2005 NFC South Football Preview

OVERVIEW: NFC South

In the NFC South look for Tampa Bay and Carolina to catch and over take the Falcons in 2005, the fall from grace will fall on the shoulders of QB Michael Vick who has been to a large extent a product of media hype, sure the guy runs like a deer but so do most wide receivers and that is exactly what Vick is, a wide receiver playing out of position.

Remember the media hype surrounding Pittsburgh QB Kordell Stewart when he was in his "Slash" role with the Steelers? Then you also remember that he ended up saddling his team with disappointing loss after loss once other teams in his division and conference figured out how contain him in the pocket and make him play catch with his receivers.

Somehow someway the Falcons finished with a record of 11-5 straight up and 7-9 ATS during the regular season last year, a closer look see reveals that Atlanta won six games by a grand total of 16 points, in other words more than half of the Falcons 11 regular season wins were by an average point difference of only 2.6 points per game which includes defeating the Niners, Cardinals, and Giants by a total point difference of only 9 points and to think that these three teams finished 2004 with a combined straight up record of 14-34.

Michael Vick had the worst statistics of any playoff QB last season as evidenced by his 14 to 12 TD to INT ratio, a QB rating of only 78.1, and throwing for a mere 2313 total passing yards, to put things into perspective consider that Peyton Manning finished 2004 with a TD to INT ratio of 49 to 10 with 4557 total passing yards and a QB rating of 121.1, Viking QB Duante Culpepper finished the year with a TD to INT ratio of 39 to 11 with 4717 total passing yards and a QB rating of 110.9.

I won't bore you with the statistics of the remaining 2004 Playoff QB's but trust me when I say each of the remaining playoff QB's had numbers better than Vick, but to put things another way, consider that Titan backup QB Billy Volek came off the bench in relief of sidelined QB Steve McNair last year and ended up with a TD to INT ratio of 18 to 10 with 2486 total passing yards and a QB rating of 87?enough said.

In reality Atlanta had a good season due to the fact that Tampa Bay and Carolina had injury filled bad seasons, look for that to change in 2005 when considering that the Panthers had a total of 14 players sidelined with injury during the first half of 2004 which was the root cause for their shoddy 1-7 straight up and 3-5 ATS start, however, the Panthers started to get healthy during the second half of 2004 and rebounded to post a 6-2 straight up and 6-1-1 ATS record with both losses coming by way of a field goal.

To showcase Michael Vick the NFL schedule maker saw fit to have Atlanta appear three times on Monday Night Football in 2005 including the season opening Monday Nighter which will be a playoff rematch against Philadelphia, in an attempt to make things easy on Vick in prime time each MNF appearance will take place on the Falcons home field.

With that being said, Atlanta's three opponents on MNF will be the Eagles, the Jets, and the Saints and each team will have a passing attack that can fully expose the Falcons weak defensive secondary, for the sake of "Value" we will be wagering against Vick and company in each of these three Monday Night appearances and recommend that you do the same.

In our 2005 preview of the AFC West we made mention of the fact that the Oakland Raiders have gone 9-23 straight up and 9-22-1 ATS since their Super Bowl appearance following the 2002 season, remember who the Raiders opponent was in that Super bowl?

Of course you do, it was none other than the Tampa Bay Bucs. Like the Raiders these Bucs have also fallen on hard times over the past two seasons as evidenced by their 12-20 straight up and 12-19-1 ATS record since that January 26, 2003 Super Bowl appearance, historically speaking Tampa Bay's two year record of 12-20 is the worst of any NFL team in history following a Super Bowl victory.

Tampa Bays woes have been offensive in nature when considering that the Buc defense held opponents to less than 300 yards per game on average for the fourth straight year in 2004, however, for the third time in this same four year span Tampa's offense failed to average at least 100 rushing yards per contest and over the past four years have finished 30th, 27th, 23rd, and 29th in the league in rushing.

Look for Tampa Bay's rushing numbers to improve dramatically in 2005 due to the drafting of RB Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, OT Chris Colmer, and OG Dan Buenning along with the free agent addition of former Jet TE Anthony Becht who was very instrumental in clearing the way for Jet RB Curtis Martin to rumble to four straight 1000 yard seasons including Martin's career high 1697 yards in 2004.

New Orleans is an enigma in a lot of ways as they are now paying the price for being a middle of the road team over the last four years with regard to posting straight up marks of 8-8, 8-8. 9-7, and 7-9 since 2001 which has led to another very average draft for a very average team.

However, the odd thing about the Saints is that they have an HC with a defensive background in Jim Haslett, yet finished 32nd in the league last year in total defense, on the flip side of things the Saints are immensely talented on offense and managed to post a 4-0 straight up and ATS mark in their final four games of 2004 after posting a shoddy combined record of 5-11 straight up and 6-10 ATS over their final four games from 2000 to 2003, see what I mean? These Saints are a paradox.

In closing, I fully expect the public to over rate the Falcons in 2005 and as recommended above I would look to play against Michael Vick and company in each of their three MNF appearances and especially since the ole history book shows that Atlanta has posted a mark of 1-13 ATS in their previous 14 Monday Night games.

New Orleans opens up their regular season with a visit to Carolina and the Saints might just catch the Panthers looking ahead to week two when New England comes to Charlotte, NC for a rematch of the 2003 Super Bowl, its always nice to know that according to past history the doggie in Saint/Panther contests has a record of 6-1-1 ATS in the past eight meetings.

With regard to the Panthers and Buccaneers, barring injury I would recommend a wager on them each and every time they are installed as a doggie getting at least a field goal, the only exception to this is when Tampa travels to New England on December 17th as the Bucs will be playing their third straight road game and will be in a divisional sandwich having just played at Carolina and a home date with Atlanta on deck.

Jim Campbell is one of the nations most respected Sports Handicappers, he specializes in College and Pro Football, you can visit Jim at his website located at footballforecastor.com for all of your handicapping needs including free play selections, College and NFL stats, trends and award winning analysis on upcoming games.

With over 30 plus years experience in the handicapping profession Jim has built a solid reputation, his web based handicapping service at footballforecastor.com as been in existence since 1997 and year after year proves to be one of the very best handicapping services in America.

---

Video Poker Variations

Unlike many other more "social" casino games, video poker is... Read More

Why Do People Gamble?

Gambling is the act of wagering money on the outcome... Read More

Slot Machine Odds

It probably more appropriate to call slot machines entertainment than... Read More

Stop Compulsive Gambling Addiction With Education

Through proper education, society can develop programs to stop compulsive... Read More

Bookmaking Basics

The role of a 'bookie', the common name of the... Read More

FAST Roulette System: New, Unconventional , Latest Breakthrough in Roulette System

This article is going to show you a new, unconventional... Read More

10 Tips That Will Give You Unfair Advantage At The Poker Table When Playing Texas Holdem Poker

Playing poker and winning is a very difficult task to... Read More

Bingo ? It?s Birth and Beginning

The true origin of bingo dates back as far as... Read More

How to Play Two Pairs in Draw

The most perplexing holding in draw poker is two pairs.... Read More

Introduction to Texas Holdem Strategy ? 3 Concepts

Concept #1 ? Pot OddsLong-term profits in holdem come from... Read More

Top 5 Reasons - Should You be Gambling Online?

Why is online gambling the latest craze to hit the... Read More

Martingale Betting System - Are You SURE?

Very common and popular system among newbies who like roulette,... Read More

Internet Poker - 13 Rules to Follow

Add bad poker players to your buddy listPlaying poker is... Read More

Helpful Stop Gambling Links & Information For The Compulsive Gambler, Family & Friends Of A Gambler

Over the past few years stop gambling websites have helped... Read More

Slots And The Basics Of The Game

Whether your new to the slots or a seasoned player... Read More

Here to Stay - Cyber Casinos and Their Benefits

The obvious advantages of gambling in a cyber casino are... Read More

Roulette System: Spread the News and Beat the Casino Legally

Discover the truth, the real secret behind successful business without... Read More

Online Poker --- Is It Safe? --- Is It for Me?

Online Poker RoomsRapidly Growing in PopularityPlaying online poker is fast... Read More

How to Win Texas Holdem

Texas Hold'em...minutes to learn, life time to master. One of... Read More

The Secret of Betting Dont

Pssst...! Wanna know a secret?How about the secret of Betting... Read More

Do You Want to Discover the Three Hidden Secrets of the Poker Playing Professional?

What's the difference between an amateur and a professional when... Read More

The Secrets of Remembering True Odds

Pssst...! Wanna know a secret?How about the secret to remembering... Read More

Online Gambling Casinos - Wear Your Thinking Cap and Prosper

I receive many emails each week from people who deposited... Read More

Ten Easy Tips For Improving Your Online Poker Game

When you play poker online, you have options available that... Read More

Spider Solitaire: A Strategy Guide For Beginners

Spider solitaire is a well-known solitaire game, which has gained... Read More

Gambling Addiction Affects More Then Just The Compulsive Gambler

At one point in time our society believed that gambling... Read More

MTT Poker Win Frequency

Multi Table Tournaments (MTT) are currently very popular due in... Read More

Roulette System: How you can win Roulette easily and automatically

In this article, we will discuss on "A personal interview... Read More

Online Poker Tournaments -- Time to get aboard

Online poker tournaments are skyrocketing in popularity due to reasons... Read More

Poker Aces ? how to play them

Poker Aces refers to two aces dealt pre-flop. It is... Read More

Protect Yourself by Understanding Casino Bonuses

The majority of casinos attract new business by offering players... Read More

Play Poker for Free Online

To play poker for free online is one of the... Read More

Free Roll Texas Holdem Tournaments

Free Roll Texas Holdem Tournaments are great because they allow... Read More