2005 New England Patriots NFL Handicapping Review

 

By Tom Wilkinson

 

There were many sports handicapping lessons delivered by the 2004 New England Patriots. First, if ever there was clear-cut evidence at the total worthlessness of preseason pro football as far as its relevance to what will happen in the regular season New England is a shining example. The eventual 2004 world champions went 1-3 straight up in exhibition action, covering just one of those games against the sports betting odds.

New England began the regular season with a highly touted matchup at home against the Indianapolis Colts, which many in the media and at online sports betting weblogs tried to build up into a game that would prove who would win the American Football Conference. As it turned out the Patriots were 27-24 winners, but the game was a push at online sports betting websites and sportsbooks.

With their reputation secure, at least for a week, New England headed off to traditional patsy Arizona to start a two-game road trip. After a highly publicized win over Indy, many at online sports betting blogs talked of a potential letdown and trap at Arizona. The Pats were favored by seven and a half and won and covered the sports betting odds 23-12, which is a classic demonstration of their professionalism and reliability for sports betting players. New England won and covered three more in a row before hosting the New York Jets in a highly touted matchup in week 7. The Jets had tremendous momentum heading in but the Pats defeated them 13-7, which was a push against the sports betting odds. Next was another highly touted game for New England and red-hot Pittsburgh, which was a true trap as the Steelers and their rabid fans were ready. The 3-point home dogs bit New England hard for a 34-20 win, which of course caused immediate overreaction with many sports betting players as New England traveled to meet desperate St. Louis, who was bet up to a 2-point favorite. Many football picks were on the Rams but New England proved its character with a dominant 40-22 win, proving their worth to level headed sports betting players. That was the first of five-straight wins and covers by the Patriots who finally stumbled against the sports betting odds as a 10.5-point home favorite in their straight up win against Cincinnati. Overall New England finished 11-3-2 against the closing sports betting odds as their reliability on the field was reflected by their reliability against the online sports betting websites and sportsbooks. Level headed sports betting players with 17-week visions turned a tidy profit against online sports betting sites.