NFL Tipping Sheet: Week 9 Handicap picks

SportNeverSleeps.com
02 November 2012

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Second half of the regular season starts here and the guys at Abelson Info have briefly previewed all the weekend's fixtures and included their handicap bets...

Arizona Cardinals @ Green Bay Packers
Sunday 18:00
After four straight wins to open the campaign the Cardinals have fallen off the track and now sit 4-4 but all is not lost in Arizona. They have settled on QB John Skelton and despite their loosing run his performances are improving, if only they had a running game to compliment their sturdy defence and dangerous passing attack. This week they have the unenvious task of visiting Lambeau on Sunday. The Packers are on a hot streak and should have enough to get another home win but every week they seem to loose another key player to injury, in the last few games they have lost starting back Benson, top receiver Jennings and their best defender Woodson. Sooner or later these injuries will lead to losses. Daryl Washington and co. will give Rodgers some headaches but the Pack should pip the handicap.
Recommended Bet: Packers -10.5

Baltimore Ravens @ Cleveland Browns
Sunday 18:00
Top versus bottom in the AFC North. The Browns started the season awfully but their team is maturing and they have won two of the last three. Their rookies are starting to perform, especially the tough Trent Richardson, last week he looked imposing and confident in his best game so far in the NFL, he ran for 122 yards and scored the only touchdown. The Ravens though lead the division and come off a much-needed bye after suffering a loss to the Texans and having to overcome the loss of talisman Ray Lewis. They are not great travellers but should be fresh enough to win in their franchise's old home.
Recommended Bet: Ravens -3.5

Buffalo Bills @ Houston Texans
Sunday 18:00
No excuses from either of these two for being tired, they both come off a bye. Arian Foster should be licking his lips, no running back in the league gets handed the ball more than him and no team is worse at stopping the run than the Bills. Buffalo will be hoping that the returning Mario Williams can plug some holes against his old team but it'll take more than that. The other problem for the Bills will be making yards with the ball, Texans defensive end JJ Watt has emerged as MVP material and made up somewhat for the loss of Linebacker Brian Cushing to an ACL injury, the Texans have a balanced stubborn defence and I don't hold out much hope for the Bills in this one.
Recommended Bet: Texans -10.5

Carolina Panthers @ Washington Redskins
Sunday 18:00
Neither of these team are going to make the playoffs and the result will unlikely affect the makeup of either of their divisions but this game could still be pretty entertaining. The last two Heismann trophy winners face off, Cam Newton and RG3 are the most exciting QBs to watch in the game but their razzmatazz doesn't equate to victories. The Panthers almost stopped the rot last week with a plucky performance against the Bears but were pipped at the buzzer by a field goal. The 'Skins are at home and have a superior record. The Panthers are 1-6 and rudderless with no GM but have there's seems to be a concensus they'll turn it around this time, I agree.
Recommended Bet: Panthers +3

Chicago Bears @ Tennessee Titans
Sunday 18:00
This should be gritty. The Bears are relying way too much on their defence and apart from superstar running back Chris Johnson the Titans have little to offer on offence. If the Bears are to hold off Green Bay in the NFC North then they have to win this type of game and considering they have the league's number one rush defence they should be able to marginalize the impact of Johnson. Tennessee lost a very winnable game to the Colts at home last week and don't seem to have enough fight to overcome a workman like but hungry Bears team.
Recommended Bet: Bears -3

Denver Broncos @ Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday 18:00
Peyton has never lost to the Bengals home or away and as his arm gets sharper the Broncos win percentage rises. They look to be the favourites to take the crown in the AFC West this year and should have enough momentum to get a road victory in Cincy. The Bengals started great but have since shot themselves in the foot giving away countless turnovers and their defence is struggling to contain the opposition. A big game from AJ Green could change things for the Bengals and there should be a few big plays from both sides but a high scoring affair looks likely to go the way of the visitors.
Recommended Bet: Broncos -3.5

Detroit Lions @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Sunday 18:00
Cat fight in Jacksonville this Sunday as the Jaguars play host to the Lions. The Jags sit bottom of their division at 1-6 and it doesn't look like they've got a lot to play for but last weeks' battling performance against the Packers at Lambeau shows they're still hungry. The Lions need a win to get back to .500 and their offence should be able to deliver it. The weekly double coverage on Megatron has limited his impact so this week the Lions signed Mike Thomas, ironically from Jacksonville. That should give Stafford another target or even better free up some space for No.81. Expect the Lions to air it out as usual and claim the road win.
Recommended Bet: Lions -3.5

Miami Dolphins @ Indianapolis Colts
Sunday 18:00
Battle of the rookie Quarterbacks and battle of the over achievers, nobody thought these two would have winning records by now. Although he's at home Andrew Luck will probably have a tougher job as the Dolphins are superb at shutting down the run and forcing opposition QBs into uncomfortable throws. Tannehill should recover from last weeks knocks to take the field for Miami but will he be focused on finding receivers or avoiding hits? He'll probably hand off to Bush a lot as the Colts pass defence has been impressive recently. Narrow home win for the Colts.
Recommended Bet: Colts +2.5

Minnesota Vikings @ Seattle Seahawks
Sunday 21:05
This one looks tasty, it could easily be the game of the weekend. The Vikings travel to Seattle looking to hold onto their winning record and keep pace with the likes of Chicago and Green Bay in the NFC North whilst the Seahawks will try to continue their impressive home record and chase the 'Niners in the NFC West. Christian Ponder will have his work cut out, Century Life Stadium is the loudest most hostile environment in the NFL and the Seahawks secondary live for interceptions and break ups. The Seahawks don't really have a reliable passing game themselves, they currently rank an ugly 31st in the league. So it looks like this could be a ground game...step up Marshawn Lynch and Adrian Peterson, if you like backs you'll love this game.
Recommended Bet: Seahawks -4.5

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Oakland Raiders
Sunday 21:05
Both team are 3-4, both teams coming off away wins, neither teams realistically have wildcard potential. The Raiders are looking for a third straight victory and will be in confident mood as they start a stretch of home games but their victories are often down to rushing productivity. Although Derren McFadden has only performed sporadically this year when he's on song the whole offence seems to have more options. The Bucs' will be aware of this and will try and shut down the run at scrimmage forcing Palmer into making some plays. The Bucs big win over the Vikings last week proves they have big potential.
Recommended Bet: Buccaneers +1.5

Pittsburgh Steelers @ NY Giants
Sunday 21:25
What a game, this should be so entertaining everyone can forget about Sandy for a few hours. The key factor will be how Eli does against Dick LeBeau's defence. The Giants average almost 400 yards passing a game whilst the Steelers have the number one pass defence allowing only around 182 yards, something's gotta give. Jonathan Dwyer had a break out game for the Steelers last week and the way he runs has Steelers fans reminiscing about Jerome Bettis, but will he get any holes against the mean front four of the Big Blue D?
Recommended Bet: Giants -3

Dallas Cowboys @ Atlanta Falcons
Monday 01:20
Can Ryan lead the Falcons to 8-0 against the Cowboys at the Georgia Dome. If he does then his doubters will suddenly disappear. Atlanta's offence has been putting up big numbers all year and that's mostly down to their lethal receiving duo of Roddy White and Julio Jones. The Cowboys secondary will target those two. The Cowboys have rumbled through a tricky schedule and lost some tough games by narrow margins, they definitely have the potential to cause an upset and with their record at 3-4 need to put together a run of wins asap, expect that to start next week in Philly.
Recommended Bet: Falcons -3.5

Philadelphia Eagles @ New Orleans Saints
Tuesday 01:30
Under pressure Andy Reid takes his Eagles team down to Louisiana for Monday Night Football to face the Saints. You can't help feeling it's last chance saloon for Reid and Vick, if they can't get a win against the worst defence in the league then there time will be up. As for the Saints they are probably the most unbalanced team you'll ever see, they possess the best passing attack and the worst everything else. Brees can't be stopped but he can't do it all on his own, can he...
Recommended Bet: Eagles +3.5