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NFL PreSeason: Week 2 NFL gambling Recap

In my last column, I recapped Week 1 of the preseason. You may recall that underdogs held a slight 9-8-1 advantage against the spread. The 'under' also held a modest 10-8 edge vs. the 'over'. Let's get caught up on what happened in Week 2!

The action began with the Saints travelling to New England for a Thursday Night contest. New Orleans' Coach Haslett let it be known that his starters would play well into the third quarter. As a result, money came in on the Saints and the line closed with the defending champs listed as only three point favorites. The Saints' starters kept the game close but ultimately couldn't get the job done, as the Patriots took a 27-22 lead into the fourth quarter. However, the backups would save the day in the end. New Orleans rallied for two touchdowns in the final two minutes to score a 37-27 upset victory. Score one for the "dogs" and one for the 'over'!

There were three more games played on Friday. All three of those games also finished 'over' the number. Underdog bettors cashed tickets in two of the three games. As was the case on Thursday, both wins came in straight-up fashion.

Saturday's card offered a full slate of games. Once again, the underdogs had an excellent day, going 8-2 overall with seven of those teams winning SU. Six of the 10 games would fall below the 'total'. The "Chalk" earned a rare win when the Chargers whipped the Rams Sunday, 36-21. The Monday Night contest would see another underdog win SU as the Cowboys travelled to Seattle to defeat the Seahawks by an 18-10 margin.

A quick tally of the week's results shows that the underdogs finished with a highly profitable 12-4 record. The 'over' would finish with a 9-7 edge. Underdogs are now 21-12-1 ATS for the season while the 'over/under' mark sits at 17-17.

I thought that it would be interesting to compare these stats to the stats after two weeks of the 2004 preseason. It turns out that as far as 'sides' go, we have seen almost the exact opposite results. After Week 2 of the preseason last year, favorites had gone 21-10-2 ATS. The 'under' also had a significant 20-13 advantage last year.

Although we have seen a reversal from favorites to dogs since last year, one thing that has remained constant is the large number of underdogs which have been winning without the use of the pointspread. At this time last year all 10 of the 10 underdogs had won their games in SU fashion. This season, 20 of the 21 underdogs which covered, also won SU. The only underdog which won ATS but not SU was San Francisco. The 49'ers lost 26-21 vs. Denver but covered the generous number.

Will the trend of underdogs winning SU continue in Week 3? Only time will tell. Still, after seeing the numbers, the next time you like an underdog in the preseason consider making a play on the moneyline. I know I will!

NFL PreSeason: Week 2 NFL gambling Recap

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By: Ben Burns
Many handicappers make claims of being the best. Ben Burns, of Ben Burns Consulting INC, lets his Documented Records do the talking for him! Ben continues to be extremely successful at handicapping all of the major sports. Football, however, is what he is most famous for. Ben finished 2004/2005 with the #1 record in NCAA Football, as documented by the Bigguy Sports Monitor. His final numbers came in at a rock-solid 67-45-1 (60%).
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