Thursday, November 15, 2012

NFL Week 11: Win, Spread, Over/Under and Game Score Predictions

Welcome to another week of The Sports Savant NFL Picks, Week 11 Edition!


I survived Week 10 with a fairly standard 8-5-1 record and broke even on my spread picks at 7 a piece.  What continues to surprise is the RED HOT pace I'm on against the Over/Under.  Picking the winner is measured successfully at 63% or better, while the spread and over/under are designed to be 50/50 propositions.  Despite those odds, I continue to pick the over/under at a torrid 56.4% pace.  That doesn't seem like much over 50%, but that 6.4% is the difference of hundreds or thousands of dollars on the season if you've played all of my picks on the over/under in your betting books.  I'm still hovering just 0.3% under 50% against the spread so in just a couple of good weeks, I can be back in the black from the red in those bets.

The upside to last week was my 4 trifectas versus 0 strikeouts, so I didn't pick any game where I missed on all three betting props and picked all three correctly in 4 of the games.  I still need to improve upon my trifecta:strikeout ratio.  I'd like for it to be around 2 to 1, but as it is, it's 1.6 to 1 so it could use some improvement.

This week is mostly chalk, but in an interesting twist, I do have 4 favorites winning the game but not covering their respective spreads.  I think Vegas got a little greedy on a few favorites so we'll see how that ends up playing out.  I'm confident at least two of those games will end up as such, if not all of them. The most interesting of those games is the massive 15 point spread the Texans will try to cover versus the Jags.  They did beat them by 20 in Week 1, but I don't think it will happen twice.  Another I have is Baltimore beating Pittsburgh, but also not covering.  These games usually come right down to the wire and I will not be surprised to see a one point win by either team or at minimum, a FG to break a tie and win for Baltimore, which will not cover the 3.5 points.

Before we look at my picks for Week 11, let's take a look at how last weeks picks shaped up and my overall records for the 2012 NFL season...



*WEEK 10 RESULTS*


Winner: 8-5-1  
Winner w/ Spread: 7-7
Over/Under: 10-4
---------------------------------------------
Trifecta: 4
Strikeouts: 0
Perfect Team Score Predictions: 0
Perfect Game Score Predictions: 0
___________


*2012 Overall Record*
Winner: 94-51-1 (.648)
Winner w/ Spread: 71-72-3 (.497)
Over/Under: 79-61-6 (.564)
--------------------------------------------

Trifecta: 38
Strikeouts: 24
Perfect Team Score Predictions: 17   [Week 1]: New England  [Week 2]: Indianapolis, San Francisco [Week 3]: Chicago, Washington, New York(A)  [Week 4]: Cleveland, Philadelphia  [Week 5]: Green Bay, Seattle, San Diego  [Week 7]: St. Louis, Tampa Bay  [Week 9]: Miami, Tennessee, Green Bay, Arizona
Perfect Game Score Predictions: 1   [Week 9]: Arizona @ Green Bay

NOTE: The team with a negative number in parenthesis "(-3)" next to their name is the favorite to win the matchup and the number represents how many points the favorite has to score more than the underdog to count as a winning bet.  The over/under for the game is represented by a number in parenthesis with the letters o and u "(o/u 46)".  The number represents the amount of points you are wagering whether or not the two team's combined score will be in excess of or short of.  Official betting lines courtesy of www.footballlocks.com

LOCKS: Games that have a "*LOCK*" logo next to the score are my spread lock picks of the week.  I choose four games each week that I feel will be a lock to win the spread bet.  If I have an underdog winning against a favorite and it is a *LOCK* pick, it means it is a lock that the favorite will not cover the spread, not a lock that the underdog wins the game.

Don't forget to visit therealsportssavant.blogspot.com to check my game picks or right here on lastwordonsports.com at The Sports Savant channel.  And now for my Week 11, NFL picks...




Miami @ Buffalo(-2.5)  (o/u 45)
Savant Spread Pick: Miami to win ~ 27-23

Over/Under Pick: Over





Philadelphia @ Washington(-3.5)  (o/u 44)
Savant Spread Pick: Washington and the points to win ~ 27-23
Over/Under Pick: Over







Detroit v. Green Bay(-3)  (o/u 52)
Savant Spread Pick: Green Bay and the points to win ~ 28-20
Over/Under Pick: Under






Arizona @ Atlanta(-9.5)  (o/u 44)
Savant Spread Pick: Atlanta and the points to win ~ 27-17
Over/Under Pick: Over






Carolina v. Tampa Bay(-1.5)  (o/u 48)
Savant Spread Pick: Tampa Bay and the points to win ~ 27-21*LOCK*
Over/Under Pick: Over






Cleveland @ Dallas(-7.5)  (o/u 43.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Cleveland with the points; Dallas to win ~ 20-14
Over/Under Pick: Under






New York(A) @ St. Louis(-3.5)  (o/u 38.5)
Savant Spread Pick: St. Louis and the points to win ~ 19-13 *LOCK*
Over/Under Pick: Under






Indianapolis @ New England(-9)  (o/u 54)
Savant Spread Pick: Indianapolis with the points; New England to win ~ 31-24
Over/Under Pick: Over






Jacksonville @ Houston(-15)  (o/u 40.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Jacksonville with the points; Houston to win ~ 27-13
Over/Under Pick: Under







Kansas City v. Cincinnati(-3.5)  (o/u 43.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Cincinnati and the points to win ~ 21-17
Over/Under Pick: Under






Oakland v. New Orleans(-5)  (o/u 54.5)
Savant Spread Pick: New Orleans and the points to win ~ 34-24
*LOCK*
Over/Under Pick: Over






San Diego @ Denver(-7.5)  (o/u 48.5)
Savant Spread Pick: San Diego with the points; Denver to win ~ 28-21
Over/Under Pick: Over






Pittsburgh v. Baltimore(-3.5)  (o/u 40)
Savant Spread Pick: Pittsburgh with the points; Baltimore to win ~ 17-16
Over/Under Pick: Under






Chicago @ San Francisco(-6)  (o/u 38)
Savant Spread Pick: San Francisco and the points to win ~ 23-17
*LOCK*
Over/Under Pick: Over

Thursday, November 8, 2012

NFL Week 10: Win, Spread, Over/Under and Game Score Predictions

Welcome to another week of The Sports Savant NFL Picks, Week 10 Edition!


Week 9 was an interesting week of very close matchups.  So close, in fact, that I took a number of underdogs to win games; more than I can ever remember taking in a single week.  The thought going in was that I would either end up a genius at the end of Sunday's games or I would have a miserable week of picks.  It turned out niether were the case as I had an above average week with about half of my underdog predictions panning out.  Others were very close to working, including the biggest upset pick, Dallas winning over Atlanta in the Georgia Dome.  But Atlanta made a great 4th quarter comeback and spoiled that Savant revelation.

It's never a bad week when I come out above .500 with my spread picks and coming in at 8-6 was good a solid result for my friends who use my picks to gamble.  The over/under was below par, as it can often be as fickle as it is, but if you like to play with fire, my over/under picks still stand as some of the best against anyone this year in the aggregate of 2012.

The real nice surprise behind my Week 9 picks was the addition of four perfect team score predictions, but even more impressive is what was my third perfect game score in the last season and a half of NFL game prognostications.  For the first time in 2012, I nailed a perfect game score, the 31-17 final between Green bay and Arizona.  If you can get the right odds on picking a perfect game score, I would highly suggest playing some of my exact score picks.  I pick a perfect game score well above the expected probability.

Before we look at my picks for Week 10, let's take a look at how last weeks picks shaped up and my overall records for the 2012 NFL season...



*WEEK 9 RESULTS*


Winner: 9-5  
Winner w/ Spread: 8-6
Over/Under: 5-7-2
---------------------------------------------
Trifecta: 4
Strikeouts: 3
Perfect Team Score Predictions: 4 (Green Bay, Arizona, Miami, Tennessee)
Perfect Game Score Predictions: 1 (Arizona @ Green Bay)
___________


*2012 Overall Record*
Winner: 86-46 (.652)
Winner w/ Spread: 64-65-3 (.496)
Over/Under: 69-57-6 (.543)
--------------------------------------------

Trifecta: 34
Strikeouts: 24
Perfect Team Score Predictions: 17   [Week 1]: New England  [Week 2]: Indianapolis, San Francisco [Week 3]: Chicago, Washington, New York(A)  [Week 4]: Cleveland, Philadelphia  [Week 5]: Green Bay, Seattle, San Diego  [Week 7]: St. Louis, Tampa Bay  [Week 9]: Miami, Tennessee, Green Bay, Arizona
Perfect Game Score Predictions: 1   [Week 9]: Arizona @ Green Bay

NOTE: The team with a negative number in parenthesis "(-3)" next to their name is the favorite to win the matchup and the number represents how many points the favorite has to score more than the underdog to count as a winning bet.  The over/under for the game is represented by a number in parenthesis with the letters o and u "(o/u 46)".  The number represents the amount of points you are wagering whether or not the two team's combined score will be in excess of or short of.  Official betting lines courtesy of www.footballlocks.com

LOCKS: Games that have a "*LOCK*" logo next to the score are my spread lock picks of the week.  I choose four games each week that I feel will be a lock to win the spread bet.  If I have an underdog winning against a favorite and it is a *LOCK* pick, it means it is a lock that the favorite will not cover the spread, not a lock that the underdog wins the game.

Don't forget to visit therealsportssavant.blogspot.com to check my game picks or right here on lastwordonsports.com at The Sports Savant channel.  And now for my Week 10, NFL picks...




Jacksonville v. Indianapolis(-3.5)  (o/u 42.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Jacksonville to win ~ 21-17
Over/Under Pick: Under






Buffalo @ New England(-11)  (o/u 52)
Savant Spread Pick: New England and the points to win ~ 42-23 *LOCK*
Over/Under Pick: Over






Cincinnati @ New York(N)(-4)  (o/u 48.5)
Savant Spread Pick: New York(N) and the points to win ~ 26-20
Over/Under Pick: Under






San Diego @ Tampa Bay(-3)  (o/u 47.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Tampa Bay and the points to win ~ 27-23
Over/Under Pick: Over







Carolina v. Denver(-4)  (o/u 47)
Savant Spread Pick: Denver and the points to win ~ 29-21
Over/Under Pick: Over






Tennessee @ Miami(-6)  (o/u 44)
Savant Spread Pick: Tennessee with the points; Miami to win ~ 26-21
Over/Under Pick: Over






Oakland @ Baltimore(-7.5)  (o/u 46)
Savant Spread Pick: Baltimore and the points to win ~ 26-17
Over/Under Pick: Under






New Orleans v. Atlanta(-2.5)  (o/u 53.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Atlanta and the points to win ~ 30-24
Over/Under Pick: Over






Minnesota v. Detroit(-2.5)  (o/u 47)
Savant Spread Pick: Detroit and the points to win ~ 31-21
Over/Under Pick: Over






New York(A) @ Seattle(-6)  (o/u 38.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Seattle and the points to win ~ 19-10 *LOCK*
Over/Under Pick: Under






Philadelphia v. Dallas(-1.5)  (o/u 44.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Dallas and the points to win ~ 23-20
Over/Under Pick: Under






St. Louis @ San Francisco(-11.5)  (o/u 38.5)
Savant Spread Pick: San Francisco and the points to win ~ 29-10 *LOCK*
Over/Under Pick: Over






Houston @ Chicago(-1)  (o/u 41)
Savant Spread Pick: Houston to win ~ 19-17
Over/Under Pick: Under






Kansas City @ Pittsburgh(-12.5)  (o/u 42)
Savant Spread Pick: Pittsburgh and the points to win ~ 31-16 *LOCK*
Over/Under Pick: Over

Thursday, November 1, 2012

NFL Week 9: Win, Spread, Over/Under and Game Score Predictions

Welcome to another week of The Sports Savant NFL Picks, Week 9 Edition!


Last week presented itself to be quite a challenge as I was humbled coming off of a nearly perfect 12-1 Week 7 only to follow up with a very average 8-6 on my Week 8 picks.  The silver lining was the continuation of my streak of having never picked below .500 on any week of picks since I started publishing every game pick of every week in 2011.  The other good news was that I at least salvaged a .500 record against the spread, which is far more difficult to get right.  It wasn't a winning week, but at least it was a break even week.  I can't say the same for the over/under as I came up a game shy of .500 but I am still hot handed on the over/under picks on the year maintaining 55.6% accuracy.  With my 77-41 record in picks to win in 2012, I still stand in 3rd place amongst ESPN's twelve man expert panel, with Chris Mortenson and Chris Wickersham still leading the charge at 82-36 and 83-35, respectively.

My week wrapped up with three trifectas and four strikeouts keeping my trifecta to strikeout ratio around 3 to 2 at 30-21.  The goal is to have a 2 to 1 ratio for the year so I have work to do there.  My seven trifecta week in Week 7 really helped the cause.  I need another week like that one to get myself back near the goal, but the more likely solution will be to keep chipping away with a great second half of the season.

As challenging as last week was, this week may prove to be as challenging or more.  As usual there was a lot of chalk in my picks, but I dared to take FOUR road underdogs this week(Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Philadelphia) and a home dog(Cleveland).  These games will be the biggest difference in a big week of picks or hovering around .500.  I've got a good feeling about this week.

Before we look at my picks for Week 9, let's take a look at how last weeks picks shaped up and my overall records for the 2012 NFL season...



*WEEK 8 RESULTS*


Winner: 8-6  
Winner w/ Spread: 7-7
Over/Under: 6-7-1
---------------------------------------------
Trifecta: 3
Strikeouts: 4
Perfect Team Score Predictions: 0
Perfect Game Score Predictions: 0
___________


*2012 Overall Record*
Winner: 77-41 (.652)
Winner w/ Spread: 56-59-3 (.487)
Over/Under: 64-50-4 (.556)
--------------------------------------------

Trifecta: 30
Strikeouts:21
Perfect Team Score Predictions: 13   [Week 1]: New England  [Week 2]: Indianapolis, San Francisco [Week 3]: Chicago, Washington, New York(A)  [Week 4]: Cleveland, Philadelphia  [Week 5]: Green Bay, Seattle, San Diego  [Week 5]: St. Louis, Tampa Bay
Perfect Game Score Predictions: 0


NOTE: The team with a negative number in parenthesis "(-3)" next to their name is the favorite to win the matchup and the number represents how many points the favorite has to score more than the underdog to count as a winning bet.  The over/under for the game is represented by a number in parenthesis with the letters o and u "(o/u 46)".  The number represents the amount of points you are wagering whether or not the two team's combined score will be in excess of or short of.  Official betting lines courtesy of www.footballlocks.com

LOCKS: Games that have a "*LOCK*" logo next to the score are my spread lock picks of the week.  I choose four games each week that I feel will be a lock to win the spread bet.  If I have an underdog winning against a favorite and it is a *LOCK* pick, it means it is a lock that the favorite will not cover the spread, not a lock that the underdog wins the game.

Don't forget to visit therealsportssavant.blogspot.com to check my game picks or right here on lastwordonsports.com at The Sports Savant channel.  And now for my Week 9, NFL picks...




Kansas City @ San Diego(-7.5)  (o/u 41.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Kansas City with the points; San Diego to win ~ 23-16
Over/Under Pick: Under






Cincinnati v. Denver(-3.5)  (o/u 47.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Denver and the points to win ~ 24-20 *LOCK*
Over/Under Pick: Under






Arizona @ Green Bay(-10.5)  (o/u 43.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Green Bay and the points to win ~ 31-17
Over/Under Pick: Over







Indianapolis v. Miami(-2)  (o/u 43)
Savant Spread Pick: Miami and the points to win ~ 20-17
Over/Under Pick: Under






Cleveland v. Baltimore(-3.5)  (o/u 42.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Cleveland to win ~ 20-17
Over/Under Pick: Under






Buffalo @ Houston(-10)  (o/u 47.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Houston and the points to win ~ 37-21
*LOCK*
Over/Under Pick: Over






Carolina @ Washington(-3)  (o/u 46.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Washington and the points to win ~ 27-21
Over/Under Pick: Over






Jacksonville v. Detroit(-4)  (o/u 44)
Savant Spread Pick: Detroit and the points to win ~ 28-17

Over/Under Pick: Under






Tennessee v. Chicago(-3.5)  (o/u 43.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Chicago and the points to win ~ 24-20
Over/Under Pick: Over






Minnesota @ Seattle(-4.5)  (o/u 38.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Seattle and the points to win ~ 23-16
*LOCK*
Over/Under Pick: Over





Tampa Bay @ Oakland(-1.5)  (o/u 46.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Tampa Bay to win ~ 26-21
Over/Under Pick: Over






Pittsburgh @ New York(N)(-3)  (o/u 47.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Pittsburgh to win ~ 27-24
*LOCK*
Over/Under Pick: Over





Dallas @ Atlanta(-4)  (o/u 47.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Dallas to win ~ 28-27
Over/Under Pick: Over







Philadelphia @ New Orleans(-3)  (o/u 51.5)
Savant Spread Pick: Philadelphia to win ~ 29-23
Over/Under Pick: Over