Category: NFL Football

Here’s how the players stack up at each of the major positions in fantasy football.

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Here’s how the players stack up for the 2018 season, based on a 12-team PPR format.

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Here is every NFL team’s most critical player, coach or front office person heading into the 2018 season.

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As teams ramp up training camp to prepare for the beginning of the regular season, most NFL teams have solidified their roster, with the exception of elite holdouts like Aaron Donald and Le’Veon Bell.

To the surprise of few, NFL Super Bowl futures 2019 reveal the New England Patriots as significant favorites to win at +500. However, despite the historic excellence of Brady and Belichick, there’s a good chance that another will rise to challenge them out of the AFC.

NFL odds at sites such as CanadaSportsBetting.ca show plenty of value before the season starts. So consider “buy early” candidates before the season begins and prices rise for teams which start out strong.

Super Bowl Contenders – Buy Early

Philadelphia Eagles (+900)

Sure – the NFC features a murderer’s row of superb football teams, but there’s no reason to believe that the Eagles won’t be better off this year compared to last. The Eagles won their first Super Bowl against towering odds, revealing Philadelphia’s depth on both sides of scrimmage. Nearly all of Philadelphia’s top players will return to defend the title.

Carson Wentz will need a bit of time to shake the rust away, but another year of experience should sharpen Wentz after his incredible season was cut short with a blown knee. Philadelphia’s playing it smart, easing Carson back into action despite looking great in training camp.

An improved Wentz will only sharpen the Eagles’ talons. The start of the season may be rough, but Philly’s opponents featured a .492 winning percentage last year, suggesting a relatively easy schedule. Ajayi, Ertz and Jeffery round out top offensive contributors, but Fletcher Cox and the pass rush anchored one of the best defenses in the NFL, allowing Nick Foles to win Super Bowl MVP.

Los Angeles Rams (+1000)

No franchise went all in like the Los Angeles Rams during the 2018 offseason. L.A. traded for Brandin Cooks, who should shred secondaries under coach McVay’s system. The Rams also acquired Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib through trade and signed Ndamukong Suh. As such, the Rams have top five potential on both sides of the ball, even if Aaron Donald doesn’t play this season.

Make no mistake – Los Angeles will rue the absence of Donald, perhaps the best tackle in the NFL. Frankly, a Donald-Suh combo would slice through most linemen like butter, sewing chaos into game plans. The moment the Rams decide to pay up will be the moment they’ll turn into Super Bowl favorites. Their current +1000 odds will trend closer to the Patriots, making them a solid buy early candidate.

Todd Gurley received a deservedly rich deal for his amazing regular season in 2017, when he finished second in MVP voting to Brady. Goff fulfilled his promise by throwing 28 TDs against seven interceptions, averaging well over a first down per completion. If they sign Donald and all offseason acquisitions work well, the Rams will be the team to beat.

Jacksonville Jaguars (+1800)

Look no further than the Jaguars for the best dark horse pick to bring the Super Bowl back to Florida. This team was one score away from making the Super Bowl after outdueling the Pittsburgh Steelers during the divisional playoff round. Leonard Fournette proved capable of maintaining a high level of production during the playoffs, while Blake Bortles appeared to mature under pressure.

This team allowed the second least points against at 16.8 PPG, but you might be surprised that the Jaguars scored the fifth-most in the NFL. Bortles didn’t throw for a lot of TDs, but he showed improved poise all season, earning the best completion and interception percentage of his career. His first winning season could lead to another leap forward in confidence, which would greatly boost the Jaguars prospects.

Jacksonville will be favorites to repeat as division champs, especially considering the strength of their schedule, among the least challenging in the league. Another strong year of defense and a small boost on offense could be enough to overpower the Steelers and Patriots.

Super Bowl Pretenders – Invest Elsewhere

New England Patriots (+500)

There’s no argument that the Patriots will cake walk to another AFC East division title. Pittsburgh, Jacksonville and Kansas probably won’t steal the AFC title either, giving the Patriots another valuable bye week before the playoffs. No, the Patriots likely won’t be challenged until they enter the post season.

Jacksonville were perilously close to denying New England another Super Bowl appearance. The Jaguars made the Patriots look old, slow and soft until the fourth quarter of the conference championships, when Brady pulled off yet another ridiculous comeback.

Perhaps more concerning, coach Belichick displayed extremely questionable judgement when he benched Malcolm Butler for the Super Bowl. Nick Foles tore apart the secondary while the Patriots floundered, allowing an uncharacteristic 41 points. Even Brady couldn’t will the Pats back from that deficit. A +500 line represents an expensive bet considering the talent level of the Rams, Eagles and Jaguars.

Green Bay Packers (+900)

After snapping his collarbone, Aaron Rodgers ignored medical logic with a valiant attempt to return early. The Packers still had a slim chance to make the playoffs, so a rusty Rodgers loss to eliminate Green Bay allowed him to rest and return to 100%, instead of risking an aggravated fracture.

Football is a team sport, but no team seems to hang their championship hopes more on their QB than the Green Bay Packers. A healthy Rodgers and an average defense will make the playoffs nine out of ten times, but a Super Bowl win remains distant if he doesn’t get help.

The Packers defense will determine the success of this team, assuming Aaron doesn’t lose his touch after a tough injury and lengthy respite. Nobody expected backup Brett Hundley to break out at the pivot position, but Green Bay’s defense was ranked 26th in the NFL. Tough to see a big turnaround in defensive fortune after a shockingly inept 2017. Defense still wins championships, and Green Bay’s unlikely to stop conference rivals like the Rams, Eagles and Vikings.

Pittsburgh Steelers (+1000)

The winds of change gust through the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise, not for the best. Big Ben will be a year older and slower, teaming up with his old offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner, who hasn’t served in this capacity for more than a decade. Steelers stakeholders play the contract game with elite RB Le’Veon Bell, who may not return. Bell’s one of top yard gaining forces in the NFL, impossible to replace.

Pittsburgh’s defense simply wasn’t the same after Ryan Shazier’s horrific injury, leaving a massive hole at linebacker. Without his Pro Bowl presence, the Steelers allowed 45 points to the Jaguars in a divisional playoff loss.

If Pittsburgh doesn’t sign Bell, there’s simply no way Big Ben and the rest of the offense will make up for Le’Veon’s incredible output. Even worse, coach Tomlin’s started to weigh in on the contract dispute through sly jabs at Bell’s conditioning – a ridiculous criticism given the running back’s prodigious nature. Despite a relatively easy schedule, it’s doubtful this team will repeat their 13-win season. A +1000 line is far too expensive for this fading franchise.

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It’s been a long offseason for NFL fans, but the Hall of Fame game, played last Thursday night, was finally the signal fans needed that the regular season is just right around the corner.

In the game, the Baltimore Ravens narrowly edged out the Chicago Bears 17-16 for the win as we got to see Ravens rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson make his professional debut, along with the return of quarterback Robert Griffin III.

Teams are now well into their training camps and preseason games are underway as every NFL team starts to trim down their rosters to 53 for opening day.

The NFL landscape has changed quite a bit from the end of last season, as several teams made key moves in the draft and free agency over the offseason to improve their odds at the much sought after Vince Lombardi trophy.

Jackson starred in the backfield at Louisville, and although he won the Heisman trophy, the Cardinals could not finish the season the way they wanted to. Things won’t get easier as the Cardinals sans Jackson open the season against the Alabama Crimson Tide, who the latest American football odds have as early favorites to repeat.

As we turn back to the NFL, there are several teams looking like early favorites. Among them are the Jacksonville Jaguars, looking like an early favorite in the AFC South. They gave the New England Patriots a run for their money in the AFC Championship game last season and retain the same solid defense.

The Cleveland Brown are also looked at as a team that may not be a favorite, but that should see some major improvement after acquiring Tyrod Taylor, Jarvis Landry and drafting Baker Mayfield.

The early favorites in the NFC West have to be the Los Angeles Rams. After making major strides last season, they solidified their roster by making several key moves and signing major defensive free agents, including Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters, Sam Shields and Aquib Talib. They also solidified their receiving corps after the loss of Sammy Warkis with the addition of Brandin Cooks, and they locked up Todd Gurley. They are currently working on an extension for Aaron Donald. If they get that done, Sean McVay and Co. are looking at a talent-laden team behind Jared Goff that could make a deep run in the playoffs.

It would also be hard to look past the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, who competed in the Super Bowl last season, when picking favorites for the 2018 season.

The Eagles likely have a good hold on the lead for the NFC East. While the Cowboys added players like Allen Hurns, Tavon Austin, Kony Ealy and filled some holes in the draft, they also lost Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, Anthony Hitchens and Orlando Scandrick.

Also, while the Giants are excited about the addition of Alec Ogletree and rookie running back Saquon Barkley, they did not do enough to compete with the Eagles.

The season is just about one month away, with the first game scheduled for September 6th. There will be several key games in week one, including Atlanta vs. Philadelphia, Jacksonville vs. New York, Chicago vs. Green Bay and the Rams vs. the new-look Oakland Raiders with Jon Gruden at the helm.

Whatever questions there may be for teams heading into the 2018-19 season, the answers will start coming once the teams hit the field for the games that count on September 6th.

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Thursday, Sept. 6

8:20 p.m. ET

Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles (-3.5, 47.5)

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Sunday, Sept. 9

1 p.m. ET

Pittsburgh Steelers (-7, 48) at Cleveland Browns

San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings (-4.5, 47.5)

Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts (-1, 47.5)

Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens (-3.5, 42)

Jacksonville Jaguars (-4, 44.5) at New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints (-7.5, 52.5)

Houston Texans at New England Patriots (-7, 51)

Tennessee Titans (-2.5, 47) at Miami Dolphins

4:05 p.m. ET

Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers (-3, 48.5)

4:25 p.m. ET

Seattle Seahawks at Denver Broncos (-2.5, 42)

Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers (-2.5, 42)

Washington Redskins at Arizona Cardinals (-1, 45)

8:20 p.m. ET

Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers (-9, 48.5)

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Monday, Sept. 10

7:10 p.m. ET

New York Jets at Detroit Lions (-6, 48.5)

10:20 p.m. ET

Los Angeles Rams (-1.5, 49.5) at Oakland Raiders

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It’s hard to believe, but the NFL season is just over a month away, with the first preseason game, the Hall of Fame game, kicking off on August 2nd. One of our favorite preseason betting markets, aside from futures, is season win totals. They allow bettors with strong NFL knowledge of acquisitions and utilizing line shopping to find some profitable bets. If you are new to pro football betting you should read NFL Betting Guide to get ready for the NFL season.

Cleveland Browns Over 5.5 Wins

Yes, the Browns have been a perennial laughing stock and they did go 0-16 last season. However, they did get a competent quarterback in Tyrod Taylor this offseason and a Pro-Bowler in Jarvis Landry at wide receiver. But, that’s not the main reason why this team will be better. Cleveland came close to winning plenty of games last season. Hue Jackson is at fault for many of those, but he won’t be coaching the offense. It will be former Pittsburgh Steelers-coordinator, Todd Haley, who will take the reins of the offense.

Haley has been successful at every stop as a coordinator. Furthermore, the Browns don’t have a terrible roster, despite going 0-16 season. They have an excellent offensive line. Their pass rush is strong. Their secondary is just mediocre. And, they upgraded their offense. Call me crazy, but I don’t think it’s insane to envision this team winning 7-9 games if things go right.

Chicago Bears Over 6.5 Wins

The Bears were one of the most frustrating teams last season. They were seemingly in most games but finished with just five wins. However, I think a lot of that had to do with their offensive scheme under head coach, John Fox. Well, Fox is now gone. Matt Nagy, the former offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs, has taken control of the offense, which also added, wide receiver, Allen Robinson, in the offseason.

They also don’t need much help on defense. With Nagy at the controls on offense, we will no longer see Fox simply to play games “not to lose.” Instead, the offense will get a true game planner and an aggressive coach. The defense doesn’t need any help. The Bears should easily be a 7-win team this season with the change in coaching staff and the improved personnel.

Jacksonville Jaguars Over 9 Wins

The Jaguars are one of the most underrated teams in the league right now. This team was a half away from winning the AFC Championship and advancing to the Super Bowl but ultimately fell to the Patriots. They improved this offseason, adding Andrew Nowell, from the Panthers to the largest contract signed by any guard in history.

They lost Allen Robinson, but added Donte Moncrief, and held onto their core of solid receivers, including Marqise Lee, Dede Westbrook, and Keelan Cole. They already have an elite defense and we saw plenty of strides from Bortles last season, including a wonderful late-season and playoff stretch. This team almost made it to the Super Bowl this season and their win total is set at 9 wins? I’d take the over, without question.

Joseph Falchetti is the author of the blog, most picks, and the majority of content on Safest Betting Sites. Joe has an extensive background as a writer and gambler of all types. He was a professional poker player and sports bettor for eight years until he decided to make the switch to writing gambling content after the Black Friday seizures.

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While the Philadelphia Eagles are looking to defend their Super Bowl title, there’s going to be plenty of challenges from other teams.

One thing that those other teams will look at closely for the 2018 season is how effective the Eagles were in scoring in each quarter, and you can see from the inforgraph below how the Eagles along with a number of other NFL teams who made the postseason scored during the 2017 campaign.

As you can see from the infograph provided, the Eagles most effective quarters were the second and fourth quarters, showing that the was good before the half as well as in the final quarter when the big money is on the line.

The best team to score in the NFL in the second quarter was the Patriots as well as the Rams and the Vikings being right at the top.

The Patriots made it to the big game but fell to the Eagles, but again you can see from the infograph that they were very good in putting points on the board in the second quarter.

The Rams, a team that a lot of people seem to think that will be at or near the top of the NFL in 2018, were also very explosive in the second quarter, showing again that they might be ready to take that next step this upcoming season.

You want to be good in the NFL? Use that infograph above and see just how good the top teams in the NFL were when it came to scoring in the second and fourth quarters, something  that a lot of teams should stress in the upcoming campaign.

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