Divisional Round. The Packers are rested up and ready to go again after their 15-1 run in the regular season. They are the defending champions and are expected to navigate their way through this match up. Let by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Packers have shown incredible power moving forwards, however, their defence has not been the greatest, and actually finished last in the NFL for yards conceded. However, the defensive lapses have been brilliantly covered up by their offence and that is going to be the big game difference here against the Giants. The Giants don’t have anywhere near the flair of the Packers, nor the consistency, but they have spirit and power football on their side. Unpredictable is the best way to describe the Giants, who did pull out some big wins towards the end of the season when they needed it most and they need another massive one here. The Giants will have to face up to the almost unstoppable Packers offence, but what the Giants did in their win over the Atlanta Falcons in the Wild Card round, was old style power football, which just tore at the physical heart of the Falcons defence. It paid off big time. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t stylish. It was effective. The Giants Eli Manning leads the offensive line and although tagged as inconsistent rattled off a pretty impressive season as well. The Giants have not got the forward power to match the Packers in a shoot out. They will grind though and disrupt but the Packers should see it out.
Packers 2/7, Giants 11/4 at VC Bet
Points Spread: Packers -8 at Bet356

 Superbowl Outright Winner Odds
Green Bay Packers: 6/4 at BetFred
New England Patriots: 3/1 at SkyBet
New Orleans Saints: 4/1 at VC Bet
Baltimore Ravens: 7/1 at Bet365
San Francisco 49ers: 16/1 at Boylesports
New York Giants: 18/1 at Bet365
Houston Texans: 40/1 at Bet365
Denver Broncos: 66/1 at SportingBet

Little doubt about the big NFL betting clash of the New Year, as we look at Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants betting. This is a simple showdown scenario and whoever wins the big clash in the capital on January 2nd will be going to the play offs, while the losers will be finishing their season. This is the last division in the NFC to be settled, and this massive NFC East battle should be a thriller. There is always a little extra spice when these two rivals come together, but with both sitting on an 8-7 record for the season, then it really is all down to the wire. The big problem for Dallas is that their star quarterback Tony Romo has been struggling with injury and has only been able to put in limited practice ahead of the big game at the turn of the new year. Romo was injured as the Cowboys went down against the Philadelphia Eagles last week, which has left them in this precarious position. Romo does sound confident though, that his hand injury won’t be enough to keep him out of action on Sunday, as the Cowboys take to the field in New York. It is going to be a nervous few days for Cowboys fans as they await news on just how well Romo is expected to stand up in the heat of battle on the weekend.

The Giants pulled out a massively important win over the New York Jets in their last outing, putting them into a final showdown match for the NFC East title against the Cowboys, no matter what the Texas franchise did against the Eagles (which they lost). There are no such injury concerns for the Giants ahead of the big match, with their quarter back Jason Garrett fully expectant to see Romo lining up for the Cowboys, even if he is not able to last the game. This is the only matter left to really be settled in the NFC, as far as who is going to get into the play offs is concerned, and the Cowboys are the only other team in the hunt, with the Giants occupying top spot in the NFC East going into Sunday’s game. This is the final round of matches in the NFL regular season, as teams gun for glory at Superbowl XLVI. The Giants have a 3-4 home record this season, and are just 2-3 against divisional rivals. The Giants have gone 2-3 in their last five matches, and have a much worse defensive record than the Cowboys, while both of their offenses look pretty evenly matched.

The two sides did meet in Dallas a couple of weeks ago, in what was an absolute nail biter, with the visiting Giants running out 37-34 winners in a fantastic game. The Giants have pulled out some big wins when they have needed them, with recent wins over Dallas and the Jets keeping their Superbowl hopes alive. There is a great rivalry between these two divisional rivals, and some great trash talk has already been going on from the Giants’ Brandon Jacobs, who called the Cowboys fans loud and obnoxious. The match up Week 14, which saw the Giants overturn a twelve point deficit in just four minutes against the Cowboys to win in Texas has really set up the atmosphere for this one.

Cowboys v Giants betting should be a pretty high scoring game, with both offenses being better than their respective defenses. It should swing back and forth, with the defenses being picked off with relative ease you would think. The key factor in all this will be the health of Tony Romo’s hand. No doubt the Giants will be running hard for him in the early stages, looking to unsettle him and get the Cowboys on the back foot. That combined with the Giants being on home turf, as close of a game as Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants betting is going to be, would be looking for the Giants to come out on top again, in a high scoring, closely fought offensive shoot out. It is all on the line for these two now.

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants Betting Odds
Giants 7/10, Cowboys 5/4 at Boylesports

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants Points Spread Betting Odds
New York Giants -3 for Evens at Bet365

In Superbowl betting, the Green Bay Packers are still riding as favourites at 2/1 with BetFair, with the defending champions having lost just one match all regular season. The AFC’s New England Patriots have closed the gap a little bit and are now trading at 4/1 with BetFair and the New Orleans Saints (who need a win in their last game and for the San Francisco 49ers to lose in order to skip the wild card round in the playoffs), are just back at 5/1 with Boylesports in the Superbowl betting odds.

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So no perfect season for the Green Bay Packers then in the NFL. Their unbeaten season came crashing down last weekend, as they got their first taste of defeat for the season against the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a real turn up for the books, with the struggling Chiefs managing to hang on for a 19-14 victory over the success story of the NFL season. Didn’t see that one coming, but it should not make too much difference in the long run. There are just two games left on the season now, and while the Green Bay Packers have clinched their division, the NFC North, they will secure the Conference with a win in their last two matches. The New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers are both two games back from them, so the Packers need to only pick up one more win to clinch the NFC Conference too. It should happen. They can get the job done on Boxing Day, as the big match of the day, well, the only one, but it is a big one, is the divisional match up as we take a look at Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers betting.  The majority of the NFL play on Christmas Eve, while the Packers get to take centre stage on Boxing Day. One final match of the round, the Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints goes off on December 27^th. So the focus on the Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers betting is all about the Wisconsin franchise getting that one win they need to clinch the conference. The Green Bay Packers hold a 6-0 home record for the season, and go up against a Bears side which have won only twice on the road in six attempts this season.

The Packers’ prolific offense was kept somewhat quiet against Kansas City, but the Bears are probably fearing the worst, that they are going to be in line for the Green Bay backlash. So far this season, the Packers are 4-0 against divisional rivals, and have gone 10-0 against Conference rivals. So they will still be firm favourites to pick up a Boxing Day win. They couldn’t pull off the perfect season, but they have still far too much power in the tank to be deprived of topping the Conference at this point. They are the NFL’s top scorers and have racked up 165 more offensive points on the season that Boxing Day opponents, the Chicago Bears. The Green Bay defence though has not been perfect this season at all, and the defending Superbowl Champions have relied on their offensive power to get them through some tough times, when their winning streak was still intact. The defensive lapses cost them badly against the Chiefs last weekend, unable to keep out the big plays, especially when trying to see games out after building leads. They have been vulnerable at the back, but the passing weapons that quarterback Aaron Rodgers has is really the pinnacle of a very good team going forward. They did lose a couple of offensive tackles in the game against the Chiefs, so a little reshuffle is going to be needed. The focus is on their injury list, which is starting to catch up with them as look to close out the regular season on positives. That being said, can’t see the Bears having enough  in offense to take advantage of a weakened, perhaps susceptible Green Bay on Boxing Day.

That small blip on their season, hasn’t changed much in the betting odds for the Green Bay Packers going ahead to defend their Superbowl title this year. The Packers are still trading at 13/8 with Bet365, clear and outright favourites in the American Football market. Behind them, the AFC’s New England Patriots, who are clicking along at 11-3 for the season, are second favourites behind the Packers, but well back at 4/1 with Totesport, and then the NFC’s New Orleans Saints, on the same season record as the Patriots, are just out a little further at 5/1 with William Hill. The race is on for the final jostling of positions for the post season in the NFL.

Interestingly, in what turned out to be a thrilling weekend of action last time out, the Indianapolis Colts actually won their first game of the season at the fourteenth time of asking. They beat out the Tennessee Titans and the word is that star quarter back Peyton Manning, who has been missing all season with injury, won’t be back for the final two matches.

In the NFC Conference, the Green Bay Packers are still 8/11 at SkyBet to take the Conference, tracked by their biggest threats, the New Orleans Saints at 11/4 with Bet365. In the AFC it is the Patriots who are dominating the NFL Betting market in this one, priced at 5/4 with Totesport, with their nearest challengers being the Baltimore Ravens back out at 10/3 with BetFred.

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Bears @ Packers Betting Odds at BetFair
Packers 1/7, Bears 5/1

Bears @ Packers Betting Points Spread
Look for around +13 for the Bears, should be priced around Evens

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Green Bay Packers at New York Giants Betting sees the success story of the Wisconsin franchise rolling on. They are still on course for that perfect season, and it really is in touching distance now with just five games (including this one) remaining for the season. The Packers rolled out a 27-15 win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, and with closest Conference challengers the San Francisco 49ers suffering a surprise defeat, the Packers look set to completely wrap things up. It means after the last round of matches that the Packers are now two games to the good over the 49ers and you can’t see a big shift happening in the regular season run in to see them losing the NFC. As League leaders, the Packers are naturally strong favourites to win the Superbowl as well this season, and a remarkable season it would be if they swept all the way to Superbowl glory without defeat. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has thrown 33 Touchdown passes this season, already his best return ever on a season.

Their next test on Sunday is against the New York Giants who have gone on a bit of a skid. The Giants are holding a 6-5 season record at the moment and are just about in touch with the Dallas Cowboys who are one game up on them in the NFC East. So there is still a lot to play for for the Giants, but they need to a win to stop a run of three consecutive loses. The Giants, without question have defensive problems, and while they have home turf in Green Bay Packers at New York Giants betting, the consensus is that the visitors, will at some point take advantage of the weaknesses back there. The thing is, that the Packers have not been defensively sound by any stretch of the imagination. It has been their powerful offence which has seen them through. In their last match against the Lions, the Packers stretched out a big lead, and then allowed their opponents back into the match in the final quarter, not the first time they have done that, and you wonder if it will ultimately be their downfall which will cost them their perfect season.

As the pressure mounts on them completing that feat, the more the nerves will grow and perhaps the cracks will show. Because of the slide of the Giants though, it is likely that the Packers will have enough in offence to take the game and roll one closer to that perfect season. We can sum this up with a few stats. The Packers beat the Giants 45-17 on Boxing Day last season, and while the Giants have a slightly better defence, the Packers have the fourth best overall offence, compared to the 11th overall from the Giants, who have the worst rushing offence in the league.

Can the Packers, the defending Superbowl Champions go all the way unbeaten in the regular season? Last season they went 10-6 on the regular season and then were unbeaten in the play offs. That means they are actually 17 matches unbeaten and have clearly passed what they achieved in the regular season last year. The Packers are now 7/5 at Bet365 to go 16-0 for the regular season and are 15/8 at Paddy Power to win the Superbowl.

Green Bay Packers at New York Giants Betting Odds
Green Bay to win: 2/5 at Victor Chandler
New York Giants to win: 9/4 at Bet365

The points spread for the match is six at a price of 10/11 with Bet365

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With the NFL season rapidly heading towards the post season, there are two big stories floating around, and that should give you some good betting opportunities. The big story to start off with is the Green Bay Packers, who are from Wisconsin for those who weren’t aware (which I wasn’t until yesterday). With a massive victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, the Packers are now standing at a perfect 9-0 season record. Now the big hubbub here is whether or not they can produce a perfect season and go 16-0 heading to the post season. They are the dominant force, the team to catch at the moment in the NFL, and because of their record, they are red hot favourites to lift the Superbowl this season. While we will take a look at Superbowl betting in a moment, all the talk is whether or not the Packers can win every game this season in the NFL. At the moment, it is not all that far fetched and online bookmaker SkyBet are offering a nice price of 4/1 to see them go undefeated for the season. So, with them being well over half way there, it does make a decent punt. Their net points for the season is a remarkable 143 points, while they have ran up 39 TD’s, eleven more than their nearest divisional rivals, the Detroit Lions. This is largely due to the form of quarterback Aaron Rodgers who threw four more touchdown passes on Monday against the Vikings. They are one of just two teams in the NHL to have racked up over 300 points for themselves, so get a measure of the power that they have in their side. Subsequently, you can get a decent price of 9/4 at William Hill on the Green Bay Packers to go on and win the Superbowl.

A pretty strong bet for some fantastic value is backing Green Bay to go and win the NFC Conference at a price of 11/10 at SkyBet. In there they are being chased by the San Francisco 49ers who are 8-1 for the season, and the New Orleans Saints who are back at 7-3 at Coral. The NFL standings are based on wins, so for example the Packers hold a one game lead over the 49ers. The only slight question is over the Green Bay defence, which is likely to be the only chink that may see them miss out on their perfect season. They have given up a lot of passing yards, the second worst passing defence in the NFL, and they nearly came unstuck in their previous game, after opening up a big lead, when the San Diego Chargers put them under immense pressure in the fourth quarter. The Packers held out there though and hit back with top form in an impressive display to beat the Vikings. These last two matches have seen the Packers show a lot of character. So, beyond the Packers, the Saints and the 49ers are showing the most potential from the NFC to challenge the Packers over all in that betting market. The Saints are currently trading at 9/2 with Coral to take the NFC Conference, while the San Francisco 49ers are back slightly at 11/2 with SkyBet.

Over in the AFC Conference, things are a little big closer, with the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texas and the Baltimore Ravens all looking fairly evenly matched. However, it is the Patriots, who are expected to come good in the end to take the Conference at a price of 7/4 with Coral, but they are being pressed hard by Pittsburgh and Houston, who are both 4-1 in their last five matches and are great value in AFC Conference betting. Houston though may just have lost their starting QB for the rest of the season. The Steelers are 4/1 at Coral and Houston are 7/1 at Bodog. Switching back to the Superbowl market, the New England Patriots are second favourites to win the Superbowl at 6/1 with Bwin.

The other big story of the NFL this season, and perhaps for all the wrong reasons are the Indianapolis Colts. The hapless Colts are also on for a perfect season, as they have lost all ten of their games so far, and are just six away from having a winless season. They have more holes in their defence than your kitchen colander, and naturally this is American Football betting fodder. Indianapolis are 9/4 at Bet365 to lose every game this season in the NFL. There is a big week coming up for the Colts, who face the Carolina Panthers in Week 12, who have just two wins on the season. So that represents the soonest chance that the Colts may pick up a win. So, online bookmaker Ladbrokes are offering odds of 7/4 for that match to be the first victory of the season for the Colts.

So interesting markets all around, from the impeccable Green Bay Packers to the winless Indianapolis Colts. The road to the Superbowl is heating up, and the longer the season goes on with these records, the more the tension surrounding them will grow.

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American Football is gracing the hallowed Wembley turf on Sunday, as we take a look at Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Chicago Bears betting. An NFL match at Wembley  has been a staple annual diet for the past four years, and this year’s fifth showing of the glitz and glamour of sport, has maybe bigger implications than just to see who picks up the win abroad. The NFL is keen to grow the sport in Europe, and there have been talks about a British franchise hooking up with the NFL permanently. The chat, although informal about a franchise being opened in London is something that the sport’s executives seem to think will be a good thing. In the end it will be about the NFL expanding their wings and their profits. Sunday’s Wembley showcase has not been sold out this year because of a dispute by the player’s trade union which caused a lot of disruption and the game was only finally confirmed over a month ago, not giving ticket sales enough time to really flourish like they have done in the past. Last year we have the San Francisco 49’s beating the Denver Broncos in a great match up, and the 2011 showing will feature Tampa Bay for the second time in three years. Back in 2008, the Buccaneers crashed heavily against the New England Patriots in front of the London crowd. But any immediate excitement of having a British team in the NFL should be quelled because it is not something which is going to happen soon. Should it happen though, it could go either way, with the NFL perhaps spreading out in Europe on a bigger scale, or moving a US team to the London base. It is a little unlikely that the organization would look to expand to many more franchises, so a current US team relocating probably sounds like the most probable scenario. Of course there would be uproar and politics surrounding that, should it happen, but it is something which North American sports have encountered before.

Most recently the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers franchise was relocated to Canada as the Winnipeg Jets, so teams do change. The NHL too have, over the past few years reached out in to Europe, playing their season openers at different locations around Europe before heading back to North America for the rest of the season. There will be logistical problems of working in a London team to the NHL. So now we can focus on the US teams who are here, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, owned by the Glazer family who invested so much in Manchester United are the first team to return to London. The Buccaneers have started their new NFL season strongly, with four wins and two defeats. Interestingly they are not one of the highest scoring teams in the NHL, and neither do they have the best defence. But they have rocked out a 3-1 home record for the season nonetheless and are just about getting the job done and are riding fourth in the NFC conference. They head to London on a one match winning stream and have a positive 2-0 record against Divisional opponent and are 3-2 in the ascendancy over fellow Conference teams. Their opponents on Sunday, the Chicago Bears have split their opening six matches with a 3-3 record, but have put more points on the board than the Buccaneers. The Chicago Bears hit London with a one match winning streak and with a 1-2 match record against divisional rivals. All of the Bears’ matches have come against fellow NFC teams so far . So on paper the two look pretty evenly matched, but let us look as some Tampa Bay v Chicago NFL betting.

Tampa Bay should be pretty confident after scoring a good win against the strong New Orleans Saints in their last match. They are not averaging as many points per match as Chicago though. The Buccaneers are averaging 18.8 points per match, while Chicago are running at 24.3 per game. Neither defence is really sparkling at the moment, with the Chicago Bears ranking 29th out of 32 franchises in the NHL at the moment, but Tampa Bay are only running at the 25th best team in overall defence. Tampa may just have the edge, but this should be a pretty close match up.

Tampa Bay v Chicago Bears NFL betting
Chicago Bears to win: 20/23 at Boylesports
Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win: 21/20 at SkyBet

Points Spread Betting
As this is American Football, we can take a look at points spreads, which is a handicap system. You basically back a team to beat a set points spread on a match, for example the Chicago Bears -1 for Evens at BetFair means that the Bears will need to win by two points for the bet to win. With the spread set there, it gives a good indicator of how tight the match is expected to be, with two fairly unpredictable sides squaring off. Because the Bears are on a minus in the spread it means they are favourites, naturally. With Tampa set at +1 for the same price at BetFair, you will simply be backing the Buccaneers to not lose my more than one point. Check out online betting exchange BetFair for more options, as they offer a risk free £25 bet for new customers registering an account.

San Francisco 49’ers v Denver Broncos Spread Betting: Sunday’s annual visit to Wembley for the NFL, sees the San Francisco 49’ers square off against the Denver Broncos in a regular season match. This isn’t the greatest showcase which the NFL could have sent across the pond, as both teams are sitting bottom of their respective divisions, but that having been said, it should be an exciting affair because both are desperate for points. The NFL is keen to make a big presence in Europe, as that means more revenue, and talks over having a European league will raise its head again, as one of the most popular betting sports hits the capital. With massive squads, massive guys and trunks full of protective gearing, American Football is followed with religious fervour in the States, even at grass roots high school level. While the Superbowl is the pinnacle of the game, the equivalent of the FA Cup final, there is a lot of swagger, bravado and showmanship about the game, and with all the stops and starts during play, a match can rumble on for hours. It also provides a wealth of great betting opportunities.

So let’s taking an American Football betting preview on the big Wembley showcase, starting with the San Francisco 49’ers. Even if you don’t really follow the NFL action, you have probably heard of the 49’ers. It’s just one of those things in sport. What sucks for them really, is that they have lost their starting quarter back, Alex Smith who has a separated shoulder. The quarter back is the attacking maestro with the ball, who calls all the shots and runs the game for the offence. The 49’ers have even overlooked their back up quarter back David Carr who had a bit of a nightmare filling in against Carolina, throwing an interception pass which lost them the match, so San Francisco have called upon Troy Smith to start the match. This Smith didn’t even make an impression during training camp, so it’s a surprise that the team are pulling out such desperate measures. As sports betting followers will know, form is everything, and that is one thing which the 49’ers do not have right now. Out of their first seven matches of the new season, they have won just once, and have a 1-4 match record in the last five. While their defence hasn’t been whole heartedly solid in enough matches, what is worrying for the team, is the offence not scoring enough. They aren’t the worst offensive team in the National Football Conference at all, but they certainly aren’t the best. While teams have posted upwards of 150 points in their opening matches, San Francisco have just teetered over the 100 mark. They have a terrible away record of losing all four played on the road this season, this game is a little different. It is almost a chance, on neutral ground, to wipe the slate clean and get their season rolling. Already they have a lot of catching up to do in their division, NFC West. A crucial game for the San Francisco 49’ers, but with all that having been said about them, they actually go into the match as favourite. That is not strong favourites, but when you look across betting lines, they are fancied to tip the match, even with their quarterback problems, which doesn’t say too much about the Denver Broncos. Main threats should come from Frank Gore who is the leading receiver for the 49’ers and Vernon Davies who has four touchdowns to his name this year, and leads the way in receiving yards. The defence is conceding an average 23.1 points per match this season, the offence is average 16.1.

Denver have done slightly better than San Francisco this season (and they are in the tougher conference), albeit by winning one more game than Sunday’s opponents have done. Yes, that gives them a record of two wins out of seven this season, but the one stat which stands out, and why the 49’ers are being tipped to edge this NFL Wembley showdown, is that Denver have the second worst defensive record in the whole of the NFL, having conceded 199 points in their seven matches. They are currently on a three game losing streak though, including an absolute embarrassing hammering by the Oakland Raiders last weekend, where the Broncos were played off the park in every aspect of the game. That was a severely brutal loss of 14-59, and the Broncos looked completely demoralised and out of shape, allowing Oakland to set a franchise record for points. There is immense pressure now on their head coach, and they need a big response at Wembley. One of the weakest aspects of their game is the running game, which is frankly, paltry and the 49’ers defence shouldn’t have too many problems coping in that department. However, when the ball is in the air, the Broncos have done OK, with main threats coming from Jabar Gaffney and Brandon Lloyd (3 touchdowns). Denver is scoring an average of 19.7 points per game this season, and the defence is shipping a frightening 28.4 points per match. It’s clear from those stats to see where their problems lie, but there is a silver lining as Denver hold a pretty good pass defence, which may just shut down any aerial threat from San Francisco.

It all adds up to what should be a relatively low scoring match, with neither team exactly looking prolific. Both teams will be hugely disappointed with the way the seasons have gone so far, but looking at things on paper, the San Francisco 49’ers look to have that extra edge in quality, if they can get their game going. There will be a lot of pressure on Troy Smith coming in at quarterback, but perhaps the neutral venue will ease some of that pressure and allow him to relax a little bit. Smith is someone who hasn’t held down a starting job for over three years. Can he find space to work with against Denver’s decent pass defence? If the 49’ers look to run the ball, there really doesn’t look to be much of a threat coming from there, which all adds up to a bit of parity in this match, and why the Moneylines for San Francisco 49’ers v Denver Broncos is running pretty close. Looking at the match up, there really isn’t a clear favourite, as neither team look as if they can be trusted to put out a complete performance for the entire matches. Is there enough offensive skills to take advantage of defensive lapses on either sides? The upshot is, that Denver are slight underdogs because of their losing streak, coupled with the beat down which they received against Oakland. This actually makes for interesting American Football betting, as taking Denver in a spread here, may just pay off.

As this is a North American Sport, let’s take a look at betting on the San Francisco 49’ers v Denver Broncos match from a North American betting perspective. That means looking at Spread Betting, for which we will head to Bodog for some fantastic coverage.

San Francisco 49’ers v Denver Broncos Point Spread
First and foremost let’s look at the spread for this one. Across the board at moneylines, you are only going to find a spread of one point. The San Francisco 49’ers are -1, meaning that they are starting as slight favourites and need to win the match by beating that one points deficit. The match is expected to a very tight encounter, but going Under on the Broncos looks a decent punt actually. So, here you can place a wager on the Niner’s to “cover the spread” by winning the game, or back Denver to beat the Spread by taking them in the positive of +1. Remember that with spread betting, you need to bet on the correct side of the spread to win money. You place your stake and the more right you are, the more you will win. Read on for more about spread betting.

San Francisco 49’ers v Denver Broncos Totals
The match total on this match at Extrabet, is running at 41-44 currently. This market is for the total points scored in the match, and if you look at the average scoring stats above in the preview, you can see why it is where it is. This is spread betting still. You decide whether you want to buy or sell units. If you buy, then you want the Totals score to be over the spread. So if you buy at £1, for each point over 44, you will win a £1 profit. However, for every point under the Totals spread of 41, you will lose £1. This is the risk and reward of spread betting! Alternatively, if you think the score is going to be Under the Totals spread, then you can sell. For every point under the Totals Spread, you will win whatever stake you laid down, but if the game goes over the Totals Spread, you will lose for every point over. If you look at Bodog, you will see things presented slightly differently. Again, in this market, you need to decide if you want to go over or under, and both options are set at a price of -110 at Bodog. What does that mean? Well, because the figure is in the minus, in moneyline terms that is the amount which you need to stake in order to win back £100. So, in order to win £100, you need to place a bet of £110. Naturally not everyone wants to have such a large punt, so if you placed a £11 bet, you would win back £10, so you can work out your percentage of the moneyline that way. Not a lot of value in it, simply because the match is expected to be tight. However, going over is looking like the way to swing on this one, because Denver have gone Over the points total in five of their last six matches, and four of the last six matches against San Francisco have gone Over the totals. A nice betting trend to swing along with. Remember, with Spread Betting, the more right you are, the more you will win. The more wrong you are, the more you will lose. This is the risks and rewards of betting the North American way.

San Francisco 49’ers v Denver Broncos  Supremacy
For this market, we go to Extrabet, who are a brilliant online bookmaker offering both spread betting and fixed odds. A supremacy bet is a winning margin bet. For the San Francisco 49’ers v Denver match, there is a San Francisco/Denver Supremacy of 0-2 (the first named team is the one with the supremacy). What does this mean? Is means that you need San Francisco to win by more than two points because the bookie thinks that San Francisco are 2 points better than Denver overall in scoring. What this essentially says, is that the 49′ers are going to be two points better than San Francisco in the match. So, if they win by two points you have hit parity and don’t win, but for every point over a two point winning margin, you will be earning yourself some profit. So, if you have staked £10 on a San Francisco Supremacy of 2 points and they win by three points, you will win £10 profit. If they win by five points, then you will win £30 (i.e., the winning margin minus the supremacy taken multiplied by your stake).

Fixed Odds
Of course, there are plenty of good fixed odds options on the match if that is the way you want to go for Sunday’s big game.

Bets Odds on Outrights for the match are:
San Francisco 49’ers to win 20/23 at BetFred
Denver Broncos to win 21/20 at Bet365

Frank Gore 1st Touchdown Scorer: 4/1 at ExtraBet
Vernon Davis 1st Touchdown Scorer: 7/1 at ExtraBet

Sunday sees one of the biggest sporting annual televised events hit the screens across the world, as the NFL’s Super Bowl rides into Miami. Only recently has the Champions League Final overtaken the Superbowl in terms of worldwide viewing figures, and even with all of the hype surrounding this big event, very often the $200 million which gets spent on TV advertising during the game, produces more interesting results. This year however, promises to be a real showcase of the best of the attacking game between the AFC’s Indianapolis Colts and the NFC’s New Orleans Saints.

Something which does not happen too often, indeed you would need to go back nearly twenty years to find the previous occasion, is that winners of both conferences are actually meeting in the Super Bowl. The two sides were dominant throughout the early stages of the regular season, and it looked even from an early viewpoint, that they would be meeting each other in the NFL’s showcase. But with some blips coming into both of their season’s near the end, their confidence could have been rocked. It was not to be however, as both fairly cruised their way through their conference play-offs to Sunday’s Final.

To many outside, American Football looks boring, and looks overly complicated. Granted there is not the flow of a rugby union match, to which it can be most closely associated, but there is a sense of technical overabundance and showmanship, which all works. The players are padded up to the hilt, and for the most part, play perfectly into their role of over the top sportsmanship. The game has tried to crack Europe, with little to mediocre success, although there is another planned regular season game in the UK in October between the Denver Broncos and the Washington Redskins. For many outside of the US, it remains something of an enigma, yet many sports fans tune in to watch the Super Bowl and of course, have a once-a-year punt on American Football.

The NFL is broken down into two conferences, each conference, the AFL and the NFL, consisting of four divisions in each. Quite confusingly, instead of eight teams, only six teams make it through to each of the conference’s play-off stages. Each conference play-off will consist of the four division winners (get seeded from 1-4 based on the win, loss, tie record), and then two wildcard entries make it. Wildcard 1, plays Division winner 4, and Wildcard 2, plays Division winner 3. The winners of those games will go on to play either Division Winner 1 or Division Winner 2 in what is essentially a conference semi finals. The winner of each of the conference’s finals, go head to head for overall NFL supremacy in the Super Bowl.

If you are looking for a favourite, then the smart sports betting money will be going on the AFC’s Indianapolis Colts. They have star Quarter Back (the equivalent of Rugby’s scrum-half for the un-ordained American Football fan) Payton Manning, who has been to the SuperBowl before and won it. He has the coveted Super Bowl ring, which is an actual gold ring, and not something you get from sitting on the lavatory for too long, and he has the experience to guide his team to glory. For the New Orleans Saints, it would be a sporting victory that would epitomise the hope of a region, even five years on from the devastation which Hurricane Katrina wreaked. The Saints very nearly had to find a new home altogether on a permanent basis, but their strength has put them in a perfect spot to complete something of a fairy tale story.

The New Orleans Saints have brought the best out of Quarter Back Drew Bees, who was bounced around the NFL a little before finding an adopted home where he could flourish. He is in many respects, the all-American hero, portrayed as a quiet spoken, humble hero. Should he carry the Saints to a victory on Sunday, he will be revered along the path to a Hall of Fame spot. Like Manning, Bees has an attacking arsenal that can split games wide open and rack up the points. The Saints may have the edge in defence, as they are quick up on the line of scrimmage, but both Quarter Backs are quick and intelligent. These two combatants are considered the best that the NFL has, and that is why there is great hopes that the 2010 SuperBowl really can stand head and shoulders as one of the best.

Super Bowl XLIV Outright Odds
Indianapolis Colts to win: 8/15 at Bwin
New Orleans Saints: 9/5 at Boylesports

New Orleans
Average points per game for: 31.9 points per game (1st overall)
Average points per game against: 21.3 pointer per game (20th overall)

Indianapolis Colts
Average points per game: 26.0 (7th overall)
Average points per game against: 19.2 points per game (8th Overall)