NFL 2009-2010 Schedule – Are You Ready For Some Football?

Betting NFL Online – Are You Ready For Some Football?

If you’re a sports betting fan, it’s never too early to talk pigskins! With the 2009-10 NFL schedule recently released, here’s a look at what I feel to be the ten best games slated throughout the upcoming season’s online NFL betting campaign. Even without John Madden calling games, who always added something special with his ”booms”, tele-strater artistry and personable manner in which he brought the action into our homes, it’s going to be a fantastic season from start to finish. 

1—Week 1: Tennessee at Pittsburgh (Thursday, Sept. 10 – 8:30pm EST)

It’s the first game of the year, being played on primetime national television, featuring Tennessee who had the league’s best record at 13-3 and was last year’s most profitable team ATS at 12-4 (tied with Giant and Ravens) and defending champion Pittsburgh, coming off a record sixth Super Bowl title season. How could I not make this my top-choice? Anticipation of the NFL regular season is high enough itself to raise this matchup to the top of the list. And to add fuel to the fire, I’m sure the Steelers haven’t forgotten when the Titans stomped on "Terrible Towels" in the waning minutes of Tennessee’s 31-14 thrashing of Pittsburgh when they met in Week 16 last year.

If you wear black and gold, you can’t be happier because the Steelers enter next season with what’s the fourth-easiest schedule in the NFL. Pittsburgh will face lowly Detroit once, and Cincinnati and Cleveland a combined four times in 2009. When you add it up, the Steelers have eight games on its schedule against clubs that posted double-digit last season. It’s easy to see why BetOnline NFL odds (futures) list Pittsburgh second-choice at +450 to win the AFC, and giving them decent respect to win an unprecedented seventh Super Bowl priced at +900.

2—Week 1: Buffalo at New England (Monday, Sept. 14 – 7:00pm EST)

The first Monday night game of the football betting campaign is going to be intriguing, featuring New England and Tom Brady’s probable return versus Buffalo in Terrell Owens’ debut wearing a Bills’ uniform. Get your popcorn, and expect the unexpected with TO around. Besides be the biggest (fill in the blank) in football, he’s entertaining with a wealth of talent. But Buffalo fans can only hope he’ll help the team improve on last season’s 7-9 record (7-9 ATS), without creating a circus. Who will get the better of the receiving matchup between the Pats’ Randy Moss or Owens? 

Oddsmakers are banking on Brady to return and pick-up where he left off, winning! That’s solidified by the Pats being blanketed in chalk across the board to win the AFC (+250) and Super Bowl XLIV (+450). When division odds are released, undoubtedly they’ll be the hefty favorites there, too.

3—Week 2: Giants at Dallas (Sunday, Sept. 20 – 8:20pm EST)

There’s not much hype needed here. Anytime the Giants and Cowboys collide, NFL online wagering fans tune in for rivalry football at its best. Dallas will open their new $1.1 billion stadium in this Sunday night game, and New York would love to spoil the party in front of the nation on primetime. These two split last season’s meetings SU and ATS with both clubs winning at home. The Giants won’t have Plaxico Burress, but they still figure to be strong in enough areas, especially on defense, to remain legitimate contenders in a stacked NFC East, where no club finished under .500. This will be the farewell season for Giants Stadium, as both the Giants and Jets move into its new home for 2010-11.

4—Week 10: New England at Indianapolis (Sunday, Nov. 15 – 8:20pm EST)

At this stage of the season, this game will be huge and could provide insight to which of the two AFC powerhouses may or may not be Super Bowl bound. If Brady and Peyton Manning remain healthy for this matchup, ’total’ players will be heavily supporting the ‘over’ as these two high-octane offenses shoot it out. This marks their seventh successive regular-season game. Minus the injured Brady, the Patriots lost last season’s game, 18-15, at Lucas Oil Stadium. Don’t expect such a low score in this heavyweight bout.

The Colts will take the field with new head coach Jim Caldwell, formerly the team’s associate head coach and quarterback coach, replacing Tony Dungy who retired on January 12 after compiling a career 148-79 record with the Bucs (1996-2001) and Colts (2002-08) as the NFL’s first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl. Caldwell’s former status makes him a perfect fit as Dungy’s replacement.

5—Week 4: San Diego at Pittsburgh (Sunday, Oct. 4 – 8:20pm EST)

Last season, Pittsburgh beat San Diego during the regular season then sent the bolts home early in the playoffs. This will be the Chargers’ third visit to the Steel City in ten months. San Diego fans hope for different results this trip, which may be the case, because Shawne Merriman should be completely healthy and possibly LaDainian Tomlinson, too. Anytime these two AFC forces do battle prepare for some hard-fought action. There’s the likelihood of this meeting being a postseason preview between the two. BetOnline football odds are giving San Diego a decent amount of respect, pricing them at +700 to win the conference and +1400 to claim Super Bowl XLIV.

6—Week 1: Chicago at Green Bay (Sunday, Sept. 13 – 8:20pm EST)

When it comes to classic NFL rivalries, the Bears and Packers rank near, if not atop. It is one of the best and oldest and they continue their bitter rivalry to start the season under the lights at famed Lambeau Field. The Bears lead the all-time series 91-80-6. The teams split two games last season, with the Packers winning 37-3 at home and the Bears taking a 20-17 overtime decision at Soldier Field. But to the dismay of sports wagering cheese heads, Green Bay dropped the cheese in both games.

All eyes will be on Jay Cutler as he makes his debut under center for Chicago, which may be his toughest test to date, calling signals with a new team that has no legitimate go-to guy in the receiving corps where they actually have very little talent at all. However, Cutler and the Bears are beneficiaries of a schedule featuring eight games against teams that had ten or more defeats last season. This game also will be the first opportunity to see Aaron Rodgers performs now with a full year of experience to his credit, following last season’s good job of filling some very big shoes for the Packers.

7—Week 7: Arizona at Giants (Sunday, Oct. 25 - 8:20pm EST)

These two teams met in Week 12 last year, and the Giants won 37-29. Arizona has a stagnant record on the East Coast, but it’ll be October and relatively warm, so maybe they’ll at least show up for this one. Last year, the Cardinals posted an 2-6 regular season record in games played in eastern time zones, going 3-5 ATS. With Anquan Bolton gone, it’s going to be interesting to see if the ageless Kurt Warner can maintain the same offensive production of last year.

8—Week 2: New England at Jets (Sunday, Nov. 15 - 1:00pm EST)

Please, don’t mention ”spy-gate” and ruin what could be a very good contest. Brady will be a week into his return and bettors will have a feel for his health, as he’ll face a new Jets defense, courtesy of Rex Ryan. And if it’s anything close to the defenses Ryan put on the field in Baltimore, it could go a long way in stopping the Patriots’ offensive firepower.

9—Week 10: Denver at Washington (Sunday, Nov. 15 - 1:00pm EST)

When this one kicks off both teams could already be out of the playoff hunt. Or they could just as easily be in the postseason race. From Denver’s coach Mike Shanahan’s firing to the Jay Cutler trade, the Broncos are nearly unrecognizable from the team of last season. But after three playoff-less seasons and going an NFL second-worst 4-11-1 ATS last year, that may not be a bad thing if you bet on football and support Denver.

10—Week 7: New England at Tampa Bay (Sunday, Oct. 25 – 1:00pm EST)

So it’s arguably the least sexiest among the list, but we got to give some love to the Brits, who’ll savor the flavor of hard-hitting American football when New England plays Tampa Bay at Wembley Stadium in London, with the Buccaneers as the host team. Both teams have a Week 8 bye to recover from the long flight to and from across the pond. There’s also a second regular-season game in which Buffalo as hosts will play the Jets at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, on Thursday, Dec. 3 (8:20pm EST).

Note: The 2009-10 NFL season marks the 50th anniversary for the eight original teams that played in the American Football League. The league will highlight the anniversary of those teams during "Legacy Games" throughout the campaign. During one home and one road game, former AFL teams will meet head-to-head while wearing their chosen historic uniforms. The eight clubs being honored are the Bills, Broncos, Chiefs, Patriots, Jets, Raiders, Chargers and Titans.