Online Betting Overview

The Dallas Cowboys are entering a new season, but it has to feel a lot like the out of control season they had last year. Prior to training camp last season, the Cowboys had issues in the defensive secondary and on the offensive line that the team never addressed. The Cowboys drafted a couple of players, but they relied on what they already had to try and bolster a weak offensive line and defensive secondary. This year, the song remains the same for Dallas as they enter the preseason with questions on the offensive line and in the defensive secondary. Rather than getting experienced players to fill in the gaps, the Cowboys are hoping that rookies and depth chart players can be NFL starters by the beginning of the season.

The NFL betting lines on the San Diego Chargers remain strong despite having problems in the preseason opener in Seattle. The Chargers are also trying out a lot of new players on offense and defense, and to expect a cohesive unit after only one preseason game is unreasonable. But the Chargers’ starters looked good against Seattle, and the second string was not bad. The Chargers lack depth past the starting line-up, which could hurt them as the season rolls on.

Dallas Cowboys

With the Cowboys trying to plug rookies and career back-ups into starting positions, the depth chart in Dallas is in trouble. The offensive line still does not have consistent price per head line-up, and every day that the Cowboys do not solidify their starting offensive line is one more day that unit will not be able to work together. To run the ball and protect the passer, the Cowboys need to have an offensive line in place soon. In this game, it looks like the Cowboys will continue to move players around trying to find that one winning combination. But that still leaves a severe lack of depth once you get past the starters. The defensive secondary, already racked with injuries, is experiencing the same depth problem as the offensive line.

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers are in no hurry to get things right this season. San Diego will try all of their rookies and depth players three and four times before deciding who to let go and who to keep. Last season it was a lack of discipline and bad special teams play that kept the Chargers out of the playoffs. This year, the Chargers want to have the best offense and defense in football, and then use that to go deep into the playoffs.

The Bottom Line

The betonline reviews of the Cowboys personnel moves to this point have been questionable. The Cowboys spent so much time and effort trying to sign cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha that they let other good corners come off the board. This game will be a test of the depth chart of both teams. While San Diego still has some work to do to make their team more competitive and injury-resistant, their roster still looks a far cry better in most places than the Cowboys’ roster does.

Pick: San Diego Chargers

Online Betting Overview

Two of the more unpredictable teams in the NFL face off in the opening day of the NFL preseason. The Dallas Cowboys addressed some of their key personnel needs in the off-season, but not all of them. Offensive linemen Tyron Smith and David Arkin are 2011 draft picks that look to be the starting guards on the Cowboys’ offensive line for the regular season. It will be up to veteran tackles Kyle Kosier and Doug Free to mentor the two young linemen and get them ready for the season. The only move the Cowboys made on defense was hiring defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. But the Cowboys are still expecting different results from the same players..

If you bet online football games, then you are probably aware of the drama playing out in Denver so far this preseason. Before he even watch either quarterback take a single snap from center, new head coach John Fox named Kyle Orton the starter. The problem for Denver fans is that Orton is a calm and collected professional. He racks up huge numbers but does so without alerting the media. Tim Tebow’s attitude reminds fans more of the old John Elway days when there were media sound bites coming out of the Denver locker room every day. Tebow is not happy about being named the backup without having a chance to compete for the starting job, and he is telling anyone who will listen how unhappy he is.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys offense should be improved this season so long as the two rookie guards work out and new number one running back Felix Jones can stay healthy. NCAA football betting experts remember the potential Jones showed in college. Now he has his chance to bring that potential to the professional level. Wide receiver Dez Bryant will be teamed up with number one receiver Miles Austin to create a potent air attack. Cowboys’ fans are just wondering if quarterback Tony Romo will finally break out this year and live up to the hype that Dallas has surrounded him with, or if it will be another let-down year for the Cowboys’ QB.

Denver Broncos

New head coach John Fox is not making things easy on Denver fans. With all of the running backs that were available in free agency, the Broncos pick veteran Willis McGahee to run along side the disappointing Knowshon Moreno. The Broncos could have used a power running back to offset the speed of Moreno and keep defenses on their guard. But they settled for the straight-ahead style of McGahee. The quarterback situation in Denver did not get any better when it was revealed that the Broncos were seriously considering trading Orton prior to the opening of training camp. Obviously no one in Denver learns lessons from past mistakes and the new head coach just gives out the same misinformation as the previous one did.

The Bottom Line

One thing the Cowboys are is fairly deep on their roster. The second and third strings in Dallas will match up very well with the betonline confusion going on in Denver. The Broncos have some very good players, but poor coaching will cost the Broncos again in 2011.

Pick: Dallas Cowboys

As the rapid-fire free agency period for the NFL starts to cool down, teams are taking inventory of the moves they have made. When the draft was over and the lockout was still on, some teams looked like they were going to have to rely on rookie quarterbacks when the season started. But sports betting experts have watched some interesting moves being made by teams that needed veteran quarterbacks. Now the league will have to see if those moves will pan out, or if the rookies will have to step in and save the day.

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans impressed online casino football betting fans with the way in which they addressed their quarterback issues. The Kerry Collins-Vince Young era is over in Tennessee, and now Titans fans will watch as the Matt Hasselbeck-Jake Locker era begins.

Locker is not a cocky quarterback, and he has not indicated that he will compete hard for the starting job. Hasselbeck still has a couple of years in him, and Locker appears content to learn as much as possible from the former Super Bowl contender. The Titans have a young group of receivers that Hasselbeck can also have a positive impact on. All in all, the Titans made some solid moves at the quarterback position that should help the team in the long run.

Minnesota Vikings

When Christian Ponder was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, it was unknown as to whether he would be the team’s number one quarterback or not. Since there was no real competition on the roster at the time thanks to the lockout, Ponder expected to start. When the Vikings signed veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb, Ponder publicly said that he still expects to start. The general price per head consensus is that Ponder needs to feel lucky that he gets the chance to learn from McNabb, and start taking in as much as possible from the former NFC Champion. The Vikings like Ponder’s competitive spirit, but they will undoubtedly take Ponder aside and ask him to learn from McNabb.

Denver Broncos

The one thing that Broncos fans can take as solace with their team’s situation is that at least the Broncos did not draft a high profile rookie quarterback. Prior to the lockout, before even getting a chance to see all three of his quarterbacks perform, new Denver head coach John Fox announced that Kyle Orton is the starter. Once the lockout ended, Kyle Orton promptly went on the trading block. To say that the betonline Broncos fans are concerned about the stability of their coaching staff and quarterback situation would be an understatement. Orton is still listed as the starter and getting first team reps in practice. But with all of the trade talk going on, many people are starting to wonder if Tim Tebow will start getting first team work as well. No one has even mentioned Brady Quinn yet, but he is in that mix as well and waiting for his chance at the starting job.

Now that the NFL lockout is over, sports betting fans are wondering what kind of schedule the NFL will follow. Online casino wagering sites are getting anxious to see what kind of free agent movement happens and who will be on which NFL rosters when the season opens in September. Let’s take a sportsbook promo look at the break-neck pace that the NFL will follow as it works its way towards the betonline opening day.

Monday July 25

On July 25, the list of free agents was released and negotiations can unofficially begin. No team is allowed to sign free agents just yet, and that includes their own free agents. But the list has been released and the lockout has been lifted. That means that players can begin talking to each other, and their agents, about potential new teams for the 2011 season.

Tuesday July 26

Teams opened their facilities on Tuesday, and classroom work can begin. This is a huge relief to teams such as the Dallas Cowboys who have a new coaching staff that has yet to meet the players. Some player signings can begin as teams need to be at 90 players by the end of the week for the opening of training camp. Teams can sign undrafted free agents and draft picks at this point. This is also the day when free agent negotiations can officially begin. Do not be surprised if some teams accuse others of tampering because many teams started talking to free agents on Monday. Teams can also begin trading players today, but there has been no official time set for the opening of the trading period. So trades can theoretically take place as early as 12:01 AM EST.

Wednesday July 27

Training camp officially opens for 10 NFL teams. The opening of training camps is spread out from Wednesday to Saturday. The schedule is 10 teams open camp today, 10 more tomorrow, 10 more on Friday and then the final two on Saturday.

Thursday July 28

Training camps continue to open and the waiver period begins. The accelerated training camp schedule puts extra pressure on the coaches because the 90-man roster has to be trimmed down much quicker than normal. Even though training camps have just opened for 20 teams, and are yet to open for 12 more, teams can begin waiving players and terminating contracts today.

Friday July 29

At 6:00 pm EST today, all chaos will break loose in the NFL as the free agency signing period officially begins. In true NFL fashion, the free agency period opens Friday evening as opposed to noon so that the signings can become breaking news on every sports channel as America sits down to dinner. The free agent class this year is not as impressive as past years, but the drama the lockout has created with the shortened schedule will make this free agency period one of the more interesting in NFL history for fans and for players as well.

The sports betting world is estimating that NFL teams will have from July 25 to August 2 to sign free agents. Before the NFL betting lines can even open on the 2011 pre-season, each team must have 90 players on the roster and several teams are way below that mark. The NFL free agency period and the beginning of the NCAA football betting season will coincide this year, and that will make for a very busy time for football fans. Let’s take a look at some of the top NFL picks for free agency this year and see where those players may wind up.

Nnamdi Asomugha – CB – Oakland Raiders

Nnamdi Asomugha is the most highly coveted free agent in this year’s class, and he has several teams interested in signing him. Tops among those interested teams are the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and New England Patriots. Asomugha is going to make any defense better, and if the Patriots get him then that will easily make New England the pre-season favorite to win Super Bowl XLVI. The new CBA will help dictate how much money Asomugha gets and what kinds of contract terms he will see, but he will see his big payday in 2011.

Gerald Sensabaugh – S – Dallas Cowboys

The lockout backfired on the Cowboys as they never had time to tie-up safety Gerald Sensabaugh into a long-term deal. Now Dallas will have to compete with a bunch of other teams to see who finally signs Sensabaugh. The Cowboys will do whatever they can to retain the safety, mostly because the defensive backfield is one of the weakest parts of the Cowboys’ team.

Terrell Owens – WR – Cincinnati Bengals

Terrell Owens claims he will be fully recovered from ACL surgery by August. That would give him only four months to recover from an injury that should take a year to heal. Owens’ football career may be over as there are not may teams knocking on his door. At least he has his television show to keep himself busy.

Tavaris Jackson – QB – Minnesota Vikings

Tavaris Jackson was mistreated in Minnesota, and he cannot get out of town fast enough. Jackson was never given the chance to blossom into the starting quarterback he believes he can be. Some team (the Oakland Raiders?) will want Jackson, and it will be extremely happy with the results that Jackson produces as a starter in the NFL.

Braylon Edwards – WR – New York Jets

There probably will not be room on the Jets roster for Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards. Edwards’ inability to stay out of trouble will probably make him expendable. Edwards would be more of a coveted free agent if he could just focus on football and stay out of nightclubs. But his attitude and behavioral problems will narrow down the number of potential teams he can sign with.

Brady Quinn – QB – Denver Broncos

Brady Quinn was given a chance in Cleveland and could not play well. So he was shipped to Denver where he is the third-string quarterback. Quinn still believes he can be a starter in the NFL, but it may be difficult to find a team that agrees with him.

The prevailing wisdom among sports betting experts is that a new NFL collective bargaining agreement would be in place in time to open training camps in August. In June, while other sports fans were looking to bet on MLB baseball, it was announced by the NFL owners’ lawyers that if an agreement could be put on paper by July 21, then it could be ratified in time to get training camp under way. At that time, the only football sports fans thought they would see in August was college football betting. The players and owners seemed as far apart as ever.

The NFL picks from the 2011 draft only had one day, the 24-hour period when the lockout was lifted, to talk to coaches and get a team playbook. The draft class of 2011 was the group that stood to suffer the most without training camp opening on time. But the players and the owners have both expressed confidence in a deal getting done, in principle, by July 21.

The issue that is holding up the agreements is free agency for rookies. Both sides have already agreed to cut rookie pay in half to try and get contracts under control. But the players want rookies to become free agents after four years and the owners want five years. Neither side has indicated that this issue will prevent a deal in principle by the July 21 deadline. However, the players have indicated that they have made several concessions in this new CBA that they were forced to make to get a deal done in time.

The timeline of this year’s off-season is condensed thanks to the lockout, and fans can expect a flurry of activity once the new CBA is ratified by July 21st. The first order of business for every team is to bring rosters up to 90 players by August 2^nd and have restricted free agents signed to offer sheets by August 3rd.

Undrafted rookie free agents need to be signed by July 25^th. That is also the deadline for unrestricted free agents to accept contracts from their existing teams. Free agency would open on July 28, and each team will have five days to sign enough players to reach 90 for a full training camp roster. Training camps will open on August 3, but restricted free agents and franchise players do not need to be signed until August 16^th.

The league is confident that all pre-season games will be played as scheduled. But one game that may not take place is the August 7^th Hall of Fame game in Canton, OH between the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Rams. The players and owners still have to discuss whether or not they think that it is a good idea to play a game after only four days of training camp. Regardless of whether or not the game takes place, the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will take place as scheduled.

Sports betting experts were looking for the New Orleans Saints to dominate the NFC for years after their victory in Super Bowl XLIV. But the Saints are slowly fading away and the NFC landscape is changing rapidly. Online casino experts are finding it difficult to pin down a real favorite in the NFC, even though the Green Bay Packers are defending Super Bowl champions. Let’s take a sportsbook promo look at the top teams in the NFC for 2011 and see what our NFL pick will be for the 2011-2012 NFC Championship.

Green Bay Packers (Odds to win NFC Championship: 4/1)

While there is not a clear-cut dominant NFC team, the Packers are really close. The entire Packers team returns for the 2011 season, and that is really bad news for the rest of the NFC. The Packers are healthy and ready to defend their Super Bowl title. The only thing that is concerning Packers’ fans is the relaxed way in which the Packers are treating their new-found success. The Packers are really not doing off-season workouts like other teams are, and they are not getting together to work on timing. If the lockout ends soon, then head coach Mike McCarthy will get his team ready for the season. But if the lockout shortens training camp and the preseason, then the Packers may find themselves getting off to a slow start in 2011.

Atlanta Falcons (Odds to win NFC Championship: 5/1)

Rookie wide receiver Julio Jones has the opportunity to make the Atlanta Falcons a top contender in the NFC for many years to come. The combination of quarterback Matt Ryan, running back Michael Turner, wide receiver Roddy White and wide receiver Julio Jones could be just the offensive combination that the Falcons need. On defense, the Falcons need some size up front to help stop the run. But the way the Falcons sit now, they will be one of the teams to challenge the Packers for NFC supremacy.

Philadelphia Eagles (Odds to win NFC Championship: 7/1)

Even though it looked like the NFC teams had figured out Michael Vick and the Eagles offense by the end of the 2010-2011 season, there is still way too much talent on this Philadelphia team to count them out. Vick likes to use his legs when deciding on offensive options, but he is starting to learn the value of staying in the pocket. The 2010-2011 season was a year of transition for the Philadelphia Eagles. When the team takes the field in 2011-2012, they will be ready to compete at the highest levels.

Detroit Lions (Odds to win NFC Championship: 30/1)

Maybe picking the Lions to compete for the NFC Championship in 2011-2012 is a bit of a stretch, but this team is on the rise. When the 2011-2012 season starts, the Lions will be completely healthy and that means quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Jahvid Best will be ready to compete. When you include wide receiver Calvin Johnson in that equation, you have that offensive trio that every team dreams about. The Detroit defense was just establishing itself as a dominant force when the season ended last year. Detroit may not win the NFC in 2011-2012, but they will make the playoffs and be a force in the NFC for many years.

Pick to win NFC Championship in 2011-2012: Green Bay Packers

You don’t have to tell MLB betting players that when San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum is on his game, he is one of the hardest pitchers in baseball to hit, and he proved it in his last start. “The Freak” will lead the Giants out on Wednesday night against the Cubs in Chicago, and the folks at Wrigley Field could be treated to a show.

Giants Cubs Betting – Wednesday, 8:05 PM ET

Lincecum (6-6, 3.16) tossed seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball in a 2-1 win over Minnesota at home, striking out 12 and walking a pair of Twins along the way. It was the best outing in a month for Lincecum, who had been having problems with his command and was coming off a five-walk performance, but even online horse betting players know that you have to stick with your leading thoroughbred, and Lincecum showed the form that earned him back-to-back Cy Young awards in 2008 and 2009. The 27-year-old righty is 3-3 in seven career starts against the Cubs with a 3.50 ERA, and he’s been spectacular at Wrigley with a 2-0 record in three starts and a 1.69 ERA. Lincecum is also 4-4 in nine starts on the road with an ERA of 2.67.

Ryan Dempster (5-6, 5.31) is now winless in three starts after a no-decision in a 6-4 win in Kansas City, allowing four runs (two earned) on nine hits over six innings of work, along with four strikeouts and a walk. His record should be better as Dempster is fifth in the National League in run support, but when you’re allowing the opposition to hit .287 off of you and you give up 14 homers (tied for sixth in the league), things aren’t going to go your way. The 34-year-old righthander is 5-8 in 24 games (14 starts) against the Giants, posting a 4.65 ERA, and he also has four saves. Dempster is 3-4 in nine starts at home in 2011 with a 4.21 ERA.

MLB betting odds could find the Giants as a slight favorite on the road in Chicago, where they had split their last 10 meetings with the Cubs heading into Tuesday’s series opener, and six of the games have gone under the posted total. Lincecum beat Dempster and the Cubs 4-2 at Wrigley Field in 2008, and that is a likely scenario because Dempster needs run support to be effective, and the Cubs may not get it against Lincecum, who is a better pitcher at 75% than Dempster is at 100%. Unless the Cubs can score at least six runs, they’re in trouble, and they won’t on Wednesday. Take San Francisco in your betting picks.