Strangest NFL Betting Season of All Time

The 2011 NFL betting lines season is underway, and fans and bookies alike have begun to scratch their heads at the results. From the Indianapolis Colts and Kansas City Chiefs experiencing dastardly records thanks to a slew of injuries, to the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins combining to go six and zero for the first time in nearly 30 years, fans have seen it all. Today for your fishing games pleasure, we will be looking at a few trends and lines that have us saying ‘what the heck is going on with the NFL this year?”

For the first time in nearly 30 years (coincidentally a lockout season) the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins, are giving their fans reasons to be optimistic. The Buffalo Bills pulled off one of the biggest blowouts in team history in week one, when quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick dismantled what was believed to be a great Kansas City defense. Buffalo would then follow it up, by winning the game of the year against the Oakland Raiders in week two.

On the other hand, after winning the first two games of the sports betting NFL season, the Detroit Lions have their fans and some analysts believing, that they are finally ready to contend. The Lions epitomize an underdog that everyone rallies around. Similar to movie character Rudy, the Lions are the team you cheer for, whether they are struggling or having success. At two and zero to start the season, and putting up back to back 40 point performances, the Lions have college football betting enthusiasts wondering if a Super Bowl is in the cards.

For many sportsbooks, the belief was that in the upcoming game between the Lions and Minnesota Vikings, the Vikings would be the favorites. However, for the second week in a row, the Lions find themselves in unfamiliar territory, as they are a three and a half point favorite.

While the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions are causing bettors to question whether they should be fading or backing these historically bad teams, other teams are making bettors jobs much easier. For example, the Seattle Seahawks are flat out terrible, and have become a safe NFL pick to fade early and often. To put how bad the Seahawks are into perspective, you only need to look at the first two games of the 2011 season, as the Seahawks haven’t been inside their opponents red zone more then a combined two times.

Another team returning to terrible form are the St. Louis Rams. Coming off what can be argued as the team’s best season in the last five years an eight and eight finish in 2010, the Rams have stumbled out of the gate losing both of their games. Mind you, the Rams were in tough in both games, as they faced the dream team Philadelphia Eagles in week one, and followed up with the New York Giants in week two. Regardless of their opponents, the Rams under new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels have been terrible in the red zone, as they lead the league in dropped passes.

NFL Week 2 Recap Season Gets Wilder

Sports betting enthusiasts have received more then they could have asked for during the first two weeks of the 2011 NFL season. From crazy blowouts in week one, to wild finishes in week two, save for five games going to overtime in week three, things simply can’t get any wilder. On the online sportsbooks lines, the twilight zone results have caused many bookmakers both online and in person to question if they know how to properly set a line. Despite the St. Louis Rams and New York Giants having yet to play, here is a recap of all the action that has gone down thus far in the NFL fishing games week two.

The Carolina Panthers almost cost several bookmakers to go bankrupt on Sunday, after they jumped out to a 13 to six lead over the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers heading into halftime. Entering the game, Aaron Rodgers and company were favored by eight points over Cam Newton’s Panthers. However, it was the rookie turning heads, as he would throw for over 430 passing yards for the second week in a row, even though he threw three interceptions. In the end the Packers would mount a historic comeback, winning the game outright 30 – 23. Nevertheless, the Panthers were still able to cover the college football betting line spread, which had moved up to eight and a half points to start the second half.

Another game that had fans and bookies alike scratching their heads featured the Buffalo Bills taking on the Oakland Raiders in Buffalo. On paper, regardless of each team winning their week one matchup, fans and handicappers alike expected this game to go under the total of 48 points. Both the Bills and Raiders had two of the top defenses in 2010, and that was expected to carry over in yesterday’s matchup. If you decided to be a wise guy and make an NFL picks on the over in this game, we salute you. What was believed to be a defensive gem, turned into a shootout at the Okay Corral. The Bills and Raiders combined for 73 points, as Ryan Fitzpatrick out dueled Jason Campbell and won the game in the final seconds of regulation on a game winning touchdown pass.

The most surprising win of week two, came in the afternoon affair between the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions. A week after getting killed 41 to seven by the Buffalo Bills, many fans and analysts alike, we included, believed that the Kansas City Chiefs would have a bounce back game against the Detroit Lions. Instead, the Kansas City Chiefs continued to resemble the 2010 Cincinnati Bengals, as they were lit up by Matthew Stafford and Lions in a 48 to three blowout. To make matters worse, the Chiefs lost star running back Jamal Charles to a torn ACL during the first half of the game.