Super Bowl Betting: Special bets for Sunday night

Super Bowl / Andy Richmond / 05 February 2010 / Leave a Comment

Devery Henderson give the Saints an exciting dimension

"The Saints have a vast array of receivers but big, strong, aggressive receiver Devery Henderson adds another dimension near the goal line."

From the straightforward to the eclectic, betting on Superbowl XLIV springs to life with a plethora of markets available on Betfair.com. Andy Richmond highlights some of the best.

Fifty-odd markets are already available on the game, plus markets on each quarter, so there should be something for everyone to bet on when Super Bowl 44 kicks-off. I've been picking my way through the maze to provide some interesting wagers for Sunday night.

Plenty of facets of the game have been discussed at length but one that has probably slipped under the radar is the kicking game. There has not been a field goal of greater than 42.5 yards in the last two Super Bowls and neither Matt Stover (Colts) nor Garrett Hartley (Saints) are known for their long legs. Hartley having a career long of 47 and Stover having a long of 47 over the last two seasons.

Neither player will have kicked outside of their respective indoor environments for about the past month and they could struggle on Sunday. Weather conditions could also come into play - the latest forecast looks to be wet and possibly windy so a field goal over 44.5 yards with the added pressure appears a tough ask.

The balance of the two offences is the basis for the next specials bet and it matches up two of the running backs, Joseph Addai of the Colts and Pierre Thomas of the Saints. This boils down as to who needs to run the ball and I'm sure that Saints will be the keener.

Both backs will be splitting game time with another back but Pierre Thomas has run for 50 plus yards in his last three, the last two against teams far more adept at stopping the run than the Colts. In games when he has had 10 or more carries, he has run for 50 plus yards on all but two occasions. Addai had a good game against the Jets but prior to that he has struggled. The Saints are a far better running team than perceived and establishing that strategy will enable them to loosen up the Colts - expect to see plenty of Thomas.

Touchdown scorer markets, like goal scorer markets are always popular - first and last TD markets are available, but I thought I saw some value in the to score a TD market in the shape of two Colts and one Saints player. The Colts duo would be their young wide receiving duo who had such a stunning impact on the AFC Championship game - Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon.

Both players will expect plenty of balls to come their way when the Colts are taking a shot at the end zone. The Saints also have a vast array of receivers but big, strong and aggressive receiver Devery Henderson adds another dimension near the goal line. He has become a favourite target for Drew Brees. All of those suggested are also worth a smaller bet in the first TD market. With Collie ikely to attract less attention than the Colts Reggie Wayne, he will be used in plenty of situations and his receiving yards total is also of great interest.

I highlighted the scoring by quarter in an article earlier this week but looking at the last 10 Super Bowls the second half outscores the first by 279 points to 171. I'd expect to see that pattern repeated on Sunday. As explosive as these two offences are, this is the biggest game of their lives and it will take time to settle; nobody will want to make a mistake early that will lead to points for the opposition.

So there you have it, some suggestions from that vast collection of markets that the Betfair gurus have put together for your punting pleasure on Superbowl XLIV. I've rounded them up below with some suggested prices if you want to get involved on Sunday.

Recommended Bets:
Back longest field goal under 44.5 yards at 1.8 or better
Pierre Thomas v Joseph Addai - back Thomas at 1.9 or better
Score a TD - Austin Collie 2.5, Pierre Garcon 2.6 - (both Colts), Devery Henderson (Saints) 3.6
Austin Collie over 49.5 receiving yards at 2.0 or better
Back 2nd half as highest scoring half at 1.98 or better