First Score Safety Name Salvage For Underdog

Football Betting Lines

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.

Replays on TV showed Ballard trying to run and cut on the sideline, perhaps hoping to get back in the game, then collapsing and grabbing his knee. He had 38 catches for 604 yards and four touchdowns this past season.

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.

Another winning percentage-based wager has to do with which player wins the MVP award. Quarterbacks have won it 64% of the time since 1999 with Eli Manning bringing home his second award. That percentage sounds great at first, but one has to remember that there are two quarterbacks in every game. The key is to pick the right one.

To that end, it is best to choose the signal-caller from the team not expected to win the game. The reasons are two-fold. First, his odds will be much higher than the quarterback from the team that's favored, and second, the team getting the points has been crowned Super Bowl champion 60% of the time over the last five years.

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.

My pick to take home the Lombardi Trophy is the Houston Texans, who are currently 12-1 and the fourth choice in the wagering.

The Texans finished the regular season second in the NFL in total defense and fourth in scoring defense. They were 11th in scoring offense but that was mainly due to the injury to Matt Schaub. The quarterback missed the final six regular season games and the backups led the team to a 3-3 record while averaging just 18 points per game. With Schaub in the lineup, the Texans were 7-3, picking up 27 points per game.

comments

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•    To me this is just a game, that I won lls.

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•    Pray for your friends and family, even if you're at odds. Y'all be cool.

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•    I am sure hazard won't sign for us nxt season. #NotInEurope

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•    Leave it to Brandon to yell "I love your safety" out the window while we are driving.

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•    productive saturday! #score there's a first for everything apparently?. #whoknew

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•    A choice of three.

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•    The Underdog - Spoon

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