5. Home and Away
Looking at each team’s recent home and away, straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) plays are a definite must for NFL bettors across the globe. For instance, let’s say that one team has been on a red-hot ATS roll on the road and they’re visiting a team that has been mediocre at best when it comes to covering the spread at home. For that particular contest, you may want to consider betting on the road team to cover. However, if you’re betting on a game that features an ice-cold road team against a team that consistently covers the spread at home, then you’d likely want to back the home favorite. Keep in mind that there are other factors that will come into play besides home and away play, but that is undoubtedly one of the key routes to making a wise NFL wager. Just so you know, home team won 57.5% of the time in 2014 (153-113-1) although they covered the spread just 48.6 percent of the time (127-134-6). Home favorites won 68.1% of the time last season (124-58-1) but covered the NFL betting line just 47.4% of the time (85-94-4). Away favorites went 55-29 SU last season (65.4%) and 40-42-2 ATS (48.7%).4. Hot or Not
I’m a big believer in ‘Hot or Not’ trends and you should be too. If you’re wagering on a game in which one team has been ice-cold when it comes to covering the spread recently against one that has been cashing in consistently against their NFL betting lines, then it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which team stands the best chance of covering the NFL betting line. Again, while there are certainly other factors you need to look at, some simple Hot or Not ATS analysis is a great way to start formulating winning NFL wagers.3. Injuries
Once again, it doesn’t take a NASA rocket scientist to figure out that knowing who’s injured and who’s healthy is a crucial part of being a successful NFL betting aficionado. For instance, let’s say that you don’t know that one team’s starting left tackle is out of the lineup because of injury and you’re expecting that team’s quarterback to have his ‘normal’ protection when he drops back to pass. Well, now, that same quarterback has taken a couple of blind-side hits because of an inexperienced replacement at left tackle and now your idea of what was going to transpire in that game is trashed. Make sure you know who’s on the field, who’s not and who’s a bit banged-up for every NFL game you wager on… It’s that simple!2. Head Coaches
