First Score Leads Quarter Down Field

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East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants tight end Jake Ballard suffered a torn knee ligament in the Super Bowl, the team said Tuesday. Ballard tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the fourth quarter of Sunday's win over the Patriots.

 

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.

 

Banks earned a West Division All-Star mention after recording 43 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception last season.

 

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.

 

Did the oddsmakers totally blow this one? Probably, since the final tallies of the previous meetings between these two teams were 44, 31, 73 and 23. In addition, the Giants ended the regular season with three consecutive unders while sporting just one over in their other three postseason games. Furthermore, the Patriots were coming off a 43-point final against Baltimore.

 

When the Giants cashed in on the two-point play almost midway through the first quarter, it was the ninth time in the last 14 Super Bowls that a field goal or safety was the first score of the game. The 64% winning percentage does not match the under and underdog numbers, but it is also nothing to sneeze at.

 

Incidentally, the field goal or safety is usually a far better play than the touchdown since bettors taking the latter as the first score have to lay around $160 or $180 to win $100. Those gamblers smart enough to take the field goal or safety were rewarded with a healthy $150 for every $100 wagered.

 

Eli Manning's 9-4 MVP odds were incredibly high, particularly since he had defeated the Patriots in the last two meetings. When making prop bets, it is best to find wagers that not only have a high probability of occurring, but also have odds that benefit the bettor.

 

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.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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