2005 Washington Redskins NFL Handicapping Review

 

By Tom Wilkinson

 

With the highly touted “second coming” of Joe Gibbs as head coach of the Washington Redskins, a lot of sports betting players that should have known better immediately thought that Gibbs would literally work miracles in his first season and get the Skins into the playoffs. A deeper sports handicapping effort, however, would have revealed numerous holes on a team that was coming off back-to-back losing seasons. Still, many online sports betting players were posting blogs stating that Washington was a sleeper and value and would be amongst the top of their list of football picks. Just reading the posts should have warned those looking for sports handicapping value that Washington was a team to run away from.

After Washington defeated a still at that time highly regarded Tampa Bay team 16-10 as 2-point home favorites, the online sports betting blogs and general media went berserk proclaiming the Redskins as instant contenders. A sober sports handicapping analysis, however, would show that the masses of asses were at it again and about to resemble lemmings going off a cliff.

Washington would begin a streak in which they lost four consecutive games both straight up and against the sports betting odds and would, in fact, lose seven of the nine games both straight up and against the sports betting odds that followed that opening day win. By the time the general sports betting public caught on to Washington’s weaknesses, it was too late for many of them and their bombed out bankrolls.

In yet another outstanding sports handicapping example of “market correction,” once the masses of asses abandoned the Redskins they became an great value against the sports betting odds and won four consecutive games against the sportsbooks and online sports betting websites. In fact Washington ended the 2004 season with five covers in their final six games and it bears repeating that this happened after the general sports betting public abandoned them in droves.

The 2004 Washington Redskins were a textbook example of sports handicapping value, (both poor and favorable), and should remind sports betting players of the importance of not “reaching” with weak teams that have been losers year after year. To put it another way, Washington was no “sleeper” as they entered the season with high expectations, while teams like San Diego were the TRUE sports betting sleepers.