Picking the Right NFL Teams

NFL Teams

There are more than a few matchups every week, and when it comes to picking the right NFL team to bet on, can be tricky. Sports bettors always face the problem of having to take the risk and bet on the team they predict will win the match. When it comes to the NFL, these bettors can lower this risk by simply looking at the numbers, but what they also need to do is learn how to interpret and use these numbers to create real world situations.

There are a few guidelines that can definitely help a bettor make a better decision when picking the NFL team that they believe will win. By looking at the Offense and Defense of each team, a bettor can already start to picture the possible outcomes of the match.

Offensive vs. Defensive

There are three main types of teams in the NFL, defensive, offensive, and overall good teams. We will focus on the defensive and offensive teams, as they are the dominant forces in the NFL. To understand what a strong defensive or offensive team is, there need to be guidelines with which to compare and determine that those teams indeed are strong in those respective fields.

Strong Defensive Team

A strong defensive team is that which has the best individual performers on the defensive lineup. These players have to work in sync in order to stop other teams from scoring, and their attempts to pass and rush the ball. These teams would show great proficiency in all of the above tasks, as well as individual tasks like tackles and sacks.

Strong Offensive Team

A team that has a strong offense is that which works well together and that has shown that they are good, or at least better than their opponents, at scoring, completing passes, and gaining yards through rushing. There are factors that influence this such as the quarterback’s stats, as he is the central figure in any NFL team; these include pass attempts vs. pass completions and interceptions.

Team Weakness

Weak teams are those that just do not measure up to their counterparts. It is very rare to see a team that is weak in both areas, as coaches like to strengthen at least one aspect of their team. Strengths are important, but knowing a team’s weakness can be extremely helpful, both for the opposition and the bettor.

Defensive Teams

A strong defensive team, with a weak to average offense would be the Pittsburgh Steelers, with stats like:

The Steelers look to be a very strong defensive team, with an average offense. They do very well at keeping their opponents from scoring and passing and they do well against the rushing. There are teams that do very well at defending against rushing or passing, and there are only a few that do well against both.

Offensive Teams

Strong offensive teams tend to have high score averages, which stem from being able to get a high number of yards, and are effective at either/or rushing and passing. A strong offensive team would be the New England Patriots.

The Patriots have an excellent passing game, but lack a good rushing game. This team would most likely be passing the ball more often than running. Most teams in the NFL want to have this combination, since passing the ball gets more yards, in the least amount of time. For the Patriots, rushing the ball is more for getting 1^st downs or running the ball for a touchdown, when they are close to the goal-line. Unlike the Carolina Panthers that rank 3^rd for Rushing Yards, who seem to depend on rushing more than passing.

NFL Betting Strategies

Using the information that can be easily attained, like the teams overall statistics, a bettor can now start to formulate predictions on what would happen between all of the different types of teams. There are the defensive strategies and the offensive strategies, which can be inter-mixed to create accurate predictions. The closer the prediction is, the better chances the bettor has of making the right choice.

Defensive Strategies

When following a strong defensive team, like the Steelers, they will be facing opponents that are either stronger or weaker than they are offensively and defensively. These four factors must be taken into account or else the prediction may not be as accurate. Matches that involve strong defensive teams are usually determined by the defensive performance more than the offensive.

Strong Defense vs. Stronger Offensive, Weaker Defense

The Strong Defensive team has a high probability of doing well against teams like this, since they are able to stop the offense, and can take advantage that their opponent’s defense is weaker.

Strong Defense vs. Weaker Offense, Weaker Defense

The outcome of this match seems to be pretty obvious, as the Strong Defensive team has the upper hand. Always remember that individual player performance is also important. A weak team could have one strong player that turns the tides.

Strong Defense vs. Weaker Offense, Stronger Defense

These matches tend to be low scoring, as both teams will be effective at stopping the other team’s offense. These matches will be settled by which team has the better offense, as well as individual player performance on the offense.

Offensive Strategies

Strong offensive teams tend to focus more on the offense than their defense, meaning they have a much weaker defense than most other teams. Take the New England Patriots; they have an outstanding offense, but a very weak defense. There are two factors that need to be taken into consideration, whether the team is strong at passing or rushing.

Strong Offense vs. Weaker Offense, Stronger Defense

For this kind of matchup, there are two defensive possibilities; strong at stopping the rushing passing. If the opponents are strong at stopping whatever the offense is strong at, i.e. passing or rushing, then there would be a stalemate and the weaker aspects of the teams would determine the outcome of the match. However, if there is a disparity, where the defense is weak where the offense is strong, then the Strong Offensive team will take advantage and strike where they are weak.

Strong Offense vs. Stronger Offense, Weaker Defense

As weird as it may sound, this kind of matchup depends on the team’s defensive ability. Both teams will be efficient at scoring and gaining yards, but it is the team that is able to stop, even once, the other team’s advances that will take the win.

Special Circumstances

Taking a look at the history of the NFL Super Bowl champions, there have been more offensively strong teams that win Super Bowls than strong defensive teams. The reason is because the strong offense is capable of scoring, even against strong defensive teams, but a strong defense cannot score (as much) if they have a weak offense.

There is also evidence that a team that does well at passing has better chances of winning than a team that does better at just rushing. The reason is that passing has better chances of gaining more yards, and even scoring. It does not mean that all rushing teams do poorly, it just means they have to work harder to gain yards. It also depends on the efficiency of the Quarterback.

This is why it is important to take all aspects of the game into account.

NFL Betting Picks

This is not an exact science, and bettors should also take into account the importance of individual player performance and statistics. This is a guide to get the bettors started down the road of learning and employing betting strategies in order to pick the right NFL team.

For more info on NFL teams and picks, visit Bovava.lv

Recommended Reading:

AFC Teams and Picks NFC Teams and Picks Football Betting Predictions; AFC and NFC Big Ten College Football Predictions College Football Betting Predictions ACC College Football Predictions Big East College Football Predictions Football Betting Predictions; Playoffs and Super Bowl