This weekend was expected to be a difficult one for NFL gamblers. Three of the four road teams on wild card weekend went into their games with better records than the home team. That made gamblers think twice before settling in on the comfort of betting on the home squad.
By the end of the weekend, heads were spinning at Las Vegas sports books as one of the craziest betting weekends in playoff history took place. The majority of the shock came on Saturday when the Seattle Seahawks upset the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.
The Seahawks were an unprecedented 10.5 point underdog at home. Seattle had a 7-9 record coming into the game, and few analysts gave them a chance of keeping the game close. The Seahawks not only kept the game close, but they pulled off perhaps the second greatest update in NFL history.
The night game Saturday brought yet another underdog victory. The New York Jets, despite having a better record than Indianapolis, were underdogs to the Colts. The jets played their typical low scoring affair and booked their trip to New England after winning in Indianapolis.
On Sunday, the early game was the only one of the four this weekend that went as many analysts had predicted. The Baltimore Ravens, also a road team, had little trouble with a young Kansas City team. The Chiefs turned the ball over five times, and that led to an easy Baltimore victory and a date with Pittsburgh next week.
Philadelphia and Green Bay played the most compelling game of the weekend. The Eagles had numerous opportunities to win, but normally reliant kicker David Akers missed two field goals, and that proved to be the difference in a 21-16 Packers win. Green Bay will face top-seeded Atlanta next week, while Seattle will travel to Chicago.
Vick led the Philadelphia Eagles on another exciting fourth-quarter comeback, unfortunately it ended with an endzone interception, giving the Green Bay Packers the 21-16 win. Green Bay were one-point underdogs in the contest.
It was Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers first playoff win as a starter, but much of the props should go to the team’s aggressive defense. Green Bay gave Vick and the Eagles offensive line fits all afternoon, sacking the Pro Bowl QB three times while picking him off once. Though the Eagles were able to make adjustments in the second half, Rogers led a balanced offensive attack to keep Philly at bay.
“Well, in all my time being a football fan, I have never seen one player win a game all by himself,” Rodgers said after passing for 180 yards with three touchdowns. “It’s a good team win for us and I will let you guys write what you want on that.”
The Green Bay offense was backed by over 100 yards from seldom-used rookie James Starks and five catches from vet receiver Donald Driver. Green Bay has the tough task of facing No. 1 seed Atlanta on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. ET. Despite Atlanta’s NFC best 13-3 record oddsmakers expect the Packers to give the Falcons a tough game, early NFL odds have opened with Atlanta as just -2 favorites.
The two teams last met in Week 12. Atlanta grabbed the big 20-17 win as -2.5 favorites at home. Rogers had 344 yards and one TD in the loss while Falcons QB Matt Ryan had 197 yards with one TD.
The Falcons running game was the difference in that matchup. Michael Turner finished with 110 yards and one TD while the Packers got just 77 yards off 23 carries from their running game.
Although he didn’t carry his team as expected, Auburn quarterback Cam Newton can add National Champion to his list of NCAA accolades.
Newton mostly handed off to freshman running back Michael Dyer on the final drive against Oregon, setting up a last-second field goal from 19 yards out to give them the 22-19 win and the National title. Auburn was a one-point underdog in the contest.
Oregon did a good job of containing the Heisman winner all night, forcing him to throw an early interception while preventing him from breaking out with any big plays. However, Auburn’s Dyer stepped up on the national stage, finishing with 143 rushing yards — 56 of which came on the final drive that set up the Wes Byrum field goal.
Still, Newton’s ability to overcome NCAA violations and accusations to post 330 total yards, two touchdowns and one interception on the biggest stage made him the postgame focus.
“Anything is possible,” Newton said. “I’m a prime example of how God can turn something very bad into something great.”
Although the game was the nail biter everyone expected, with the Total closing at 73 it wasn’t close to the high-scoring contest everyone anticipated. Instead both defenses bent but never broke, finishing with two sacks and two turnovers each.
Oregon QB Darron Thomas kept the Ducks in it with 363 passing yards and two touchdowns. However, the team’s offensive focus has always been LaMichael James and the running game, and Auburn’s D-line held him to just 49 yards off of 13 carries.
This is the second national title for Auburn's football program, the first coming way back in 1957.
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Keep the stretchers on standby, it’s Ravens versus Steelers.
NFL odds have listed Pittsburgh as -3 favorites in the Bodog Sportsbook but as history has shown this game can go either way. Whichever teams is left standing wins.
“The team that wins this game is going to be the most violent team, the team that is most physical,” Steelers defensive lineman Chris Hoke said. “It’s the team that goes out there to push the other team around.”
The Ravens are looking for their fifth straight win, and beat Pittsburgh by a field goal in Week 4. However, Pittsburgh got the 13-10 win in Week 13, and Baltimore could have an ailing Ray Rice, who has been vomiting since Friday night. But ultimately the game will come down to defense, and the Ravens are one of the few teams that can match Pittsburgh’s defensive intensity.
“As a competitor, you love it. But heck no, I hate playing the Ravens because they’re so good,” Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger said. “On defense, every single person and every scheme, everything they do, it challenges you.”
Big Ben was able to make the game-winning plays, but left Week 13 with a broken nose. A good reminder of how viscous this rivalry is.
“The Jets and Patriots are great teams, but they’re just getting started,” Steelers wideout Hines Ward said. “This has been going on for years.”
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It’s never easy to beat a good team twice in one season but that’s what is facing the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday night when they face Green Bay with a trip to the NFC Championship Game on the line. Atlanta opened as a 3-point favorite on Bodog’s NFL odds.
Of course Green Bay won in Philly last week, 21-16, behind three touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers. He has thrown seven TDs in his two career playoff starts. That's the most for any player in NFL history in his first two postseason starts. But the real star last week was rookie running back James Starks, who had played in only three games during the regular season. He gashed the Eagles for 123 rushing yards.
Starks didn’t play a down when Green Bay traveled to Atlanta in Week 13 and the Packer running game was nonexistent in that one, with Rodgers leading the team with 51 yards on the ground. Atlanta won it 20-17 on a Matt Bryant 47-yard field goal with nine seconds left. Atlanta QB Matt Ryan was very accurate that day, hitting 24-of-28 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown. That win made Ryan the second quarterback to win 19 of his first 20 home starts among players to start their career in the Super Bowl era. He is now 20-2 in his career at the Georgia Dome after a late-season loss to New Orleans. Ryan’s favorite target, Roddy White, led the NFC with 1,389 receiving yards and led the NFL with 115 catches. Look for Charles Woodson to shadow him all game.
Rodgers was stellar in the first meeting, going 26-for-35 for 344 yards and a touchdown, but he had a huge fumble at the goal line midway through the second quarter. Atlanta was much better on the ground in the first meeting, with Michael Turner rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown. Atlanta was outgained overall by 124 yards, however. If the Falcons lead at halftime, the game is essentially over. In coach Mike Smith’s three years as coach, the Falcons are 23-1 when leading at halftime.
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Last week bettors did well on the prop on which player would pass for the most yards in the wild-card round’s four games as New Orleans’ Drew Brees blew away the competition by throwing for 404 yards in a loss to Seattle. Brees was the co-favorite at 3/1 with Indy’s Peyton Manning. No other quarterback even threw for 300 yards last week as it was a relatively low scoring opening round other than the Saints-Seahawks game.
With Brees and Manning now out, the favorite this week is Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, who opened at 2/1 on Bodog’s NFL playoff odds against Atlanta. And why not, considering Rodgers threw for more yards during the season than any remaining quarterback in the playoffs. Rodgers did struggle in last week’s win over Philly with just 180 yards. But in the Pack’s Week 12 loss in Atlanta, Rodgers threw for 344 yards.
New England’s Tom Brady, the likely NFL MVP this season, is next at 3/1 against the New York Jets. Of course Brady and the Pats were off last week. He faced the Jets twice this season, throwing for 248 yards in a Week 2 loss in New York and 326 in a Week 13 victory at home. Brady closed the regular season by throwing for less than 200 yards in the final three games.
The third favorite at Bodog is Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger against the Baltimore Ravens in the weekend’s first playoff game on Saturday. Big Ben only faced the Ravens once this year due to suspension and in a Week 13 win at Baltimore he threw for 253 yards against a Ravens defense that surprisingly ranked only 21st in the NFL against the pass during the season. But Baltimore held the Chiefs to just 53 passing yards last week.
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The Minnesota Vikings quickly took care of Job No. 1 this offseason by making interim head coach Leslie Frazier the permanent head coach right after their season ended. That means it’s now time to address the franchise’s other big question for next season: Who is the starting quarterback.
Bodog offers NFL odds on the contenders for the Vikings starting QB job. No one thinks Brett Favre will back next season after he ended this year on the sideline with a concussion. The 41-year-old is finally expected to hang up his cleats after 20 seasons. Canton awaits him. However, Favre is an option on this prop but is the longest shot at 20/1.
Among the players listed on this prop, Joe Webb is the favorite at 3/1 to be the Vikings starter for Game 1 next season. Webb, who was actually drafted as a receiver, played fairly well for a rookie in starting for an injured Favre in the final two games of the season. He brings a mobile option to the position that Favre didn’t. But it’s hard to imagine Minnesota going into next season with so much inexperience at the game’s most important position.
How about Vince Young? The Titans quarterback will either be traded or cut by Tennessee after Young couldn’t coexist with coach Jeff Fisher. Young is still just 27 years old, and he has a winning record as a starter. Young is 6/1 on this prop along with Denver’s Kyle Orton, who reportedly is on the trading block.
Donovan McNabb (11/2) was rumored to be a target of Minnesota’s before McNabb was traded to Washington last season. But that was when the Vikings were coached by Brad Childress, who coached McNabb with the Eagles. McNabb is still on the Redskins, but he is expected to be released after being benched by Mike Shanahan at the end of last season. McNabb could be a good bridge for the Vikings until Webb is ready.
The actual betting favorite for this prop at 3/2 is “other free agent quarterback” outside of the guys listed above as well as Tarvaris Jackson (15/1) and Rhett Bomar (15/1). The Vikings also could decide to draft a quarterback high this year and a 2011 draft pick starting Game 1 is listed at 5/1.
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Does this sound familiar? The Philadelphia Eagles say they are happy with their quarterback situation and have no plans to trade any of their signal-callers. That’s what the Eagles said last year with Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb on the roster. Of course McNabb soon after was shipped to division-rival Washington.
Fast forward to a week ago.
The Eagles’ season was ended in the wild-card round by Green Bay. But despite that loss there’s little doubt that the Eagles will re-sign Vick after he had an MVP-type season. Vick is technically a free agent but the team is expected to slap the franchise tag on him – assuming there is a franchise tag under the new collective bargaining agreement. Vick of course took the starting job from Kolb after Kolb was hurt in Week 1. And Kolb, who was considered the franchise’s future at quarterback and who got a one-year contract extension and an $11 million bonus in April, clearly sees the writing on the wall in that he will be backing up Vick next year if he stays. So Kolb has said that if he’s not starting he wants to be traded.
“I love it here, as everybody knows. I would love to be starting here. But I want to be starting somewhere,” Kolb said after the Packer loss.
The Eagles say they have no plans to trade any of their quarterbacks and want Kolb back. They reportedly have put such an enormous price on him – two first-round picks – that it would scare teams away. Plus Kolb really has no leverage because he signed that extension and the Eagles want him as insurance for Vick because Vick’s playing style leaves him very prone to injury (which happened this year). The Eagles can't trade Kolb right now anyways because trades are prohibited until a new CBA is signed.
Bodog offers odds on whether Kolb will be an Eagle for Game 1 of the 2011 season. Yes is the +150 favorite and no is -200. Certainly there are teams that would love to trade for him if he is made available. The 49ers, Cardinals, Titans and Vikings probably would be at the front of the line.
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When Shonn Greene ran into the endzone with 1:41 remaining, the Jets second-year running back waived goodnight to Patriots fans at Gillette Stadium and took a nap in the middle of the endzone. The Jets had just put the Patriots to sleep.
The run gave the Jets a 28-14 lead. Brady and the Pats added a late TD to make it 28-21, but weren’t able to grab the onside kick with 24 seconds remaining. The Jets were +10 underdogs in the contest, understandable considering the 45-3 beating they were given in Week 13.
But Jets coach Rex Ryan felt his Jets could beat the mighty Pats if he could just out-coach the legend Bill Belichick, and he did just that on Sunday.
“We worked too hard to get back here, we thought we were the better team,” Ryan Said. “I knew if we applied ourselves and played the way we were capable of playing we could beat ‘em.”
Belichick made a lot of questionable moves in the game, running the ball in odd situations and throwing a lot of unsuccessful screens. The worst mistake was attempting a punt fake on their own 38 yard line with 1:06 remaining in the first half, the decision ended with a Jets touchdown and 14-3 lead at halftime.
The Jets have now taken out the flagship players of the NFL, Brady and Peyton Manning, they get Ben Roethlisberger next at Pittsburgh. The Jets beat the Steelers 22-17 on the road as +3.5 underdogs in Week 15.
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Last week on the prop of which player would have the most passing yards in the NFL’s divisional round, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers went off as the 2/1 favorite at Bodog. And bettors jumped all over Rodgers as he got by far the most action on this prop and it paid off as Rodgers threw for 366 yards in an upset of Atlanta. Can Rodgers be the best of the four quarterbacks this weekend? Bet on this prop at Bodog.
Rodgers has opened as the 6/5 favorite to have the most passing yards in the conference championship games. He has been on fire since returning from a concussion in Week 16, although he was held to 180 yards passing (but three TDs) in the wild-card win over Philadelphia. Rodgers faced the Chicago Bears, Sunday’s opponent, twice in the regular season: In a Week 3 loss in Chicago he threw for 316 yards; in Week 17’s win over the Bears in Green Bay, Rodgers was held to 229 yards through the air.
Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger opened as the second favorite at 9/4. Big Ben threw for 226 yards in last week’s win over Baltimore. In a Week 15 loss to the Jets, Sunday’s opponents, he passed for 264 yards but had 44 attempts, his second-most of the season. Chicago’s Jay Cutler, who will be appearing in just his second playoff game, is next on this prop at 5/2. Cutler passed for 274 yards in his playoff debut last week against Seattle. In that Week 3 win over Green Bay, Cutler threw for 221 yards; in Week 17 against the Pack, he passed for 168 yards, one of his lowest totals of the season.
The final quarterback on this prop is of course the Jets’ Mark Sanchez, who is playing in his second straight AFC Championship Game. Sanchez opened at 5/1 to win this prop. He had 194 yards passing last week against the Patriots and threw for 170 in the Week 15 win at Pittsburgh.
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Last week in the prop of which player would rush for the most yards in the NFL’s divisional round, Chicago’s Matt Forte went off as the 7/2 favorite at Bodog. And Forte was good to bettors as he took more action than any other player and led the league last week with 80 yards rushing in a win over Seattle. Can he do it again this week in the NFC title game against Green Bay? Bet on this prop at Bodog.
Forte opened as the co-favorite with Pittsburgh’s Rashard Mendenhall at 7/4. Forte has been on a roll of late, averaging 94 yards rushing in his past four games. He had 91 yards in Week 17’s loss to Green Bay, this week’s opponent, but just 29 yards rushing in a Week 3 home win over the Packers. Mendenhall, meanwhile, was held to 46 yards in last week’s win over Baltimore. He has rushed for more than 67 yards just twice in the past nine games. Mendenhall did have a good game in a Week 15 loss to the Jets, this week’s opponent, with 99 yards on the ground. New York had the No. 3 rushing defense in the NFL during the season.
The next favorite on this prop is Green Bay’s James Starks, who opened at 7/2. Starks played in just three games during the season and had only 29 carries. The rookie has been a revelation in the playoffs, however, rushing for 123 yards in the wild-card win over Philadelphia and then 66 last week in beating Atlanta. Starks got just five carries and had 20 yards in Week 17 against Chicago and didn’t play in Green Bay’s first meeting with the Bears.
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Last week on the prop of which player would have the most receiving yards in the NFL’s divisional round, Green Bay’s Greg Jennings and Atlanta’s Roddy White went off as the co-9/2 favorites at Bodog. Well, technically Chicago’s Greg Olsen had the most receiving yards of any player last week with 113, but Bodog didn’t list Olsen, or any tight end, as an option. And bettors cashed in pretty well on Jennings then winning the prop with 101 yards in the upset of the Falcons as he took the most action of any player.
And for the conference championship round, Jennings against opened as the favorite at 7/2 against the Chicago Bears. Jennings has the hottest quarterback in the NFL throwing to him in Aaron Rodgers, who has had passer ratings of 122.5 and 136.8 in Green Bay’s two playoff wins. Jennings had that good game last week but was nearly invisible in the playoff opener against the Eagles with just 8 yards receiving. In Week 3’s loss in Chicago, Jennings was held to just 18 yards (on two catches). In the Week 17 win against the Bears in Green Bay, Jennings had 97 yards receiving (on four catches).
Two players opened as the second-favorite on Bodog’s NFL odds: Pittsburgh’s Mike Wallace and former Steeler and current New York Jet Santonio Holmes at 5/1. Wallace was held to 20 yards receiving in last week’s win over Baltimore but had 102 yards receiving in a Week 15 loss to the Jets. Holmes, who was traded by Pittsburgh to New York last offseason, had 46 yards in the playoff-opening win over Indianapolis and just 20 last week against New England. He had 40 yards receiving in that Week 15 game vs. the Steelers.
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If you believe Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, he wants to bring back free agent Matt Hasselbeck as his starting quarterback next season. But a lot of things can happen in the offseason – especially this year with the labor uncertainty in the NFL – and Carroll traded for Charlie Whitehurst last offseason. So Bodog offers an NFL prop on who will be the Game 1 starter for Seattle for the 2011 season.
Hasselbeck is the +125 favorite. But he is 35 years old and struggled mightily at times this year. Hasselbeck missed only two games despite his age and threw for 3,001 yards but only 12 touchdowns to 17 interceptions for a rating of 73.2, which is about 10 points lower than his career mark. In one four-game stretch near the end of the season, Hasselbeck threw 10 interceptions. But he was good in the playoffs, throwing four touchdown passes in the wild-card upset over New Orleans and three more in the divisional round loss to Chicago. Those numbers against the Bears are a bit misleading as all of Seattle’s points came when the game was out of hand.
Carroll says Hasselbeck is the starter heading into the 2011 season, a job he has had since 2001. But Carroll tends to change his mind: He fired offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates this week after just a year on the job.
"I don't think there's any other way to look at it, yeah; he's our starting quarterback," Carroll said of Hasselbeck, adding re-signing the QB was his top priority. “But he won't be under contract for awhile so we have to figure that part out."
A free agent quarterback opened as the second-favorite at +150. That could mean guys like the Titans’ Vince Young or the Eagles’ Michael Vick, although Philly is expected to keep Vick. Another potential free agent is Matt Leinart, who of course starred for Carroll at USC.
Whitehurst is next on this prop at +200. He started two games and wasn’t great but wasn’t terrible. Whitehurst was the guy under center in Week 17 when the Seahawks beat the Rams to earn the NFC West title. Overall Whitehurst, who has only those two starts in his career, was 57-for-99 for 507 with two touchdowns and three interceptions and a rating of 65.5.
Finally, the last option on this prop is a 2011 draft pick starting the opener at +500. Seattle picks No. 25 in April’s draft and could target a QB like Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett or local boy Jake Locker of Washington. But neither rookie would likely be the opening-week starter.
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The NFL claims their sport is not reliant on gambling to drive its popularity. If that is true, then it seems awkward that the league would give two weeks off between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.
Around $100 million is wagered each year on the Super Bowl, and that is only at the sports books that are legal. Around the US, millions, if not billions, in bets will be made with local bookies. With that much money on the line, it seems only fair that the NFL would allow plenty of time for gamblers to study for the big game.
Betting on the Super Bowl now is different than it was thirty years ago. With many bettors placing their wagers at online sports books, the variety of betting options has grown to unbelievable proportions. No longer is it just the game itself that gamblers are placing bets on.
Proposition bets have become more popular than the game at some sports books. Las Vegas sports books offer odds on everything from how many punts there will be in the game, to whether the coin flip will land on heads or tails. Each player in the game now has bets that can be placed on individual performance.
Gamblers who watch several different sports can bet on a quarterback to have more completions than an NBA player has points on Super Bowl Sunday. The list of proposition bets is in the hundreds at some sports books.
So while all of this growth has taken place at the same time that the NFL has experienced a spike in popularity, the league still refuses to acknowledge that gambling is the driving force behind its sport, at least not publicly. The two weeks off between the conference title games and the Super Bowl, however, indicates that behind closed doors, the NFL understands how important the gamblers are.
As usual, the NFL Pro Bowl this season is more about what players aren’t going to be available in the game as opposed to the exhibition game itself – bet on it with Bodog’s NFL odds; the NFC has opened as a slight favorite.
The NFL last year played the Pro Bowl the week before the Super Bowl, although it was held in the Super city in 2010 (Miami). This year the game is again the week before the Super Bowl but has been moved back to Honolulu, where it had been held for decades before last season.
Also like last year, no Super Bowl competitors who were named Pro Bowlers will play considering they have more important things to do. That eliminates 10 players from Sunday’s game: Green Bay’s Clay Matthews, Charles Woodson, Chad Clifton, Nick Collins, Greg Jennings and Tramon Williams, as well as Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, Brett Keisel and Maurkice Pouncey.
Several other players who were named to the game have withdrawn due to injury, including AFC starting quarterback Tom Brady. He has been replaced by his former New England backup, the Chiefs’ Matt Cassel, but San Diego’s Philip Rivers will start the game. Indy’s Peyton Manning also will play. He was selected to his ninth consecutive Pro Bowl, joining Brett Favre (11) as the only quarterbacks selected to at least 11 Pro Bowls.
Philly’s Michael Vick was named the NFC starting QB and he will play. The Saints’ Drew Brees also is expected to suit up even though he played much of this season through the same type of injury (torn MCL) that knocked the Bears' Jay Cutler out of Sunday's NFC Championship Game.
This game is usually close and high scoring (who wants to play defense, after all?), with only one of the past five being decided by double digits. In fact, since it was renamed the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, each conference has won 20 times. The AFC tied it at 20 with last year’s 41-34 victory. Houston QB Matt Schaub was the MVP despite not even originally being on the active roster. Schaub was the AFC's first alternate at quarterback when the Pro Bowl rosters were released. He claimed a spot on the roster when Brady and Rivers pulled out of the game and Manning was unable to participate because of the Super Bowl. Schaub finished 13 of 17 for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Only one player in Pro Bowl history has won back-to-back MVPs, Oakland’s Rich Gannon, but Schaub won’t get the chance to join him as he wasn’t selected for the 2011 team. A defensive player has been named MVP just three times in the past 22 years.
The Atlanta Falcons have a league-high eight Pro Bowlers, the most in franchise history. John Abraham, Tony Gonzalez, Ovie Mughelli, Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Eric Weems, Roddy White and Tyson Clabo were picked. Atlanta coach Mike Smith and his staff will be coaching the NFC Pro Bowl team. New England’s Bill Belichick coaches the AFC.
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One of the most popular Super Bowl prop bets every year is the “first player to score a TD” offering, and for good reason. Bettors get to choose from 12-20 players or so as to who will get in the end zone first, and the prices on many of those players can be tempting.
This is a Super Bowl prop bet that NFL handicappers might want to do a little shopping on. Generally the boards are going to look similar, with running backs and wide receivers topping the betting, but there will be variations, and possibly something to take advantage of. For example, Pittsburgh WR Hines Ward is listed at +800 to score the first Super Bowl TD at BetUS, but he's getting +1,000 at Bookmaker and 12/1 at Bodog.
It’s now all but certain that Pittsburgh center Maurkice Pouncey, who was elected to the Pro Bowl as a rookie out of Florida, will miss next Sunday’s Super Bowl XLV against Green Bay. The Steelers are 3-point underdogs on Bodog’s NFL odds.
Pouncey suffered a high ankle sprain on Pittsburgh’s opening drive of the AFC Championship Game loss to the Jets. That alone made him unlikely to play in the Super Bowl, despite Pouncey declaring after the game he expected to play, as high ankle sprains generally take 4-6 weeks to recover from. But now comes a report that Pouncey has a broken bone in his left ankle along with the high ankle sprain.
The team hasn’t ruled him out of the game but Pouncey’s teammates already expect that he is out. On Wednesday starting left guard Chris Kemoeatu told reporters that Pouncey was not going to play in the Super Bowl. Kemoeatu backed off those comments Thursday.
Assuming Pouncey can’t go, Doug Legursky would get the start. Legursky replaced Pouncey against the Jets and helped the Steelers rush for 166 yards. But there were also two botched center exchanges with QB Ben Roethlisberger, with one ending up in a safety for the Jets. Pouncey and right tackle Flozell Adams were the only players to start every game this season on the offensive line for the Steelers. Legursky will be the fourth change at four of the five offensive line positions this year. He did start four games at right guard this season and also has been used as a blocking back on some goal-line plays. Trai Essex would be Legursky’s backup at center.
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There are hundreds of props on Bodog’s NFL odds for next Sunday’s Super Bowl XLV, and three of the most popular ones are which player will score the first touchdown overall and for each team. You can check out the Pittsburgh Steelers story on this prop elsewhere on the Beat, while for the Green Bay Packers the odds-on favorite to score the first TD is receiver Greg Jennings, who opened at 7/2.
It’s a bit unusual that a receiver would be ahead of a running back to score a team’s first touchdown, but that just tells you how high-powered the Green Bay passing offense can be under quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Jennings has been terrific in the past two playoff games, totaling 16 catches for 231 yards but he hasn’t found the end zone. And in the playoff opener he was held to just one catch (no TDs) for 8 yards. Overall Jennings has scored just once in Green Bay’s past seven games.
The second-favorite on this prop is running back James Starks, who opened at 5/1. Starks barely played in the regular season, seeing action in only three games, and didn’t score. In the playoffs he has been a workhorse with 70 carries for 263 yards. He has found the end zone just once, coming in last week’s NFC Championship Game against the Bears. But Starks didn’t get the Packers’ first touchdown against Chicago, instead that came courtesy of a Rodgers 1-yard scramble. Rodgers opened at 7/1 on this prop – remember, he has to score on a rush (or reception) as passing for a TD doesn’t count. Rodgers rushed for four touchdowns during the regular season and has scored in Green Bay’s past two playoff games. But the Pack have been spreading out the first score in the postseason, with Rodgers getting it against the Bears, Jordy Nelson scoring first on a reception against the Atlanta Falcons and seldom-used Tom Crabtree getting it done against the Philadelphia Eagles. Crabtree hasn’t even played since then.
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One of the hundreds of props on Bodog’s NFL odds for next Sunday’s Super Bowl XLV is which player will score the first touchdown overall and for each team. And the odds-on favorite to reach the end zone first for the Pittsburgh Steelers is running back Rashard Mendenhall, who opened at 5/2 odds.
It’s a no-brainer that Mendenhall is the favorite as the Steelers are a running team first and foremost and the former Illinois star led the team with 13 touchdowns during the regular season. Mendenhall has been finding the end zone often of late, as he has scored at least once in Pittsburgh’s past five games. Twice he has reached the end zone twice, in Week 16 against Carolina and in the divisional round against Baltimore. Just don’t look for Mendenhall to score on a reception as he’s not much of a threat out of the backfield with only 23 catches for 167 yards and no scores this season.
In those past five games, Mendenhall scored the team’s first touchdown twice – both coming in the playoff victories on 1-yard runs. Meanwhile, receiver Mike Wallace is the second-favorite on this prop, opening at 7/2. Wallace easily led Pittsburgh in receiving touchdowns with 10 this season. And using the past five games again as a barometer, Wallace scored Pittsburgh’s first touchdown twice: on a 43-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger in Week 16 against Carolina and a 56-yard pass from Big Ben in the regular-season finale against Cleveland. Wallace has yet to find the end zone in the playoffs, however, and has been held very much in check with just four total catches for 26 yards.
Tight end Heath Miller and receiver Hines Ward are next after Mendenhall and Wallace. Miller had two touchdowns in the regular season and Ward had five. Ward did score in the playoff win over the Ravens, as did Miller.
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The Super Bowl 45 participants have been getting ready for the game next week with the NFL Experience 2011 taking place this week just before the big game. The week long event let's kids and adults take in the game of football and start the hype for Super Bowl XLV.
The Super Bowl 45 participants have been getting ready for the game next week with the NFL Experience 2011 taking place this week just before the big game. The week long event let's kids and adults take in the game of football and start the hype for Super Bowl XLV.
Startting on Thursday, January 27, the league will run the event with games, displays, attractions and even player appearances with much of the proceeds benefiting local youth football programs.
Saturday has many events including a referee clinic, NFL Players autograph signings, Coaches chat, and a memorabilia show for fans in attendance.
Sunday showcases the NFL PLAY 60 youth football clinic, football 101 and a NFL Player reading.
Tickets can be purchased for the event online and for more information just proceed to the NFL website.
By the end of the weekend, heads were spinning at Las Vegas sports books as one of the craziest betting weekends in playoff history took place. The majority of the shock came on Saturday when the Seattle Seahawks upset the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.
The Seahawks were an unprecedented 10.5 point underdog at home. Seattle had a 7-9 record coming into the game, and few analysts gave them a chance of keeping the game close. The Seahawks not only kept the game close, but they pulled off perhaps the second greatest update in NFL history.
The night game Saturday brought yet another underdog victory. The New York Jets, despite having a better record than Indianapolis, were underdogs to the Colts. The jets played their typical low scoring affair and booked their trip to New England after winning in Indianapolis.
On Sunday, the early game was the only one of the four this weekend that went as many analysts had predicted. The Baltimore Ravens, also a road team, had little trouble with a young Kansas City team. The Chiefs turned the ball over five times, and that led to an easy Baltimore victory and a date with Pittsburgh next week.
Philadelphia and Green Bay played the most compelling game of the weekend. The Eagles had numerous opportunities to win, but normally reliant kicker David Akers missed two field goals, and that proved to be the difference in a 21-16 Packers win. Green Bay will face top-seeded Atlanta next week, while Seattle will travel to Chicago.