Popular Baseball Teams and New NFL Coaches

One thing that stood out about Sunday’s NFL preseason opener was that the new coach won and covered again. After a dominant early run off the Eagles’ front stringers, the Raiders controlled the pace much of the rest of the way, earning the win as a +3 dog. Philly is led by Andy Reid, a successful coach who has led the Eagles to four NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl. Reid has nothing to prove in the preseason (in fact, he is now 10-18 in preseason games). Oakland is managed by Art Shell, who was managing his first game since 1994.

Teams can often go out and play hard for a new coach, even if it’s exhibition season. Last year, the Browns signed Romeo Crennel and he went 3-1 in a row and 4-0 against the spread in August. The Rams get into action Thursday against the Colts. St. Louis has a first-year head coach in Scott Linehan, something to keep in mind. The Lions also open the game this weekend for new coach Rod Marinelli, as do the Bills (Dick Jauron), Chiefs (Herm Edwards), Texans (Gary Kubiak), Saints (Sean Payton), Packers (Mike McCarthy) and Vikings (Brad Childress). ). The new coaches are already 1-0 SU/ATS in 2006!

Baseball pennant races are in full swing, and there’s an old Las Vegas slogan: “Never bet against a high roller.” It can also be applied to sports betting. Teams that are hot often stay hot, while teams that are cold are better viewed as a go-against than a play-on. The Twins and the Yankees are two American League teams that have been on a roll for the past month.

The old betting adage is even more important when baseball teams are fighting for their lives in the playoffs or for division titles. The Twins are certainly making an impressive move to overtake the White Sox for the wild card spot, while the Dodgers have gotten hot and made the crazy NL West even more competitive, winning 9 in a row. Teams that are hot often have different reasons to be motivated.

For example, late last season, the Oakland A’s had an incredible run over the last two months. Novice bettors may think, “Well, the A’s can’t keep winning. I’m going to start betting against them.” This, too, would have been a huge mistake, as the A’s just keep rolling. When teams are hot, there is a combination of confidence and a lack of pressure on the players. This helps them hit, field, and play their best ball. One team can easily get rid of a mistake in the middle of a game, for example, and not let both of them do it. Players feel pressure.

I remember last season when I bet on the Baltimore Orioles in back-to-back games. I did it for several reasons, the biggest one being that the Orioles fired their manager. Historically, teams that make mid-season management changes typically respond immediately and play better. Baltimore also rewarded me with a couple of wins. After one of the games, the O’s new manager said, “I saw some real signs of life that I haven’t seen in a long time. We ran the bases very aggressively, and that’s one of the things I like to see.” . The same thing had happened earlier that season, when the Royals let Tony Pena go and vouched for the new manager with an impressive winning streak, which included sweeping the Yankees like big dogs every time.

Conversely, teams on losing streaks can put all sorts of pressure on themselves, even for winning teams. It has happened twice this season with the Cardinals, a FIRST place team! Pitchers and hitters tried too hard to stop the streak and played worse as a result. Unless there is a major shake-up, such as the firing of a manager, it is better to bet against teams in poor condition and play on hot teams than to outsmart and try to anticipate when streaks might end.