NFC South teams have been 13-23 as home underdogs the last four years, an emerging trend that NFL betting followers surely will be monitoring this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (11-5 SU, 6-9-1 ATS, 8-8 O/U)
Head Coach: Sean Payton, sixth year, 53-33 SU, 43-41-2 ATS.
Future Book Odds Profile: Super Bowl 16/1; NFC Championship 7/1; NFC South 11/8; Over/Under regular season wins 10 1/2.
By the Numbers (Regular Season, 1998-2010)
SU:103-105
ATS: 100-103-5
HF:30-39-2
HD:13-17-2
AF:20-15
AD:36-32-1
Sportsbook Buster: The Saints are 2-16 as division favorites of seven or more points.
Sports Betting Angle: New Orleans has covered three straight home games versus Chicago.
Bets and Pieces: The Saints have covered their last three visits to TampaBay.
Odds and Ends: New Orleans has covered five of its last seven games versus Indianapolis.
Worth a Wager: The Saints are 1-6-1 ATS in the first of back-to-back road games.
ATLANTA FALCONS (12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS, 9-5-2 O/U)
Head Coach: Mike Smith, fourth year, 33-17 SU, 31-19 ATS.
Future Book Odds Profile: Super Bowl 16/1; NFC Championship 7/1; NFC South 11/8; Over/Under regular season wins 10 1/2.
By the Numbers (Regular Season, 1998-2010)
SU:106-101-1
ATS: 107-95-6
HF:37-28-2
HD:14-23
AF:16-8-1
AD:40-36-3
Sportsbook Buster: The Falcons have covered seven straight games as underdogs off a straight up loss.
Sports Betting Angle: Atlanta has covered five of its last six games against Green Bay.
Bets and Pieces: The Falcons have covered five straight the week before playing TampaBay.
Odds and Ends: Atlanta has beaten the spread five of its last seven games versus Detroit.
Worth a Wager: The Falcons are 5-2 ATS versus Minnesota.
TAMPABAY BUCCANEERS (10-6 SU, 9-5-2 ATS, 7-8-1 O/U)
Head Coach: Raheem Morris, third year, 13-19 SU, 15-15-2 ATS.
Future Book Odds Profile: Super Bowl 35/1; NFC Championship 18/1; NFC South 7/2; Over/Under regular season wins 8.
By the Numbers (Regular Season, 1998-2010)
SU:108-100
ATS: 100-99-9
HF:41-33-2
HD:12-13-2
AF:16-21-2
AD:31-32-3
Sportsbook Buster: The Buccaneers have covered six in a row the week before playing New Orleans.
Sports Betting Angle: TampaBay is 1-6-1 as a non-conference favorite of three or more points.
Bets and Pieces: The Buccaneers have covered six of their lat eight games versus Atlanta.
Odds and Ends: TampaBay is just 1-9 as a home underdog but 12-4 as a road dog the last two seasons.
Worth a Wager: The Bucs have covered seven of their last eight visits to New Orleans.
CAROLINA PANTHERS (2-14 SU, 4-12 ATS, 6-6-2 O/U)
Head Coach: Ron Rivera, first year, 0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS.
Future Book Odds Profile: Super Bowl 150/1; NFC Championship 75/1; NFC South 33/1; Over/Under regular season wins 4 1/2.
By the Numbers (Regular Season, 1998-2010)
SU:93-115
ATS: 100-100-8
HF:28-38-2
HD:18-16-2
AF:13-13-1
AD:40-34-3
Sportsbook Buster: Since 1998, the Panthers are 9-1 as home dogs of more than seven points.
Sports Betting Angle: Carolina has covered 10 of its last 11 games versus San Francisco.
Bets and Pieces: The slow-starting Panthers are 0-7-1 ATS in their last eight home openers.
Odds and Ends: Carolina has covered seven of its last 10 games at home versus TampaBay.
Worth a Wager: The Panthers have beaten the spread in nine of their last 10 visits to New Orleans.
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 2011 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
