These are the new odds offered by sportsbooks on NFL teams making the playoffs. For those of you that don’t understand these numbers the math is easy, just imagine you bet $100 on any of these teams. The number next to the team would be the winnings you would make (roughly). With teams that have a minus number next to them, do the math the opposite way. For example: you’d win $200 if you bet $100 on the NY Jets and they made the playoffs, whereas you’d have to PUT UP $1200 to win $100 if the Patriots made the playoffs. A few teams stand out here and have good value on a return. I wouldn’t wager $100 on Houston, but to me they’re the best odds offered along with the Titans and 49er’s.
Odds to Make the NFL Playoffs
New England Patriots -1200
New York Jets 200
Buffalo Bills 300
Miami Dolphins 700
Baltimore Ravens 350
Cincinnati Bengals 175
Pittsburgh Steelers -140
Cleveland Browns 110
Indianapolis Colts -350
Tennessee Titans 300
Jacksonville Jaguars -115
Houston Texans 500
San Diego Chargers -450
Denver Broncos 160
Kansas City Chiefs 350
Oakland Raiders 400
Dallas Cowboys -190
Philadelphia Eagles 160
New York Giants 135
Washington Redskins 300
Chicago Bears 175
Green Bay Packers 110
Minnesota Vikings -105
Detroit Lions 250
New Orleans Saints -150
Carolina Panthers 135
Atlanta Falcons 700
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ev
Seattle Seahawks -250
San Francisco 49ers 400
Arizona Cardinals 135
St Louis Rams 250
7 Ways to Screw Up Your Fantasy Draft
7: Forget about bye weeks
There’s nothing worse than having 2 QB’s on the same bye week. After you draft your players, write down the week that team is off on a bye. When it’s time to draft your back-up players, look at the match-ups.
6: Drink your face off
Everybody loves draft day, but if your head’s not in it you’ll end up with a handful of bums and kickers.
5: Draft your favorite players
People tend to pick players based on teams they love and avoid players they hate. Unless you like wasting money, try to draft the best team and cheer for your favorite players on the side. The Cowboys and Patriots are great fantasy teams despite all the haters.
4: Underestimate the time of a draft
Some people try to squeeze a fantasy draft in between work or things to do. If you’re rushed you’ll make poor decisions.
3. Obsess over Running Backs
We all know how important a stud RB is, but Quarterbacks and Receivers are just as important. Try to take the best available player; you don’t need 3-4 superstar RB’s with Rex Grossman and two 49er WR’s.
2. Over think your picks
Some people study their brains out trying to find sleepers, and end up overlooking quality fantasy players. Keep your sleepers locked up until the last half of the draft. Don’t be the guy who reaches on a rookie too early or a player on a bad team.
1. Bring your Girlfriend or Wife to your draft
Circle the day on the calendar and tell her you’ll hang out later. There’s nothing worse than getting looks from across the room while trying to make fantasy decisions. We all know the draft is key to a great fantasy season, so leave the drama at home. Of course, if your girlfriend or wife is in the pool then consider yourself the luckiest guy alive.
Good Luck Fantasy Football Freaks!! Check back in a couple days for FREE DRAFT BOARDS!!
Grid-X NFL 2008 Win Totals (Part 2: NFC North & South)
NFC North
Vegas Line: PACKERS projected to win 8 games (-135 Over/ +105 Under)
Last year: 13-3
07 Problems: Green Bay’s 07 season ended on an interception in the NFC championship game, which was further than most people had ever imagined they would reach. There were no major problems last year, it was this offseason the Packers have had their headaches. Brett Favre couldn’t have been a bigger distraction to training camp. I bet there are people in GB that are happy he’s gone, so now they can move forward instead of answering questions everyday regarding Favre.
Key Losses: some guy named Favre?
Offseason Acquisitions: WR Jody Nelson (draft)
Forecast: A.Rodgers is in the spot light week 1, playing at home for Monday Night Football. Aside from the major QB change, not much has changed in Green Bay; this team will be a year older and more prepared than the young kids that went deep into the playoffs in 07. I like Aaron Rodgers, he’s been watching and learning for a few years now, and finally gets his chance to play. The Packer schedule is strong, but probably a little easier than last year. I think the week 1 match up will be huge for A.Rodgers confidence, but either way I see a wildcard in store for GB.
Big wins in 07: both wins over MIN (34-0 & 23-16)
Prediction: 9-10 wins
Vegas Line: VIKINGS projected to win 9 games (-120 Over/ -120 Under)
Last year: 8-8
07 Problems: Talk about owning the run; the Vikings were first in rushing yards per game on offense, and first in stopping the run on defense. The passing game is a different story…28th in passing offense and last in passing defense. The Vikings went out and got WR B.Berrian in the offseason to help stretch the field. Although some point the finger at QB T.Jackson, we believe that this year should be a better and more promising season for Tarvaris Jackson.
Key Losses: SS Dwight Smith
Offseason Acquisitions: SS Tyrell Johnson (draft), Jared Allen (trade) WR Bernard Berrian, FB Thomas Tapeh
Forecast: Go for gold! Minnesota fans want to buy playoff tickets, and I think the Vikings are going to Read more…
Muffed Punt is our new weekly post where we cut up a game from the week.
Carolina Panthers At Philadelphia Eagles
Preseason football is like non-alcoholic beer: it looks and tastes the same, but we all know it just doesn’t do
the job. Last night’s snore-fest needed booze, especially with an hour of rain delay filled by boring small talk between Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Did anyone notice that Pam Oliver was reporting from the Panther’s sideline? I was kind of hoping she would touch base with McNabb after last years controversy. She’s got to be the hottest sideline girl there is, although she doesn’t have much competition: Suzy Kolber looks like my foot (don’t worry Suzy, Joe Namath still wants to kiss you).
Donovan McNabb mentioned in one of the interviews that he would have been happy if 
they had just called off the game, and the way the first stringers played, I don’t blame him! Here’s something that the training staff needs to look into: do any of the receivers in Philly, aside from DeSean Jackson, have thumbs? I’ve never seen so many dropped balls in a pre-season games by starters! I’m a McNabb fan, and I agree he’s got no weapons. The Eagles need to get Joe Horn, or make a trade for Anquan Boldin.
I’m pretty sure they won’t be trying that fake field goal play in the regular season…I’ve never seen such a botched fake play! As far as Philly’s defense, they looked great; unfortunately this made for an even more boring game: 3 and outs vs dropped passes. As for Carolina, they better change their mind about suspending Steve Smith for 2 games, because unless their opponents try to fake field goals, they’re not going to be able to put up points without him. Jonathan Stewart’s debut was a big disappointment, I didn’t think a toe injury could slow someone down that much. All in all, Fox picked the wrong game to televise. The Bills/Steelers game in Toronto turned out to be a good game, and the fans actually stuck around to watch it.
NFC SOUTH
New Orleans
• I loved the move up to get Sedrick Ellis. NO has been looking for an elite DT since they picked Jonathon Sullivan (BUST) a few years back. The Saints identified a big need and went after the impact player they wanted. New Orleans doesn’t plan on picking this high again anytime soon, so kudos to them for making sure they swung for the fences.
• Ellis should have a big time impact; it will be hard for teams to double him because of the Saints quality edge rushers. Look for Sedrick to be the knife in the middle which helps to take the pressure off the beleaguered Saints secondary.
• Tracy Porter was a good addition to the CB group and strengthens the nickel package.
• Demario Pressley adds some good depth at the D-line, and should help keep the Saints defense strong in the middle for the next few years.
• Carl Nicks in the 5th round was a great pick, he will add some quality depth to an already strong NO line. Although probably not a tackle at the NFL level, Nicks could start at guard as early as this season.
• If you count getting Jonathon Vilma for a 4th rounder, then the Saints had an excellent draft, which rightly focused on the defensive side of the ball.
Atlanta
• With all the picks Atlanta had, it would have been hard to screw this up and come away without some quality players.
• Matt Ryan is obviously the key to this draft, and his huge contract means he is the unquestioned new leader in Atlanta. I don’t think Matty Ice is going to have any luck in his first year. He will
Read more…
Gridiron Experts Sleepers as of AUG 12th
Most websites have their fantasy mocks all done and ready to go, which makes us laugh a little because there’s only been one week of preseason. Here at Gridiron Experts, we want to see a little more from training camps before we put ourselves out there. Expect team and tier fantasy boards in the next week or so, but until then here are 10 players that we’re watching; so should you, as they have “sleeper” written all over them.
#10 Garrett Wolfe
I know I know, what about Matt Forte, but Wolfe has a great chance to be the wildcard in this running back committee. G.Wolfe is lightning quick, and could be more of a receiving threat on third downs and in screen plays like a Westbrook type player. If only Chicago could figure out how to use his skills.
#9 Chris Perry
The Bengals drafted Chris Perry in the first round of the 2004 draft. Since then, his career has been plagued by injuries. C.Perry played well against the Packers, and is a player to watch in the high powered Bengals offense.
#8 James Hardy
Gridiron Experts had this guy pegged before the draft; James Hardy was a touchdown machine at Indiana. The Bills new 6′7″ WR will be a huge red zone target, and has a great chance of destroying people in fantasy football leagues.
#7 Ray Rice
Willis McGahee is banged up, and Rice has a great chance to win over the coaches.
Read more…
Bye Week Replacement Players
The ultimate goal in Fantasy Football is to draft a team that you can start each week without any line-up guesswork. Unless you get hit with injuries, the first few picks in your fantasy draft should start every game, and only get benched when they’re on a bye week. Bye weeks in fantasy football are basically opportunities for other teams to upset you, because you’re without your work horses. This is Gridiron Experts top bye week replacement player list, to ensure you have the best fantasy weapons each week even when your stars are on a bye. WR’s are not much of a problem as there is plenty of depth at that position; RB’s and QB’s are harder to replace, so we’ll be focusing on those two positions.
WK 4
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QB
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Top Bye week fill in
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Match up
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Reasoning
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T.Brady
P.Manning
E.Manning
M.Hasselbeck
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J.Delhomme
T.Edwards
J.Campbell
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ATL at CAR
BUF at STL
WAS at DAL
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-Big numbers at home for S.Smith
-STL pass def was ranked 21st in 07
-Always have shoot outs
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RB
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Top Bye week fill in
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Match up
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Reasoning
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J.Addai,
L.Maroney
B.Jacobs
J.Jones
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T.Jones (NYJ)
S.Young
D.Williams
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ARZ at NYJ
DEN at KC
CAR at ATL
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-Jones will get a heavy workload
-Divisional game
-D.Williams will still be starting at this point. Dome game
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WK 5
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QB
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Top Bye week fill in
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Match up
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Reasoning
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D.Anderson
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J.Kitna
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CHI at DET
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-Divisional game at home
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RB
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Top Bye week fill in
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Match up
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Reasoning
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S.Jackson
J.Lewis
T.Jones
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M.Lynch
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BUF at ARZ
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-Good match for Lynch.
*This is a tough week for back up players
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Read more…
