NFL Betting – Special Teams May Hold A Key To Pro Bowl Winner

NFL betting fans may not want to bother too much with the Pro Bowl, but they might get some insight into the key to victory by looking at the special teams, for which there will only be a few special players. The Pro Bowl takes place at Aloha Stadium (artificial turf) in Honolulu on Sunday at 7 PM ET, and will be televised on FOX.

The game is a pick’em, with the total listed at 63.5 points.

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NFL Betting – PRO BOWL

AFC vs. NFC

Live at Aloha Stadium

Honolulu, HI

Sunday, January 30 — 7 PM ET

TV: FOX

NFL Betting Odds:

AFC pick

NFC pick

Total 63.5

There are a lot of different rules that are especially in place for the Pro Bowl. They would almost have to be, because this is the all-star game where the owners definitely don’t want their players get into unnecessary contact situations.

One area where this comes very squarely into play is on special teams, and that is something you should know when venturing into NFL betting here. This game is certainly distinct from others in the respect that there is only a week to get together a game plan with players who haven’t previously done anything together.

But at least those guys are playing their own positions. There is one drastic departure form all of that in Pro Bowl play, and you probably already know what it is.

Special teams.

I must admit that I have not done any scientific research on this, but I can make a statement that even the two coaches would admit is very true: a very healthy portion of the players who are involved in this game have played very little on special teams in the NFL, and many have not played special teams in college either. To NFL bettors, it should be evident that they are not going to become proficient at it in just a few practice sessions.

Those "specialists" on special teams have enough of an edge that they can really stand out. In fact, Steve Tasker, who made it to seven Pro Bowls as a special teams player actually was named the game’s MVP in 1993. The bottom line is that most of the players who are good enough to be voted into the Pro Bowl haven’t fooled around with the kicking units, and thus are "fishes out of water."

The special rules mandate that no punts, field goals or extra points can be rushed. So what does this mean?

Well, that quite obviously means more field goals for the kickers, if the coaches choose to go in that direction, and for longer distances. In effect, it’s going to be a little like when they try them in practice before the game. How many times have you heard the announcer say, "Well, he was hitting them from 58 yards in practice," and then one of them misses a 45-yarder in the game? Well, maybe not so much in an atmosphere like this.

For purposes of NFL betting information, the kickers here are David Akers of the Eagles and Billy Cundiff of Baltimore. Akers’ longest field goal this year is 50 yards, and his career longest is 57 yards. Cundiff’s longest career field goal was a 56-yarder that came in 2005 with the Cowboys, and the longest of his 26 field goals this year was 49 yards.

When the Pro Bowl rosters are announced, they include punters (AFC – Shane Lechler, NFC – Mat McBriar), and special teams coverage people as well. In this case, Montell Owens of Jacksonville gets the nod for the AFC, while Eric Weems of Atlanta goes for the NFC. Then, because long snapping has become a specialty, they name two guys for that. This honor rotates around each conference. This year it’s John Denney of Miami and Zak DeOssie of the Giants.

Those are usually the only guys who cover kicks on either side on a regular basis. So NFL bettors can imagine that there is going to be an opening for the return men. Marc Mariani, one of the rookies in this game, having been drafted in the seventh round by the Titans out of Montana, will do the honors for the AFC. For the NFC, there is the incomparable Devin Hester, who may give his conference something of an edge because he can take it the distance on just about any kick. Hester has 14 returns for TD’s in his career, and has returned three punts for TD’s this year alone. His 35.6 average in kickoffs and 17.1 average on punts are both career highs. With players this inexperienced at kick coverage, he is a man among boys.

NFL bettors should at least know that.

NFL betting on the Pro Bowl is available now at BetOnline, click here!