Are you ready for some football? The team here at BookieKiller.com has been gearing up for another fantastic year in the NFL and has been studying teams and players, drafts and trends and we feel more prepared for this season than any other. We can remember no time in the last ten years that the league had such parity. The Indianapolis Colts kicked there game up a notch last year and look poised to lay a hurting on teams this season. Can Daunte Hall duplicate his special team dominance?
Watching the progress of some of the higher taken rookies is always fun and we have serious doubts about the abilities of Eli Manning. The Patriots played unbelievable defense, and with an MVP performance from Tom Brady, New England proved to be too much for Carolina in the Super Bowl. The door is open wider this year than John Madden's mouth on Thanksgiving for any team to step through and put their mark on the league.
This is an exciting time for both professional handicappers and normal bettors with the regular season quickly approaching. Sportsbooks have put forth many different team and player propositions and I always try to take advantage of glaringly weak lines. Some bettors don't like tying up their cash for an entire season and I can understand this. But if one is able to invest some of their bankroll for the year, a tidy profit can be made from taking advantage of the oddsmakers mistakes. Each summer I do a review of the divisions or put forth some predictions on different teams or players. This year I am doing a review on the three teams which I feel are the most overrated, the three biggest underdogs and which will provide the overall best value for prop bettors.
The Underdogs
Saints OVER 7 1/2 regular season wins -110
The Saints have all the offensive weapons in place to match scores with the best teams in the league. Aaron Brooks has definetly come into his own over the last two years. He has gotten out to slow starts the last two seasons, but has looked very sharp this year in training camp. The Saints are poised to come strong out of the gates. With a decent draft and by picking up some key free agents, the Saints have upgraded their defensive and offensive lines and are hoping that they have addressed some questions in those two areas. Expect the Saints to start quickly behind the fantastic coaching of Jim Haslett.
Chargers OVER 4 1/2 regular season wins +100
This team had the worst record last year and oddsmakers are not giving them much of a chance this season either. The Chargers are in a tough division, but should be able to surprise a few teams this year. The overall talent level on the Chargers is excellent, and their running game is a dangerous weapon. Ladanian Tomlinson is arguably the league's best back. The Chargers lacked experience on their lines last year and went out and signed some grizzled veterans like Roman Oben and Mike Goff. Marty Schottenheimer has the experience to back this team up. Expect the Chargers to improve on a dismal season and get at least 5 wins this year.
Browns OVER 7 1/2 regular season wins +150
With the signing of Jeff Garcia and with QB Tim Couch heading to Green Bay the controversy at QB is finally over in Cleveland. The Browns and their fans are tired of waiting for Holcomb or Couch to step up, and went out and signed a competent player in Garcia. The Browns have improved in every position over the last two years except at the QB position, so management now feels that all the pieces are in place for a playoff run. WR Andre' Davis will be one of Garcia's favorite weapons, he has given Browns fans a taste of what he can do in his first two NFL seasons. The Browns defensive line has also made big strides over the last two years. Expect Garcia to pay dividends for this team immediately.
Don't Believe The Hype
Bengals UNDER 8 regular season wins -175
The Bengals had a break out season of sorts last year going 8-8. Jon Kitna had a good year. The Bengals will be flip-flopping this year between Kitna and Carson Palmer and as the Browns proved the last two seasons, this can have more of a negative than positive effect on a team. Palmer has been given the starters job, and Kitna will be there to come in if he should fail. Chad Johnson is an awesome athlete, but teams will not be caught unaware of his talents this year like last. Palmer may be a great QB in the future, but will be in for a rough surprise this season. Expect the Bengals to fall short of 8 wins this year.
Buccaneers UNDER 9 regular season wins +100
The Buccaneers had a classic case of Super Bowl hangover last year as teams were able to get to Brad Johnson and the Bucs were unable to produce much offense. Johnson is penciled in as this year's starting QB again, but management has been impressed with backup Simm's progress and will be quick to put in the young QB when Johnson falters. The Bucs defense will remain solid. Questions at QB are huge for this team and going 8-8 will be the best this team can put together in 2004.
You can visit Ron Steel at www.bookiekiller.com.
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