2009 NFL Preseason Betting Tips from ATS Consultants

It’s that time of the year again – almost like Christmas in August. Football is starting this week and wise investors are checking their bankroll along with their preseason schedule.

Here are some tips for preseason betting and remember that this still is preseason. It doesn’t count for the coaches and you won’t get a 100% effort from the players in every game. But your money is still green, so losing it in the regular season or preseason counts the same.

1) Don’t go crazy with 10 picks per week. This is preseason and there are only so few investment opportunities. Make sure your plays are investigated thoroughly before you select them.

2) Look at the quarterback competitions. For example, in Cleveland, Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson will be fighting all preseason. Tampa Bay has one with rookie Josh Freeman and Byron Leftwich. San Francisco has two gems in Alex Smith and Shaun Hill. The NY Jets has rookie Mark Sanchez trying to fight off Kellen Clemens. These are teams that are going to play their 1 and 1A quarterbacks at least three quarters some games. While other teams like New England will be going with Kevin O’Connell for most of the game.

3) Using trends are a little more helpful in the preseason, but stick to using coaching trends. In other words, does it really matter if Seattle is 21-4 ATS in Week 3? It would mean more under Mike Holmgren, who obviously used that week for a dress rehearsal, but not as much for new coach Jim Mora. Detroit is also 2-10 and 9-4 OVER in Week 3. With a new coach in Jim Schwartz, again, that may not matter a whole lot.

There are 11 new coaches this season and seven of them have never coached before: Jim Caldwell (Indy), Todd Haley (KC), Josh McDaniels, (Denver), Raheem Morris (Tampa Bay), Rex Ryan (NY Jets), Jim Schwartz (Detroit), Steve Spagnuolo (St. Louis). Mike Singletary (SF) and Tom Cable (Oakland) were interim coaches last season and are preparing for their first preseason. Eric Mangini (Cleveland) previously coached for the NY Jets and Jim Mora (Seattle) coached with Atlanta.

Some current coaches really do care as Jack Del Rio (Jacksonville) is 18-6 SU and 16-8 ATS overall in preseason. Bill Belichick is 31-26 overall SU and 30-22-4 ATS, while winning five of his last six games in Week 3. Of course, Week 3 is a dress rehearsal for most teams and the cream usually rises to the top in that situation.

Some coaches can care less about preseason. Andy Reid (Philadelphia) is just 14-26 SU and 19-21 ATS overall. When you have Donovan McNabb, the last thing you want to see is him go down with an injury in the preseason. Kevin Kolb is still unproven so expect the Eagles to utilize him as much as possible.

4) Trends are only as good if you the information to go along with it. DO SOME RESEARCH. You can look at every team’s website in the NFL (at NFL.com) and many coaches a few days before the game will tell the media who is going to play and for how long. For example, Jeff Fisher gives his Training Camp report on Tuesday. He may discuss an injury, but the closer it gets to game time, the most revealing he’s going to be about Kerry Collins, Vince Young and Patrick Ramsey’s playing time.

You can also check many websites out there like ESPN.com, CBSsportsline.com, FOXsports.com, etc., as well as a site like USSportsPages.com that will give you a link for every major newspaper for each team. The link takes you right to the football section of the sports page and you can usually find a good scoop about an injury or a coach’s gameplan.

5) Finally, be careful and make sure you have plenty left in your bankroll before college football and Week 1 of the regular season starts. The preseason should be fun and there should be several great betting opportunities each week.

If you have any more questions or you don’t have the time to go the entire season without help, visit ATS Consultants and be sure to also sign up for the ATS Weekly Blitz!