Quote Originally Posted by TheMethod:
First matchup, Falcons should've won they gained nearly 500 yards of offense (481) vs Saints (363). Falcons moved the ball at will on the Saints but unfortunately they settled for FG's instead of TD's once in the redzone. With 10 days rest and strong motivation of revenge, I think Falcons cover -7 and have a strong possibility of winning straight up.
This logic I believe is very faulty. It assumes that because Atl gained 500 yards of offense vs NO 363 but the Saints benefited because Alt scored FGs vs the Saints TDs that this will occur in the rematch. It further extrapolates that Atl with extra rest will score the TDs this time and come out on top because they also want revenge. Dangerous assumptions for one's bankroll.
The problem is that it fails to consider the extremely obvious but absolute truth that Atl was at HOME in that match up and the Saints were on the road. HF advantage is generally considered a 3 pt edge in the NFL. I believe these two dome teams' HFA is actually more. When these teams "bring it' at home, especially on Prime Time with their crowds giving the away team the handicap of running an offense when they can't hear shit resulting in False Start and such penalties, I believe the HFA can be considered a TD or more depending on the circumstances. That's not even really accounting for how the home team gets extra inspiration from the home crowd cheering for them. Also, the away team often gets very frustrated and this all too often results in really stupid penalties...15 yard Unsportsmanlike and Personal Foul penalties. That's why many of these games become blow outs.
Should Have, Could Have, and Would Have are poor handicapping tools. What did happen is a much better predictor.
The fact that Atl LOST by 3 AT HOME in spite of the advantage I just delineated should be telling you a boatload. They are not
that good a team. They are a
good team IMO,
but not as good as NO. The fact that NO won having to overcome the handicap and burden of winning
in Atl should be telling you that they are better than you give them credit for by looking at yardage stats. Assuming you are going to be seeing similar stats in the rematch is wrong thinking IMO. Also, I'm not going to discuss the "revenge" much, but I learned years ago "you don't get revenge on the road". Believe it or not, I did not come by this realization cheaply. You smack your head against a wall enough, you will eventually split your skill or realize not to do that any more!
This time, the game is in NO. I'm sorry to break it to you, but this game is more likely to be a blowout by NO than a close game and to cap that Atl wins straight up is sheer fantasy.
Here's the NO home Prime Time games this season:
SN vs Colts 62-7 , MN vs NYG 49-24, SN vs Det 31-17
Yeah, Ind is a bad team...but 62-7? That should be screaming out some reality to you. Beating NYG and Det convincingly is a clue that Atl is going so suffer a similar fate.
These stats are good indicators:
NO: (all ATS) as a fav 9-3, home 6-0, 3-0 prime time with the narrowest victory "only" 14 points. 5-1 when playing a team with a winning record.
Atl: 2-3 as a dog, 3-4 road, 1-3 vs team with a winning record.
Look at those trends carefully because if you consider them together, that's how I would mathematically estimate your chances of being right. Slim, Slimmer, and None and Slim already left town. LOL
I already explained in a previous post here that both teams have the same basic motivations and neither team has a MUST WIN game here and now.. To say that Atl's motivation of not giving up ground with their two game lead as a wild card team is more important that NO's motivation of wanting to win an all important #2 seed is not too bright or insightful IMO.
Neither team MUST WIN this game, both WANT TO win this game and there is a huge difference.
That being the case, I say to use the KISS (keep it simple stupid) method of handicapping and just realize and accept that the home field advantage in this match up is what is going to make the biggest difference. The place will be rockin', the crowd will be pumped, loud, and rowdy. One team will be fighting against the current, the other going with the flow. That is HUGE!!!!!!
That is not to say that any given Sunday, that anything can't happen doesn't have a measure of truth. I am saying that for me, I will go with the odds, and absolutely NOT pick Atl in this game. I love NO on a teaser, and even -7 I think is a reasonable play. I think Atl ML is just flushing money down the toilet. Atl +7 is playing with fire. Even Atl +13 IMO is not a sure thing. That's how I break down these 4 possible outcomes here and that's how my money will vote.
Anyway, we can debate all we want for what it matters. After SN, one of us will be right, and the other wrong.
No matter, I sincerely wish you the BOL which ever way you wager.