You may have read some of my fantasy football advice, but you know what makes football even more fun than fantasy does? Gambling. Thankfully, it’s becoming increasingly accessible across the country. With week 1 already upon us, you can now lose (or win, depending on how much you listen to me) money across the globe, and what’s not to love about that?
Gambling on other sports can be fun, but betting on football takes the cake. It can be done in moderation, so no need to worry about ending up like this dude from Casino. I mean, there’s nothing like watching people lose their minds over a fumble recovery in the end zone at the end of a game that had no bearing on the outcome.
On a related note, I kinda wish Brent Musburger still called games for the veiled gambling references and his commentary on the “talent” in the stands………
So, as my gift to you, I’ll be giving you a few games each week to bet on, including one moneyline bet. Let’s dive in! We don’t have the luxury of using prior games since this is week one, so we will be flying blind. I’ll do my best.
I’ll also be implementing a confidence scale of 1-5 to show just how confident I am about my pick being the correct one.
1-bet your beer and pizza money
2-romantic date night dinner
3-rent/mortgage payment
4-money you set aside for that vacation to Jamaica
5-your 401K
Chargers -6.5 over Colts
Confidence level: 4
The Chargers are coming off a year in which many pundits had them as a serious Super Bowl contender. The talent is there, even with the current Melvin Gordon contract drama. We’ve seen the league value RB’s less and less, well except for Jerry Jones that is. For that reason, I’m not reading much into Gordon’s absence. Austin Ekeler proved to be a more than capable back last season and should have no problem shouldering the load.
As for the Colts, they’ve been thrown into disarray following Andrew Luck’s sudden retirement. Am I saying the Colts are garbage? Absolutely not, but it goes without saying that Jacoby Brissett is no Andrew Luck. For that reason, I feel that Vegas is giving this Colts team the benefit of the doubt by only making the spread 6.5. No disrespect to Brissett, but Andrew Luck was poised for an MVP level season. His absence will show just how valuable he was. Chargers win 28-17.
Cardinals +2.5 vs. Lions + Arizona moneyline
Confidence level: 3
Just a thought, but I could see this Cardinals team having a little bit of the same effect as the Eagles did in Chip Kelly’s first year as head coach. The league will have to adjust to this offense. They have a dynamic rookie QB and creative offensive head coach in Kliff Kingsbury. I could see this team beating up on bad teams, but struggling against good defenses.
The Lions aren’t very good, especially on defense. Obviously we haven’t seen Kyler in regular season action yet, but I’m betting on a wildly successful rookie campaign. For those reasons, I like this line.
Giants +7 vs. Cowboys
Confidence level-1
As a fan of an NFC East team, I know that no matter how good or bad each of the teams are, the games are often very close and hard fought. While the Cowboys are a better team, I don’t think that this offense is explosive enough to cover this touchdown spread. The Giants have enough weapons to keep it close, and an offensive line which should be improved. I see this being relatively low scoring, and decided by a field goal. Cowboys win 24-21