2009 CFL Western Preview - Edmonton Eskimos
Football Betting Lines
06/23/2009 - Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2008 Record - 10-8. Playoff Result: Lost, 36-26, to Montreal in division final. Stadium - Commonwealth Stadium. Capacity - 60,081. Colors - Green, gold, black and white
Despite boasting a winning record last season, the Eskimos finished last in the CFL Western Division standings at 10-8. That mark was still good enough for a spot in the playoffs, where they defeated Winnipeg in the division semifinals before losing out to Montreal in the East finals.
This season brings a different look for the Green and Gold, as Richie Hall takes over the head coaching reigns for Danny Maciocia, who moved into the role of General Manager and Director of Football Operations. Hall brings with him a proven defensive scheme that will surely have Edmonton competing for its first Grey Cup since 2005.
At quarterback, Ricky Ray will once again be in charge of running the Eskimos and he brings experience to the table. In 2008, Ray completed nearly 70 percent of his pass attempts with 26 touchdowns and 17 picks. He also added five scores on the ground in what was a highly successful season. Ray, along with backup Jason Maas, will feel the heat from rookies Jared Zabransky (Boise State) and Lester Ricard (Tulane), both of whom had terrific collegiate careers.
Helping to take some of the pressure off Ray this season will be a backfield with intriguing options. Canadian Calvin McCarty proved he belonged in his first full season in 2008, rushing for 490 yards and four touchdowns and catching 70 passes for 583 yards and another score. He will be accompanied by free agent Jesse Lumsden, who logged 1,797 yards and nine touchdowns in four seasons with Hamilton. Newcomers Ciatrick Fason and Arkee Whitlock add more depth to this suddenly talented backfield.
Opening holes for those explosive backs shouldn't be a problem, as the Eskimos return a wealth of experience up front. Patrick Kabongo, a West Division All- Star, highlights the group and he will be accompanied by Gord Hinse, who was the 11th overall pick in the 2009 Draft.
While the rest of the offense is talented, it is the receiving corps that makes the attack so dangerous. Kamau Peterson has emerged as one of the more explosive wideouts in the league, having racked up two straight 1,000-yard campaigns and a 101-catch season in 2008. He was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian in 2008. Veteran Fred Stamps churned out 751 receiving yards and six touchdowns a year ago and he will help fill the void left by the departure of Kelly Campbell (1,223 yards, seven TDs).
On the defensive side, Dario Romero anchors the line and the 300-pound tackle had 30 stops and six sacks in being named a 2008 West Division All-Star. Newcomers Greg Peach and Shaun Richardson have impressed during camp and are a couple of players that could make an immediate impact.
In the middle, Edmonton will need to find a replacement for Shannon Garrett, who retired after a highly successful 14-year career in the CFL. Former Roughrider Maurice Lloyd will help fill the void left by Garrett and he is coming off a 74-tackle, five-sack campaign. Lloyd, though, will be pushed by rookie Mark Restelli, who has caught the coaching staff's attention with his play. Tim St. Pierre, a 2008 CFL Draft pick, has also shown flashes of a breakout sophomore season.
In just his second season with Edmonton, Jason Gross impressed in the secondary and led the Eskimos in fumble recoveries (three) and interceptions (five). Lenny Williams (36 tackles) and Jont Buhl (50 tackles, four INTs) join Gross in what is a sound and experienced secondary.
All-Star kicker Noel Prefontaine, who made 35-of-46 field goals last season, signed a contract extension in the off-season, giving the Eskimos an edge in the kicking game. Chris Ciezki, an Edmonton native, made 24 special team tackles last season, tying for the second most in team history.
The Eskimos are the most successful CFL franchise in the modern era, winning 13 Grey Cup titles, and they have a legitimate shot of adding to that total this season. Edmonton has a good combination of talent and experience, and if the team can avoid injury and get a few breaks, there is no reason to believe it can't get the job done.
Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Finish: Second
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2008 Record - 15-5. Playoff Result: Defeated Montreal, 22-14, in the Grey Cup Championship. Stadium - McMahon Stadium. Capacity - 35,650. Colors - Red, white and black Sixt
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Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2008 Record - 12-6. Playoff Result: Lost, 33-12, to British Columbia in the West Division semifinals. Stadium - Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field. Capacity - 30,945. Colors - Gree
Roddick, del Potro reach second round at Big W >>
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2009 CFL Western Preview - British Columbia Lions >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2008 Record
- 12-8. Playoff Result: Lost, 22-18, to Calgary in divison finals. Stadium -
B.C. Place. Capacity - 29,706. Colors - Orange, black and silver
Last season, had
2009 CFL Eastern Preview - Hamilton Tigercats >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - East. 2008 Record:
3-15. Playoff Result: None. Stadium - Ivor Wynne Stadium. Capacity - 29,600.
Colors: Black and Gold
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2009 CFL Eastern Preview - Montreal Alouettes >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - East. 2008 Record:
11-7. Playoff Result: Lost, 22-14, to Calgary in Grey Cup Championship.
Stadium - Percival Molson Stadium. Capacity - 20,202. Colors: Red, blue,
silver, white, a
Sportsbook Betting Lines
Who Makes the Sportsbook Betting Lines?
Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the world’s premier oddsmaking company and the most respected authority on making the lines. Mike Seba is a Senior Oddsmaker at LVSC and has been making lines for the last six years. In our extended interview, Seba explained that there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (pro & college football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing, golf). Each of these oddsmakers bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses to the process. Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error.
“You either have a passion for it or you don’t,” Seba said.
“The #1 thing for us is to make a line for each game that creates good two-way action. We do this by drawing from past experiences and applying them to current situations. People think it’s much more complicated, but it’s not. “What are the Football Betting Lines Trying to Accomplish?
There is a common misconception that point spreads represent the oddsmakers’ prediction of how many points the favorite will win by. That is not the case at all – their intent is NOT to evenly split the ATS result between the teams; rather, their goal is to attract equal betting action on both sides. Stated another way, they want to create a line that half the people find appealing to bet one way while the other half find it appealing to bet the other way (known as ‘dividing the action’).Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig – typically $11 bet to win $10).
How the Opening Line Is Made
The opening line is the first line created by the oddsmakers, which is then sent out to sportsbooks. Of course there is an entire method to the madness on how the opening line is created. Seba explained that it all starts with each oddsmaker creating a line on each game based upon their own personal approach. This usually includes having up-to-date power ratings on each team.Power ratings are the oddsmaker’s value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades.
Once a game’s power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team’s local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game.Since the oddsmaker’s ultimate goal is equally dividing the sports betting action, public perception and sportsbook betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football betting team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public’s expected USC bias.
The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture.A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line.
Why Sports Betting Lines Change
Once the opening line is released by LVSC, the individual sportsbooks decide if they want to make any adjustments before offering it to the public. Reasons for such adjustments include:Experts working for the individual books having a strong opinion on the game
Individual books having players who consistently bet with certain tendencies (such as an extreme bias toward favorites or toward a certain popular team like USC)The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action.
Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game.For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite.
Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a bettor’s decision. Oddsmakers can also change the line depending on various event-related factors such as player injuries or weather. Obviously, if the line comes out a week ahead of the event (which is the case in football), there is much that could happen during the week leading up to the event that could affect the line. Oddsmakers have to determine if any changes are necessary and send out an "adjusted line."“The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides,” Seba said. “We’re not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we’re trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we’ve done that, we’ve done our job.”
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Super Bowl XLIII Betting - Super Bowl 2009
Super Bowl 2009, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.
MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.
Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.
Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.
After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.
Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.
Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.
If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.
Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.
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