Tag Archives: green

NFL Picks – Week 1

Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers

Lambeau Field – Sunday Night – NBC

Line: Packers – 3 ½
Over/Under: 46

The oldest rivalry in football is one of the feature games from Week 1 NFL betting action. This battle goes back as far as 1923, when the first meeting resulted in a 3-0 Bears win (they covered as a 2.5-point favorite….just kidding)

This weekend’s game has a line on it of -3.5 that’s the current line at online sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.com.

The line actually opened at -3, but steady money has been coming in on the home team Packers, pushing the line up to -3.5. Most online sportsbooks are reporting 70 to 75% of the betting volume is Green Bay money. I don’t see that changing as we get closer to kick-off, and in fact, I think this number could reach -4.

So if you like the Packers (check below for our pick on this one) you might want to get your bet in now.

The Bears head to Lambeau having won four of the last five games in Green Bay, but note that they were blown out last year 37-3 in Week 11.

In Week 16 the Bears hosted Green Bay and turned the tables beating them 20-17 in overtime.

But this year is different, as the Packers will face a Bears team that finally has a franchise quarterback. This season the rivalry is renewed with a legitimate QB showdown as Aaron Rodgers welcomes Jay Cutler to the division. This rivalry could dominate this division for the next 10 seasons.

In 2008 Rodgers threw for 4,038 yards, 28 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions for an impressive passer rating of 93.8 in his first season as the Packers starter. Cutler threw for 4,526 yards, 25 touchdowns and 18 interceptions last year for a passer rating of 86. Both quarterbacks have big arms and can make any throw required to move the offense.

Green Bay has more weapons for Rodgers to spread the ball around and he had a good year with this group last season. The Bears offer Cutler two very good tight ends in Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark who might be the best tight end tandem in the NFL. The wide-receiving position is average however with all-pro punt returner Devin Hester penciled in as number one and second year receiver Earl Bennett as number two. Matt Forte has a great shot to improve on his 1200-yard season in 2008 with Cutler now in the fold.
But still, edge to the Packers.

The Packers brought in defensive guru Dom Capers to run the defense. He has switched the team over to a 3-4 scheme. The defense has adjusted well in preseason but it can take some time to fully implement the change.

Former Lions coach Rod Marinelli takes over as Defensive Coordinator of the Bears. The strength of the Bears for years has been their defense. Getting DT Tommie Harris back on the field is huge for the team. Marinelli is a noted line coach and Harris has already stated that he has helped him tremendously. Both he and Brian Urlacher are looking to rebound from a sub-par 2008 season. The defensive line is average and will get pushed around. They don’t have a great pass rush other than weakside linebacker Lance Briggs, which could hurt them against the Pack. Top corner Charles Tillman is recovering from a back injury and looks good to go for the opener.
Overall, this looks pretty even, as the neither defense will be outmatched by the offense in any significant way…but the Packers do look like they can create some matchup advantages that I like.
I see Green Bay winning this game and will lay the 3 points (I’m buying the hook)
Good luck with your NFL betting this weekend.

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Beckon Lady Luck with A Roll Of The Dice

Although banded with a selection of sport focused on the game of chance, craps is possibly one of the lesser challenging strains in seeing some return in one’s investment. Thanks to the invention of online craps, its attraction multiplies manifold as the game is literally available to an individual with a decent connection to the internet. Even though the technological age serves to provide an edge in efficiency as compared to conventional means of processing complex calculations and communication channels to uttermost parts of the earth, too much of a good thing can sometimes bite one in the rear end.

With easy access to craps online, casino regulars and closet gamblers are presented with an alternative means to feed their fetish. This however is not meant to put down the love of the sport as a little excitement in a relative humdrum of a life is not to be discouraged. In the event some of the added spice starts to overtake daily routines and cause priorities to shift towards less than favorable actions, there is certainly cause for some concern. It is not a wonder why gatherings for gamblers anonymous sprout up all over like mushrooms after a rainy spell. The pull factor may be too strong for some to resist, thus pushing them towards a downward spiral to consequential issues needing external intervention. Although some may shrug their shoulders and consider themselves not affected by the occasional game of online craps, it is always advisable to keep a tight rein on this wild horse.

This sport basically entails the tossing of dice onto a green carpet within the confinements of a larger-than-life wooden basin. Bets are represented by chips of rainbow colors and assorted sizes identifying a range of cash values. Depending on the players’ prowess with the game as well as daredevil streak, they place their stack of chips on top of specific markings on the green carpet. In the arena of playing craps online, conventional rituals performed onto the dice prior to the toss are possibly superseded by another set of rites. The blowing onto the dice by a special someone evolves into a mantra murmured to beckon Lady Luck before the finger descends on a keyboard or mouse button. As long as the dice stops with the desired side facing up, a jig is thus performed thousands of miles away in celebration of victory. With anonymity maintained behind glass monitors, each continues to seek a magic roll in hopes of bringing down the house.