First Score Helps Safety With Underdog

Football Betting Lines

Fellow tight end Travis Beckum went down with a torn ACL in his right knee in the second quarter.

Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending champion British Columbia Lions inked defensive back Korey Banks to a contract extension on Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Over the past number of years, Korey has been a central figure in our defense and on our team," said vice president of football operations and GM Wally Buono. "Having him under contract is a big part of our foundation moving forward and this is a very important extension."

Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Betting the underdog in the Super Bowl is never a sure thing as evidenced by Green Bay's win and cover as the favorite in the 2011 contest. However, with the Giants victory as 2.5-point underdogs last Sunday, the team getting points has now covered eight of the last 11 Super Bowls. That translates to a 73% winning percentage. For my money, it doesn't get better than that. Whoops, it does get better than that, as the under in the Super Bowl has come through six of the last eight years. That equates to a 75% winning percentage. For some strange reason, the total in this year's game was between 53 and 54 (depending on when and where the bet was placed). The 21-17 final score produced a final total of 38, far below the posted number.

Another point that had to be in the minds of those folks betting the under was that five of the previous seven Super Bowls ended with a final score below the posted number. Not only that, the under came through victorious in the three other times the total was over 50 since 2000.

The underdog and under are two of the key trends that must be followed on a year-in, year-out basis. Another wager that should be used is taking the field goal or safety as the first score of the game instead of the touchdown.

Another winning percentage-based wager has to do with which player wins the MVP award. Quarterbacks have won it 64% of the time since 1999 with Eli Manning bringing home his second award. That percentage sounds great at first, but one has to remember that there are two quarterbacks in every game. The key is to pick the right one.

To that end, it is best to choose the signal-caller from the team not expected to win the game. The reasons are two-fold. First, his odds will be much higher than the quarterback from the team that's favored, and second, the team getting the points has been crowned Super Bowl champion 60% of the time over the last five years.

That ploy worked perfectly a couple of years back when the Saints met the Colts. Indianapolis was favored by five points so Peyton Manning was the No.1 betting choice for MVP. Unfortunately for the chalk players, Drew Brees took home the award with a spectacular performance completing 32-of-39 with a pair of touchdowns.

My pick to take home the Lombardi Trophy is the Houston Texans, who are currently 12-1 and the fourth choice in the wagering.

comments

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•    To me this is just a game, that I won lls.

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•    Pray for your friends and family, even if you're at odds. Y'all be cool.

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•    I am sure hazard won't sign for us nxt season. #NotInEurope

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•    Leave it to Brandon to yell "I love your safety" out the window while we are driving.

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•    productive saturday! #score there's a first for everything apparently?. #whoknew

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•    A choice of three.

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•    Oh, on the day Ramsey was Shawcrossed, earthquake happens, hundreds of Chileans die. U see why Wenger must field him now

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