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Top Tight Ends for NFL Wild Card Games January 9

You’ve just completed the rest of your lineup and it comes down to Saturday’s four tight ends. Who do you believe is going to have the biggest game? Here’s a few considerations before deciding:

#1 Tyler Eifert’s Huge Game

Every big game Eifert had this year, the team’s he played decided to blitz more often. The Steelers have a plethora of blitz packages, and in order for A. J. McCarron to keep the sack totals down, he’s going to have to throw a bunch of dump-off passes and screens. The two biggest benefactors will be Giovanni Bernard and Tyler Eifert. If the Bengals fall behind big, Eifert’s typical 4-6 target game could balloon to 8-10 targets.

The only problem with this choice is he will be an easy target for most GPP entries (probably topping 65%). However, sometimes you have to go with the flow and this could be the day to do it.

Prediction: 7 receptions, 84 yards, 2 TDs, 27-30 fantasy points

#2 Heath Miller

Dealing with Miller is kind of like a love/hate relationship. Just when you think he’s going to have a big game…he lays an egg. Then when you’re sure he’s bound to struggle, Roethlisberger throws to him 8-11 times. Oddly enough, in both matchups with the Bengals, Miller had 10 catches in each game. Even though he didn’t score a touchdown, he racked up 16.8 and 23.5 fantasy points respectively. It seems the Bengals are willing to give Miller his stats in order to contain the wide receiving corps. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fantasy Sports Tagged With: Heath Miller, Ryan Griffin, Travis Kelce, Tyler Eifert

Top Wide Receivers for NFL Wild Card Games

By Kevin

Saturday’s games offer plenty of options at the wide receiver position. Most daily fantasy sports strategists will be looking to grab the top 3 choices: Antonio Bryant, A.J. Green, and DeAndre Hopkins. However, there are plenty of other choices that could give your lineup a boost. When you reach the playoffs, most teams, especially rivals, look to take away the number one receiver. Then again, some teams will give the opponents #1 a free pass, but eliminate all other aspects of the game. We have to decide and decipher who will do what and how it will affect our lineups.

#1 AJ Green, Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu

If Andy Dalton is a go, there is more of a chance he will spread the ball around. If A.J. McCarron is at the helm, you can pretty much rule out Sanu. Actually, since week 6, Sanu hasn’t caught any more than 3 passes (this only happened twice). The rest of the time he had 0, 1, or 2 catches. He hasn’t scored a touchdown all year either, so he’s not worth adding to your lineup.

Marvin Jones isn’t fairing much better in the touchdown department. He only has two on the year, and none since A.J. McCarron has started at quarterback. The good news is that Jones has at least 4 catches in four of his last five games. Another benefit is that McCarron has been building a rapport with Jones, which benefitted the wide out the last time the Bengals played the Steelers (6 catches 61 yards).

You have to love A.J. Green as one of your lineup’s wide receivers. His last line against the Steelers was 6/132/1. He was targeted 9 times. The first game he was targeted a massive 17 times for an 11/118/1 line, so it’s easy to believe he will have a similar game Saturday.

Prediction: AJ Green – 7 receptions, 98 yards, 2 TDs, 25-28 fantasy points
Marvin Jones – 4 receptions, 46 yards, 0 TDs, 5-10 fantasy points
Mohamed Sanu – 1 reception, 6 yards, 0 TDs, 1-2 fantasy points

#2 Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, Marcus Wheaton, Darius Heyward-Bey

Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger will throw the ball to any wide out on the field, so it’s possible for any of these players to have a big day. If you want to spend your salary on the wide receiver position, Antonio Brown will take a huge chunk ($9300 on Draft Kings) of it. The only problem I see here is that the Bengals try to contain A.B every time they play. The first time they played, Antonio only had 6 catches for 47 yards and a touchdown. The second time around he had a line of 7/87/0.

Regardless of the past two contests verse the Bengals, Brown will still get his fair share of targets. In fact, he hasn’t been targeted less than 10 times except for weeks 4-7 when Michael Vick and Landry Jones were the starting QBs. If Cincinnati spends most of their time on Brown, it might be a good idea to look at Bryant or Wheaton as secondary wide outs and utilize your higher value on A.J. Green.

I like Bryant this weekend, because Big Ben called him out earlier in the week. Bryant even admitted that when Roethlisberger said; Bryant needs to toughen up, Bryant himself woke up. The last two games Martavis vanished in the passing game with one catch per contest. The only problem is that Bryant hasn’t seen a multiple touchdown game since week 6. The good news is; if Ben has to throw 50+ times and the defense is focused on Brown, Bryant could get behind the secondary for a couple of huge plays.

Wheaton didn’t look good in either of the contests against Cincinnati, nor did Heyward-Bey. If either of them do anything, it won’t be enough to add them to your lineup, or they will only take away from Brown and Bryant’s fantasy points.

Prediction: Antonio Brown – 9 receptions, 111 yards, 1 TD, 25-30 fantasy points
Martavis Bryant – 5 receptions 78 yards, 1 TD, 18-22 fantasy points
Marcus Wheaton – 3 receptions, 36 yards, 0 TD, 5-8 fantasy points
Darius Heyward-Bey – 2 receptions, 26 yards, 1 TD, 7-10 fantasy points

#3 Jeremy Maclin

The Texans have an easy task in the passing game; contain Maclin and keep him in front of the secondary. All other wide receivers are meaningless. Yep, even if Maclin can’t go, you’re taking a huge risk on Albert Wilson (no more than 4 catches and 87 yards all year), Jason Avant (who has been good for zero catches or 2 catches since week 7, and zero TDs), or Chris Conley (no more than 2 catches since week 7 and six games with 0 receptions in that span). The point is; if Maclin does play, he’s scored 6 touchdowns in his last 6 games and averaged 84 yards per contest during that time. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fantasy Sports Tagged With: NFL Wild Card Games

3 Key Aspects of the Best Online Betting Sites

By Kevin

Going to place some bets to spice up your upcoming sporting events? You’ve come to the right guide. It’s best to make sure that you have the most current information before you put your hard earned money on the line. We didn’t want to limit your choices in terms of where you bet, so we came up with three common aspects you’ll find in the best online betting sites. Check out the guide below before you make a decision on where to play.

1. Ease of Navigation

The best sites will also have the best ease of navigation, because if you can’t find where to place your bets with ease, chances are good that you won’t stay very long. We think that ease of navigation was worth listing first because it’s one of the top complaints that seasoned bettors have. They want to know the odds of every match they’re considering, and they also want to know how to access premium services. Knowing the sharpest numbers is critical to getting better outcomes. Just betting from the gut isn’t enough. In fact, emotional bets leave you with a very small bankroll…if you get to keep any bankroll at all.

2. Incentives Offered

Not only do you need to find good odds, but it’s also nice to have some incentives. Free bets, bonus money…no matter what you call it, an incentive is an incentive. And when it comes to the best online sites, they all know one thing: it’s a tough, competitive world out there. This means that the sportsbooks need to compete for your business, and come out with ways to show that they appreciate you. Look for those bonuses carefully, as they change quite regularly. Free bets are definitely a wonderful thing.

3. Solid Support

At the end of the day, you need to feel like the site that you’re going to frequent has solid support. This means that if you do run into problems, that there is someone that can support you at every turn. We think that the best online betting sites will give you clear support when you need it, and stay out of your way when you don’t need them.

Overall, the best sites all follow similar patterns. If you want to place bets at the top places online, these aspects will be incredibly valuable in your search. Good luck!

Filed Under: Betting Tips

What Can A Sports Handicapping Service Do For You

By Kevin

Are you looking at taking your betting action to the next level, but you just aren’t sure how to make it happen? Why not turn to a sports handicapping service? We think that a lot of punters make their lives harder by believing that they have to do everything by themselves. That’s a recipe for disaster, because you cut yourself off from serious knowledge. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to get all of the information you need. Sure, you could just bet “from the gut”, the way many of your friends do. But ask yourself this: don’t you want better returns than everyone else? We think that you should look for the intel that’s going to help you make better plays consistently. That’s the mark of a truly sharp player, if you ask us.

So what can a sports handicapping service do for you? First and foremost, they can let you know where to place your bets. Do you want to place bets randomly anywhere that seems good? That’s the way emotional players approach the situation. If you want to play like the sharp handicappers, then you need to know where the best action is. It should be a blend of the best odds without titling things too much in the house’s favor. The service professional knows where to direct you, because they take all of the time in the world to do the research.

Another reason to take their advice is that they’re also thinking about where the bonus action is as well. As you may imagine, bonuses help you get more time out of your initial funds. Who wants to place a lot of bets, only to find that they’re not as effective as they could be? This burns through good money, which isn’t what you’re aiming to do.

Let the handicapping service point you in the right direction. It combines the time you’ve spent doing research along with the time they’ve taken to find the best sportsbooks online. We always recommend going online because you can place more bets than those offline outfits. It’s been our experience that going the online route actually helps us refine our bets over time, because we can just use the notes we’ve saved onto our computer. What more could you want than that?

As we said earlier, there are two choices: you can go the emotional route and just bet randomly, or you can arm yourself with the best information possible. Like with anything else, the choice is yours!

Filed Under: Betting Tips Tagged With: Sports Handicapping Service

When You Need a Break from Laying Bets, Here’s Two Games to Play

By Kevin

Don’t look at the title and write us angry emails, folks: we love sports betting as much as anyone else. Betting on the little matches is just as satisfying as going for the big championship wins. However, there comes a time where we like to spread our interests out, and that’s where other game ideas come to the surface. We’ve been checking out the selection of games to choose from at Casino-X.com, and we absolutely love it!

See, you have a lot of options, but let’s just start you off with two:

1. Roulette

Roulette is one of those games that always get featured in the movies, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t play it as well. Roulette is thrilling because you get to watch the big wheel spin around and around. Will you be a winner, or will you have to spin again? Some people claim to have roulette systems that can make them a winner every time, but we’ve never seen any of these claims actually be the case.

2. Jackpot Slots

We’re not just talking about out of reach jackpots, or slot games that are faded and not very interesting. We’re talking about full color games that have rich soundtracks and special effects to them. Jackpot slots also have another feature that should get your interest: the chance to win huge amounts of money! What would you do with your winnings? You can go ahead and start dreaming, because real people have won several big jackpot slot games. Many of these games also have a progressive feature, which means that the pot gets even bigger as people don’t win the big prize! How high will it go before someone’s the lucky winner? We don’t know, but we do know that you should go over to Casino-X.com and try to make sure that it’s you!

There are plenty of other game ideas to check out. If you’ve already placed bets, then it’s not like you have anything to lose. You can do sports betting and check out a new place to play at the same time. Don’t worry, we do the same thing all the time and have expanded our experiences tenfold in gambling. Why not see if you can do the same thing?

Filed Under: Other Tips

Will Professional Sports Survive the Concussion Epidemic?

By Kevin

The National Football League (NFL) should be commended for the initial steps it has taken to address the issue of concussions. Rejecting the short-term and potential long-term consequences of concussions is an out-of-date concept.

As recently as 2006, the NFL published literature minimizing the impact of concussions. In fairness to them, there has been a marked increase in our understanding of concussions over the past 10 years. Have the actions undertaken by the NFL to address concussions been proportionate to our increased knowledge in this field?

Enrollment in ‘Pop Warner’ Football reportedly declined by 9.5% between 2010 and 2012, and concern regarding head injury was cited as the primary reason. In the current issue of the Journal, Hotz et al (pages 11-16) have reported their find-ings in high school sports, including football.

For a league with current annual revenue of $9 billion and a projected target of $25 billion per year by 2027, has the NFL invested sufficiently in a nationwide education and awareness program to protect the brains of children and, ultimately, their own sport from itself?

The NFL deserves credit for instituting rule changes to address concussions. What is the right balance of protecting the integrity of the game and the health of its players? Has the NFL done enough to care for retired players suffering the consequences of head injury? Does the lack of guaranteed contracts in the NFL create a culture conducive to players reporting concussions? Is it the responsibility of the NFL to invest in independent clinical research? If so, is the NFL providing sufficient funds to address objective measures to diagnose concussions (eg, neuroimaging, biomarkers), and therapeutics for the short and long-term impacts of concussions?

The challenge surrounding concussions are systemic to our society (school boards, workers boards, insurance industry, various sports, etc); however, in the current issue of the Journal, we have approached concussions from the perspective of a game close to our hearts. I watch the NFL every Sunday religiously – Monday and Thursday too, if possible. I am expecting my first son in the next few months and I am looking forward to introducing him to the sport I love.

It is unfair to be overly critical of the NFL when they have taken several positive steps to address concussions. The NFL is a powerful machine that has the ability, if it chooses, to play a major leadership role in the discussion surrounding concussions beyond football.

Although this message is focused on football – every athlete participating in a major sport is susceptible to concussions – hockey, basketball, baseball, soccer, etc. Will other professional leagues that devote less attention to this issue at this time be proactive?

Professional sport is a business. Children look up to professional athletes and develop their love for the game watching their favourite players. The ultimate solution requires a balance between the importance of health and safety and profitability. It is imperative that the leagues maintain fiscal responsibility to ensure the quality of the product remains high.

Would it make sense for the major sports leagues to work collaboratively in the scientific arena of concussions? The five major sports leagues could jointly develop a global concussion education and research program with the output reaching every child’s classroom. The shared infrastructure would lower overhead costs for the respective leagues. This solution provides compassion toward children and professional athletes while maintaining fiscal responsibility for shareholders – a win win.

I believe football and other sports will survive; however, it is imperative that the aforementioned issues be tackled head on… no pun intended.

Commissioners Goodell, Bettman, Silver, Manfred and Blatter, the time is now – each of you has the power to be instrumental in protecting the brains of children across the globe – what a legacy to leave!

Dr. Neilank Jha is a neurosurgeon and the head of Konkussion Inc- a concussion treatment program in Toronto. The full whitepaper, “Solving the Concussion Crisis: Practical Solutions”, can be viewed here.

For interview requests with Dr. Jha, please contact Jordan at Toronto PR Firm Grey Smoke Media.

Filed Under: NFL Tagged With: Concussion, head injury

Sports Handicapping Is a Process – Rise to the Challenge!

By Kevin

If you want to make money by placing bets on sporting events, you have to realize something really fast: sports handicapping is a process. You have to rise to the challenge, even thought hat’s more difficult than doing what most people do: bet form the gut. They go on their feelings, what ex-players have to say, what the media thinks, and what their friends think. Let’s be honest: how much sports information does the average person really know? They don’t think about statistics or wins or the condition of the field at every single game for the last 2 years of a team’s life. But sports handicappers think about these things all of the time.

If you’re going to last long as a bettor, then embracing sports handicapping is definitely the thing that you’re going to have to focus on. Instead of going with your emotions, you’re going to go with numbers instead. That’s the best way to stay profitable for the long run, because you have a greater chance of winning. Is anything guaranteed? Not at all. You can still win even if you do all of the right things. But that doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen. What if you were to win?

Well, you can spend your winnings on something that you always wanted to purchase, but you would be a lot better off if you were to put your winnings back into more bets. This is what we like to refer as bankroll management. Some of your winnings have to drive the next generation of bets, otherwise you end up running out of money eventually. If you run out of money because youíve spent all of your winnings, then you’re going to have to start from scratch when it comes to building your bankroll again. That just wouldn’t make sense, and therefore it makes more sense to build from the ground up the right way, so that you donít have to constantly reinvent the wheel.

This tip applies no matter which sport you’re interested in handicapping. You can talk about football, basketball, NFL games…it’s really all the same in terms of the mental focus you need to success. Don’t believe us? Give it a try: dig into the principles of sports handicapping, and then test them out in real time. Start small and work your way up for the best chance at winning consistently. It’s better to rack up a lot of small wins than hit the big one and yet be unable to replicate your results ever again. Good luck!

Filed Under: Betting Tips Tagged With: Sports Handicapping

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