Sports Betting Tips and Game Handicapping Picks » Ben Roethlisberger

Can Pittsburgh’s D stop the Bengals?

Jeffdstuff — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:02:18 +0000

Are the Bengals for real?

That’s the question the Bengals will try to answer as Week 10 of the 2009 NFL football season continues. They have the defending champions Pittsburgh Steelers this week. Can the Bengals surprise this team like they did the Ravens last week?

This matchup between the defending Super Bowl champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the red hot Cincinnati Bengals should be an awesome AFC North face-off. The Steelers are on a five – game winning streak, looking to ride on their momentum heading to their matchup with Cincinnati.

They just brought down one Cinderella team in the NFL last Monday night, beating the Denver Broncos 28-10. Hines Ward caught two touchdown passes from Ben Roethisberger in Denver as the Steelers dominated the Broncos 28-10, despite playing without three of their starters on defense.

The Steelers hope they can bring another Cinderella team down this week when they go up against the Cincinnati Bengals. And as far as the Steelers’ three starters on defense who missed last Monday night’s game are concerned; safety Ryan Clark, linebacker Lawrence Timmons and defensive end Travis Kirschke could all start against Cincinnati this Sunday.

That’s a good thing too since the Super Bowl champions are in the middle of a three-game stretch against teams with some of the best records in the league. They gave the Vikings their first loss, the Broncos their second and now have a chance to send Chad Ochocinco and the rest of the Bengals to their third. The Steelers also have the opportunity to break the tie atop the same division they have dominated the last couple of years.

Pittsburgh is really looking good coming to this matchup. And since Cincinnati always had its problems with the Steel Curtain, I don’t like their chances come gameday.

For all ya’ll uninformed, Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati in the opening round of the playoffs before winning Super Bowl XL. The Bengals would have made the playoffs again in 2006 except for a season-ending defeat in overtime to, guess who...

NFL Football Week 4 Betting Tips

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:04:10 +0000

You just know this week will be all about Brett Favre facing off against the Packers for the first time in his illustrious NFL career.

But that’s on Monday night, and until Monday Night Football gets here, Week 4 of the 2009 NFL football season still has games that will keep you jacked before we all head to Minnesota for Favre’s biggest test yet.

Let’s kick things off with the New England Patriots. At 2-1, they are nowhere near from the form they displayed when Tom Brady and Randy Moss were both setting records two years ago. But after beating a very good Atlanta Falcons team 26-10 last week, it may have brought some of their mojo back.

They need it to since they have the Baltimore Ravens visiting them at Gillette Stadium this Sunday. The Ravens are on a roll as they go for their fourth straight win in as many games. Surprisingly, while their defense remains as solid as ever, it has been their offense that has done a great job in helping this team to this fast 3-0 start. They are hoping for another stellar performance from wide receiver Derrick Mason, who reached a milestone during their 34-3 win against Cleveland Browns.

Our pick? We’re going with the New England Patriots by a field goal.

Touted as one of the most interesting games of Week 4, the New York Jets head to the Superdome to take on the high powered New Orleans Saints. Mark Sanchez is the first NFL rookie quarterback to lead his team to a 3-0 start and right now, he is the odds on favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award. But is he for real?

A win over the New Orleans Saints will definitely give us an idea. After all, the Saints have that stingy defense that’ll force any quarterback out of the pocket, running for his dear life. And aside from that, the Saints still have that powerhouse at the other side of the ball, quarterback Drew Brees. If Sanchez can outplay Brees, then this rookie from Southern California definitely has something for sure.

We’re picking the New Orleans Saints though. Saints by...

The 2009 NFL Football Season Begins

Jeffdstuff — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:54:08 +0000

And for the first game of the season, we have the defending Super Bowl champions Pittsburgh Steelers playing the team with the best record in the league last season, the Tennessee Titans.

And as far as that game goes, LenDale White will be one of the story lines heading to the very first game of the 2009 NFL football season. You see, White had the audacity to desecrate Pittsburgh’s terrible towels merely days before his Titans and the defending champion Steelers go head to head for the season opener this Thursday.

A case of bad judgment on his part? One thing’s for sure though, this really puts things in perspective as far as the anticipation for the NFL season is concerned.

And as far as Troy Polamalu and the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers are concerned, you can bet your ass that they are pumped up for the opener. One, they are coming in as the defending Super Bowl champions. Two, they probably just want to beat the crap out of LenDale White.

The Pittsburgh Steelers look to be in as good a shape as any Super Bowl winner to make a second run at another Lombardi Trophy. The Steelers made it through training camp with no significant setbacks other than losing starting guard Darnell Stapleton to knee surgery for the season.

They return 19 of their 22 starters, including a healthy Rashard Mendenhall, their top draft pick in 2008 who was knocked out for the season in the fourth game. He will join Willie Parker, who missed five full games with injuries, as the one-two punch in their backfield.

As far as the Tennessee Titans are concerned, they are hoping that they can have a repeat of last season’s success when they virtually came out of nowhere to take over the AFC.

With Kerry Collins patrolling the offense, the Titans were able to become one of the heavy favorites to win the AFC after Tom Brady’s week 1 injury virtually took the New England Patriots out of the picture.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t come up with anything in...

Are the Steelers a good bet this year?

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:52:50 +0000

We’re asking because the last time they came into a season as the defending champions, they didn’t even made it to the playoffs.

That was after the Steelers won Super Bowl XL only to finish the following year barely .500. In the coming 2009 NFL football season, the Steelers are once again the defending champs, but can they finish better this time?

The NFL has not seen a repeat winner since New England in 2003 and 2004, proving that it is so hard to repeat as a champion in any sport. Sportsbooks know it too as oddsmakers have the Pittsburgh Steelers at (+1000) to win it again in 2010. Right now they are the 4th favorite and two of the three teams in front of them are from the AFC.

For those of you betting on a Steeler re-peat, what do the Steelers have to do to win it all again? Read on.

For starters, the Steel Curtain must remain dominant. Arguably their biggest advantage over every other team in the NFL is their dominant defense. In 2008, they allowed the fewest points in the NFL (223), the fewest yards in the NFL (237.2), the fewest passing yards (156.9) and the second fewest rushing yards (80.2).

They were also tied for first in the fewest rushing yards per attempt (3.3), first in fewest passing yards per attempt allowed (5.4), second in quarterback sacks (51), second in QB rating allowed (63.4), tied for second in rushing touchdowns allowed (7) and tied for second in passing touchdowns allowed (12).

The Steelers defense was at the top of the NFL in almost any meaningful statistical category and if Pittsburgh wants another Vince Lombardi trophy, that defense better be solid again.

Another major factor for a Steelers re-peat is of course, Ben Roethlisberger.

It is important that he plays at a high level this season, because it is hard to imagine the Steelers being able to win back-to-back Super Bowls with their signal caller firing blanks.

At least Big Ben is on the right track by...

Bettors still love the Pittsburgh Steelers

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:07:53 +0000

It looks like rape charges on their favorite quarterback haven't fazed these guys yet.

It has been a pretty quiet off-season over in the AFC North, as the teams prepared to head for training camp in preparation for the 2009 NFL football season. That all changed when news about Ben Roethlisberger getting accused for rape came out.

The Internet and sports talk radio shows buzzed with the news that Ben Roethlisberger has been named in a sexual assault civil suit. All was no longer quiet on the Northern front.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were coming off a thrilling Super Bowl victory and determined not to have a repeat performance of the last time they headed into the off-season after hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy.

Remember that? After beating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL, Pittsburgh endured a painful spring and summer (among the highlights include head coach Bill Cowher leaving the team, Ben Roethlisberger just about died in a motorcycle accident in which he wasn’t wearing a helmet, Santonio Holmes was arrested and on and on). The team never got on track for the 2006 season, resulting in the defending Super Bowl champs missing the playoffs.

That said, despite this recent news story, don’t look for a repeat of the dreadful 2006 campaign. Physically, Roethlisberger is fine, the coaching staff is back and for the most part, so is every other key starter. And Santonio Holmes wasn’t arrested.

That doesn’t mean some sports bettors weren’t looking for an edge when they heard of the controversy boiling in Steeltown.

Online sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.COM reported seeing...

Pittsburgh -7 favorites to beat Arizona

Jeffdstuff — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:53:43 +0000

I can't blame these Vegas bookies why they like the Steelers.

In case you missed the conference championship games two weeks ago, the road to Super Bowl XLIII is done and we have the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals left standing to play for the biggest prize in North American sports.

You read it, for the second time in four years, the Pittsburgh Steelers will once again play for the Super Bowl and face the Arizona Cardinals, a team making their first trip to the big dance in franchise history.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl even before this season started and it is quite understandable that Las Vegas oddsmakers are already favoring those guys by as much as 7 points.

The Arizona Cardinals, on the other hand, were already longshots right from the get-go and they have their track record to thank for that. They were 45-1 longshots at the start of the season and were still 40-1 underdogs to win the Super Bowl even after they got the invite to play in the postseason.

It seems the Cardinals are not getting the respect from oddsmakers despite proving those guys wrong for three consecutive weeks. One oddsmaker said more favor the Steelers because a win over the Ravens beats a win over the Eagles.

‘’Beating Baltimore is a little more impressive,'’ oddsmaker Jason Been said.

Although I don’t entirely disagree with that one, what about beating the Falcons and the Panthers BEFORE beating Philly? Is that less of an accomplishment compared to coming up with a win over a Chargers team playing without...

Can Steelers win another Super Bowl?

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:18:02 +0000

A second Super Bowl title in four years, now that's impressive if Pittsburgh can pull it off.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are back in the big dance, they will play the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida looking to win their second championship in four years. Amazing huh?

The Steelers outhit and outplayed the Ravens, 23-14 last Sunday to win one of two Super Bowl XLIII tickets at stake. And with the Cardinals already winning their ticket earlier, the pressure was on the Steelers to perform as good, or even better.

Ravens undrafted rookie quarterback Joe Flacco was harassed by the Pittsburgh Steelers defense all game long. Normally unflappable, he looked lost at times and finished just 13-for-30 for 141 yards with three costly interceptions.

On the other end of the field, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the same guy who was picked off four times by New England in his rookie-year AFC title game, was a steady 16-of-33 for 255 yards and, most importantly, no interceptions. If nothing else, it showed how much experience mattered in a game so important.

After Polamalu’s twisting, turning run sealed it with 4:39 to play, the game was held up when Willis McGahee, who scored both Baltimore touchdowns, was carted off the field following a frightening hit to the helmet by Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark.

With Pittsburgh heading for Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida, they are now walking into their seventh Super Bowl. Only the Steelers, 49ers and Cowboys have won five, and Pittsburgh can be the first to win six.

If the Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals, the 36-year-old Mike Tomlin would be...

Pittsburgh V Arizona in Super Bowl 43

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:12:58 +0000

Can Arizona's high-flying offense run over the defense of Pittsburgh's 'Steel Curtain?'

Yes, Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida is finally set as the favorites to win it all this year, the Pittsburgh Steelers, will do battle with the season’s ultimate underdogs, the Arizona Cardinals. This is Pittsburgh’s second trip to the Super Bowl in four years while Arizona finally earned the trip to the big dance for the first time in franchise history.

It has been one heckuva’ season and one that could very well be described as one of the most unpredictable campaigns the NFL has ever seen. Who would’ve thought that the Pittsburgh Steelers will be kings of the AFC again with Ben Roethlisberger? Of course, nobody saw the Arizona Cardinals coming and the kind of campaign those guys just had.

The Pittsburgh Steelers punched their ticket after closing the curtains on the Ravens offense. Baltimore’s undrafted rookie quarterback Joe Flacco was harrased by the Steel Curtain all night. After posting awesome numbers during the last two playoff games, he had a terrible night against the Steelers secondary, forcing him to finish 13-for-30 for 141 yards and THREE interceptions.

The Steelers defense stopped the running game for the Baltimore Ravens as well, although nobody thought Pittsburgh would be doing it in a literal sense. Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark literally stopped Baltimore’s most productive force of the night, Willis McGahee.

With 3:29 left to play and already leading 23-14, the Steelers saw Clark lay out Ravens running back Willis McGahee with a vicious hit that sent the tailback motionless on the field for a few minutes. McGahee was carted off the field on a stretcher before the rest of his team gave in to the Steel Curtain.

The Arizona Cardinals earned the right to play in Super Bowl XLIII after once again shocking the world for the...

Who’ll advance to Super Bowl XLIII?

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 02:59:10 +0000

Only four teams remain, two of them will earn the trip to Tampa this weekend.

As opposed to the wild card round, where we saw all the road teams as favorites, last weekend’s divisional playoff round of the 2009 NFL playoffs set up with all four home teams laying the points. But, as bettors who played the favorites found out, sometimes it’s best to take the path less traveled, or at least it was this past Saturday and Sunday.

The weekend’s biggest underdog, the Arizona Cardinals, played those 9.5-point favorite Panthers in Carolina last Saturday night. The Panthers were almost always favored by as many points all year that betting against them was hard, to say the least. The Cards were champions of arguably the NFL’s weakest division, the NFC West, with a 9-7 record straight up, while the Panthers won the NFC South with a 12-4 mark SU.

Fortunately for Arizona bettors, and unfortunately for Carolina’s, Panthers’ birthday boy Jake Delhomme threw five picks in an awful performance. The resulting 33-13 loss dealt a blow to the betting public, as the Panthers were heavily backed to cover the spread, but as well the straight up loss killed a lot of teaser and moneyline parlay tickets Saturday.

Arizona is now 6-1 ATS when underdogs of 8-points or more and advances to its first ever NFC championship. Who knows, that trend might come in handy if the Cards meet Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLIII, though the line probably wouldn’t get that high.

The Cardinals have the Philadelphia Eagles next after Philly sent the Giants to an early vacation. Remember that quarterback controversy in Philadelphia earlier in the season, when Donovan McNabb was benched in favor of Kevin Kolb? Remember how the New York Giants won the Super Bowl last year?

Both are distant memories now as the Philadelphia Eagles ensured that the Giants won’t be defending their Super Bowl title, covering as +4 road favorite in a 23-11 win last Sunday.

The Under had cashed in 10 of Philadelphia’s...

2008 NFL Week 16 Betting Tips

Jeffdstuff — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:27:54 +0000

It’s crunch time in the NFL with only two weeks remaining in the season.

Yes, it’s already Week 16 of the 2008-09 NFL football season and nothing, absolutely NOTHING has been decided as far as the final playoff picture is concerned. And after 15 weeks into the season, we learned that Matt Cassel can put up points, Terrell Owens is letting Romo and Witten have their thing together (for now…) and the Lions STILL can’t win shit. (Surprise… surprise…)

Heading to NFL Week 16, we’ll have the last Thursday and Monday night games of the season and since we’re giving you a heads up for the coming football action, we’ll start on Thursday night when the Indianapolis Colts visit the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Indianapolis Colts want to extend their six-year streak of making it to the playoffs. That’s exactly what they can do with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, who will try to partially salvage their season of failed expectations by at least delaying the Colts’ seventh straight entry into the postseason. However, the 10-4 Colts won seven in a row to put themselves at the top of the AFC wild-card standings. That’s why you should stay away from Jacksonville for this one.

Indianapolis Colts by 7

For the first time this season, we’ll have NFL football action on a Saturday when the Baltimore Ravens visit the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. This is historic for the ‘Boys since they’ll be playing their last game at the stadium. Of course, they’re looking to win their last one too. The Ravens currently share the same 9-5 record with three teams; the Jets, the Dolphins and the Patriots, and if they win their last two games, they would finish 11-5, including 8-4 in the AFC, to give themselves a better playoff position heading to the postseason. However, since...