Every team in the NFC South played more "under" than "over" games last season, a possibly emerging trend that NFL betting and against the spread (ATS) followers surely will be monitoring this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (13-3 SU, 8-8 ATS, 7-9 O/U): Despite their Super Bowl success, the Saints were no sure thing to bettors last year, finishing 8-8 ATS during the regular season, including a horrible 1-5 within the division. In fact, New Orleans has covered just two of its last 18 division games in which it was a favorite of more than seven points, a situation which certainly will occur frequently this season. The Saints also are 1-6-1 ATS in the first of back-to-back road games. Future Book Odds Profile: Super Bowl 9/1; NFC Championship 9/2; NFC South 8/13; Make the Playoffs 1/2; Over/Under regular season wins 10 1/2.
By the Numbers (Regular Season, 1998-2009)
SU:92-100
ATS: 94-94-4
HF:27-35-1
HD:13-17-2
AF:18-11
AD:35-31-1
Sportsbook Buster: The Saints are 18-11 as road favorites over the past 12 seasons.
Sports Betting Angle: New Orleans has covered six of its last seven games versus Dallas.
ATLANTA FALCONS (9-7 SU, 11-5 ATS, 7-9 O/U): The Falcons haven't covered fewer than eight games in a regular season since 2003 and were a very bettor-friendly 11-5 ATS last year. Atlanta has covered eight of its last 10 games the week after playing Carolina but has dropped a dozen straight pointspread decisions at home after back-to-back straight up victories. Future Book Odds Profile: Super Bowl 25/1; NFC Championship 12/1; NFC South 2/1; Make the Playoffs 8/11; Over/Under regular season wins 9.
By the Numbers (Regular Season, 1998-2009)
SU:94-97-1
ATS: 96-90-6
HF:32-25-2
HD:14-23
AF:11-7-1
AD:39-35-3
Sportsbook Buster: The Falcons have covered eight straight games as underdogs off a straight up loss.
Sports Betting Angle: Atlanta has covered four consecutive games against Pittsburgh, its opening week opponent, Sept. 12.
CAROLINA PANTHERS (8-8 SU, 9-7 ATS, 6-10 O/U): The Panthers haven't had a losing record ATS within the NFC South since 2003 and are solid, overall, in the role of an underdog, notching a 55-40-5 record since 1998. On the other hand, Carolina is a perplexing 2-8 as a non-conference underdog and has lost seven straight as a favorite in its first home game of the year. Future Book Odds Profile: Super Bowl 50/1; NFC Championship 25/1; NFC South 13/2; Make the Playoffs 3/1; Over/Under regular season wins 7 1/2.
By the Numbers (Regular Season, 1998-2009)
SU:91-101
ATS: 96-88-8
HF:27-36-2
HD:17-12-2
AF:13-13-1
AD:38-28-3
Sportsbook Buster: Since 1998, the Panthers are 10 games over .500 as road underdogs.
Sports Betting Angle: Carolina has covered 10 of its last 11 games versus San Francisco.
TAMPABAY BUCCANEERS (3-13 SU, 6-10 ATS, 6-10 O/U): The Buccaneers haven't had double-digit pointspread wins since 2002, the season they won the Super Bowl and there are many reasons to believe 2010 won't be the best year to back them, either. TampaBay has failed to cover 12 of its last 15 games versus non-conference opponents and even within the division is just 12-12 ATS the last four seasons. The only team the Bucs have handled consistently is the Falcons, against which they've covered five of their last six encounters. Future Book Odds Profile: Super Bowl 150/1; NFC Championship 75/1; NFC South 25/1; Make the Playoffs 9/2; Over/Under regular season wins 5 1/2.
By the Numbers (Regular Season, 1998-2009)
SU:98-94
ATS: 91-94-7
HF:39-31-1
HD:12-10-2
AF:16-21-1
AD:24-32-3
Sportsbook Buster: The Buccaneers are 40-53-4 ATS on the road the last 12 seasons.
Sports Betting Angle: TampaBay has covered six of its last seven games against St. Louis.
Legend:
SU= Straight Up
ATS = Against the Spread
HF= Home Favorite
HD= Home Underdog
AF= Away Favorite
AD= Away Underdog
O/U = Over/Under
This is the seventh of an eight-part NFL preview series.
Next: Betting the NFC West
This article was written by Luken Karel for http://www.thegreek.com. The Greek Sportsbook & Casino is host to one of the top online sportsbooks offering college football betting and sports betting on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and all other major sports. The Greek is a must have sports betting and entertainment portal with one of the largest wagering menus available online. Article reproductions must include a link pointing to http://www.thegreek.com
