He even figured out the different bounce…
When you bet on sports, you look for every edge, talk to every guy who knows a guy for some insider knowledge and you’ll explore any angle the bookmakers may not have figured out yet.
Robert Deniro’s character from the movie casino, based on real life handicapping legend Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, was a master at finding that edge; remember Pesci’s line early in the film? “He’d get the wind velocity so he could judge the field goals… He even figured out the different bounce you got off the different kinds of wood they used on college basketball courts.”
That’s some serious dedication, as much as I love betting on sports and playing fantasy football, I don’t have the patients to do that kind of research. Lucky for us, other people have taken the time.
Let’s have a look at a few angles to consider.
The value of the offensive line – You hear John Madden talk them up all game, running backs that make the pro-bowl fly their linemen to Hawaii or buy them Rolexes, then O-Line makes or breaks your running game. Fantasy Football Hall of Famer Priest Holmes was able to put up huge touchdown totals because he was running behind three future Hall of Famers, Willie Roaf, Will Shields and Brian Waters.
The two best offensive lines according to CBS Sportsline are the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants, with the Cowboys, Jets and Eagles tied for the next best. At the bottom of the list are the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. So if you have to make a choice between Jonathan Stewart or Marshawn Lynch go with Stewart and the Carolina Panthers impressive offensive line.
Know your opponent – When you plan your Sunday line up, don’t just analyze what’s your best fantasy football lineup, study your opponents line up to see if you can exploit his talent in some way. If your opponent has Tom Brady, you should consider starting Wes Welker over a comparable receiver. It will neutralize all the points Brady puts up by throwing to Welker. In most leagues, a QB TD pass is worth 4 points and a WR TD is worth 6.
Prepare early for Bye Weeks – Have your bye week replacements at least a week in advance. One strategy, some may call it a dick move, would be to pick up the top players available that would fill your opponent’s bye week holes. If you can take the best couple of players and keep them on your bench, your opponent will be forced to choose the 3rd or 4th option. It’s a dirty move but so is stealing plays, video taping your opponent and using steroids and the last time I checked the teams from Boston (Pats, Celtics and Red Sox) have won the most titles since 2000.
There are tons of other strategies, I would love to hear yours, send me your best and I will include a few in future articles.
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