Total Talk - Week 9
November 5, 2016
You can’t spell overtime without ‘over’ – right? Three games saw an extra session last weekend and not surprisingly, all three went ‘over’ their totals and that helped the high side go 9-4 in Week 8. The scoreboard operator was consistently busy in Week 8 as every team posted at least 10 points and only four were held below 20. Through eight weeks of the regular season, the ‘over’ has gone 64-55-1 (54%).
Divisional Action
We’ve got five divisional games on Sunday and when you check out the latest standings you can see that all of these matchups have high stakes. Outside of the Vikings-Lions number, the point-spread on the other four games is less than a field goal and the totals are hovering between 41 and 44 points.
Detroit at Minnesota: From what we’ve seen in the first-half of the season, the NFC North has turned into a low-scoring division with the ‘under’ going 4-1 in the first five divisional games. The oddsmakers are expecting another ugly affair with a total of 41, the lowest on the board. Four of the last five in this series have gone ‘under’ but Minnesota scored 26 and 28 points in the two meetings last season. The Vikings remain a solid ‘under’ bet (5-2) and the Lions enter this contest with two straight ‘under’ tickets due to an offense that has scored 20 and 13 in their last games.
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants: When Chip Kelly was coaching the Eagles, these teams had totals ranging from 49 to 54 and Philadelphia averaged 27.6 PPG in those games. Now that Kelly is gone, we’re staring at a total of 43 this Sunday. Why? The offense in Philadelphia has simmered but the bigger factor is the Eagles scoring defense (16.7), which has improved by more than 10 points. Meanwhile, the Giants offense (19 PPG) remains a complete mystery and their inconsistent production has led to a 5-2 ‘under’ record. Despite those statistics, Philadelphia has seen the ‘over’ go 3-1 on the road and it’s 2-0 to the ‘over’ in divisional games.
N.Y. Jets at Miami: The ‘under’ has cashed in seven of the last 10 encounters in this series but the ‘over’ is 2-1 in the last three and those results were helped by the Jets, who posted 38, 27 and 37 points. New York has posted 55 points in its last two games but only managed 36 in their four previous outings. Coincidentally, Miami has looked sharp offensively in its last two games (58 points) as well but are those numbers misleading? The Dolphins are ranked 18th in total offense, 17th in scoring and most importantly, second to last in third-down conversions. The Jets defense isn’t as good as previous seasons and the Dolphins have a mediocre unit as well. Miami has watched the ‘over’ go 3-1 at home this season while New York has leaned ‘under’ (3-2) on the road.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore: Tough total to handicap due to the injury situation for Pittsburgh, in particular the status of QB Ben Roethlisberger (questionable). The Steelers scored 15 points when he first got hurt at Miami in Week 6 and just 16 in his absence at home versus New England two weeks ago. Both teams enter this game with rest and for what it’s worth, Pittsburgh has allowed 39 and 35 the last two seasons off the bye and Baltimore has averaged 31 PPG in its last eight games after a bye. The ‘under’ went 2-0 in last year’s regular season meetings.
Denver at Oakland: (See Below)
Fifty Something
Based on our closing consensus numbers, we’ve seen 15 games this season close with a total listed at 50 or higher and the ‘under’ owns a slight 8-7 edge. There are two matchups in Week 9 that have numbers in this neighborhood and they both take place in the late session on Sunday.
New Orleans at San Francisco (52 ½): All of the totals for the Saints have closed in the fifties this season and the ‘over’ has gone 4-3 in those games but two of the ‘under’ tickets took place on the road. San Francisco’s scoring defense is horrendous (31.3 PPG) and this unit actually posted a shutout in Week 1.
Indianapolis at Green Bay (54 ½): This number clearly based on the weak Colts defense (402.5 YPG, 28.8 PPG) because Green Bay’s offense has been very sluggish this season. However, the unit has averaged 30 PPG after its two setbacks this season and they just lost at Atlanta last Sunday. Indy has gone 6-2 to the ‘over’ this season but the ‘under’ tickets came when they total was listed above 50.
Coast-to-Coast
The purpose of this piece and other columns on VI is to inform, entertain and hopefully point you in the right direction to win your wager/s. For those following and playing the “West Coast” total angle this season, congrats! After watching Arizona-Carolina and Oakland-Tampa Bay go ‘over’ their numbers last week, the high side is now 10-0 when a West Coast team plays in the Eastern Time Zone. If you include the records from last season, the ‘over’ is 21-5 (81%) in this situation.
There aren’t any pending matchups in Week 9 but we do have two East Coast clubs playing in the Pacific Time Zone.
Carolina at Los Angeles
Buffalo at Seattle: (MNF - See Below)
As noted last week, the ‘over’ has gone 4-3 in these situations with all three ‘under’ tickets taking place in Arizona.
Under the Lights
Atlanta and Tampa Bay combined for 71 points this past Thursday and the ‘over’ (49 ½), which was steamed down from 51 ½, easily connected. That’s two straight Favorite-Over tickets on the midweek game and something to keep an eye on. Including that result, the ‘under’ has gone 14-10-1 (58%) in primetime games.
Denver at Oakland: First place in the AFC West will be on the line Sunday as the Broncos and Raiders enter with identical 6-2 records. If you believe Oakland’s offense vs. Denver’s defense is a wash, then handicapping this total comes down to the other two units. While Denver isn’t a juggernaut (24.2 PPG) offensively, Oakland’s defense (410 YPG, 25.4 PPG) can’t stop anybody consistently. Based on what we’ve seen from the Raiders, their offense has struggled against quality defensive units in the Titans and (17) and Chiefs (10). Denver is still a little banged up but the total (44) makes you believe that a shootout doesn’t seem likely on Sunday night. The ‘under’ went 2-0 last season and Oakland hasn’t scored more than 17 points in its last six meetings against Denver.
Buffalo at Seattle: The Bills have seen the ‘over’ cash in four straight and six of their eight games this season, which is a little surprising considering Buffalo coach Rex Ryan would likely to prefer mucking it up. Seattle’s offense is struggling this season and it’s been settling for field goals (14) instead of touchdowns (12). QB Russell Wilson said he’s finally healthy and it should be noted that Seattle has gone 9-0 at home versus AFC foes since he arrived while posting 28.2 PPG. The ‘under’ has gone 6-2-1 on MNF this season and that includes five straight tickets to the low side.
Fearless Predictions
After managing to stay in the black for seven weeks, the pendulum finally swung the other way in Week 8 and we posted the bagel ($430). I could provide reasons for the losses but those are often looked at as excuses in the betting world. We’re down 20 cents ($20) on the season as we approach the midway point. As always, Press, Pass or Fade but in the end – Good Luck!
Best Over: Dallas-Cleveland 49
Best Under: N.Y. Jets-Miami 44
Best Team Total: Under 26 ½ Kansas City
Three-Team Total Teaser (9-Point, +100)
Over 40 Dallas-Cleveland
Under 48 ½ Detroit-Minnesota
Under 61 ½ New Orleans-San Francisco