Betting on Pro Football:

By J Diggs

The 2008-2009 NFL Season is less than a week away with the first pre season game taking place on Sunday, August 3rd. As we prepare for the season, we take some time out to give our readers a

little insight into the sport that attracts the most attention and most action at the sportsbooks.

Sportsbooks get a ton of action on pro football for a few reasons. First, there are fewer teams then in college football, so it becomes easier to follow a specific team, and second, the teams are

playing only once per week which make it easier to stay on top of all the underlying statistics and trends of the teams in the league. This is much easier to follow then the NBA, NHL, and MLB

because these teams aren't playing as much, and crunching statistics does not become a nightmare.

Let's first understand that everyone claims to be a Professional Football expert. There's guys claiming they know this team and that team, and all the ins and outs of their playbooks. Well this is

unfortunate because this is the exact thing sportsbooks love and count on. Fantasy football has overtaken the world, and people think just because they can win their fantasy league that it

automatically makes them a good sports bettor on the NFL. Sorry folks, this couldn't be further from the truth. Fantasy football is just that. FANTASY.

Most people fall behind early, getting excited for the start of the season, and get taken to the cleaner in week one, and spend the remainder of the season chasing their bets, which equates to

DISASTER. Let me be the first to explain something to everyone. Last year is just that, it's LAST YEAR. Just because Eli Manning pulled off a Super Bowl upset, and was the Super Bowl MVP,

doesn't mean he comes out in week one and shreds the Redskins defense. Leave his playoff performance in the past, and focus on this year. With free agency and a salary cap , and trades, teams

are different year in and year out. Don't let yourself get caught in week one backing a team based on last year's statistics.

Let's discuss another angle people play in week one: Home teams. News flash people. In week one of the NFL season for the past 5 years now, home teams are just 42, that's not too shabby. So my advice is don't get hooked on the home team

angle, it loses more times than not.

I also want to touch on another angle that the general public loves to play: FAVORITES. The average person is generally caught up in the beginning of the season hype, and when looking at the

lines on the games, they automatically feel like "I have to bet the favorites." Well again the general public is wrong here. Since 1999, home favorites are winning at a total of 40 in week one. WOW. Oh and another tidbit of information is that favorites overall (home or away) are cashing tickets at

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