Handicappers Picks

The 2010 AFL playoffs are starting on Friday! Today, we are ranking the teams left standing from #1 to #8 in the quest for ArenaBowl XXIII!

Mike Rose is coming off a fabulous month betting Arena Football going 13-6-1 ATS 68% in July. That makes him 40-24-1 ATS 63%  with a ROI of $5090 on the year. Join him as he looks to close the 2010 AFL Betting season out in style with a fantastic run through the Playoffs!
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Spokane Shock (13-3, #1 in National Conference) – The Shock started the season at 2-2 and rolled off 11 straight victories, one of the longest winning streaks in AFL history. Losing the last game of the regular season in Jacksonville was incredibly inconsequential, as the road to the ArenaBowl is going to run through Spokane regardless.

Tampa Bay Storm (11-5, #3 in American Conference) – Few teams in the second half of the season played as well as the Storm did. QB Brett Dietz set a franchise record by throwing for 106 TD passes this season. Tampa Bay finished second in the conference in total defense, and only because it gave up 75 points in a meaningless final game of the regular season.

Jacksonville Sharks (12-4, #1 in American Conference) – Give Jacksonville credit for surviving essentially two games without QB Aaron Garcia. This team played hardnosed ‘D’ all season long and ended up with the best numbers in the game at just 50.4 PPG allowed. The Sharks also went an AFL best 7-1 at home this year, and with the rest of the American Conference coming to play in their home, Jacksonville could be well on its way to the ArenaBowl.

Milwaukee Iron (10-6, #2 in National Conference) – The Iron scored the most points in AFL history this year at 1,043, and a lot of that was thanks to an offensive line that gave up just one sack all season long. Just like Jacksonville, Milwaukee went 7-1 at home this year, but it won’t be able to play in the Bradley Center due to scheduling conflicts. This week’s game against Chicago will be “at home,” but it might not feel that way.

Arizona Rattlers (10-6, #4 in National Conference) – The consummate dark horse to win the ArenaBowl, Arizona is a trendy selection having played Spokane tough twice this year. The Rats have probable Rookie of the Year WR Rod Windsor, who rewrote the record books for receivers on the season. This is a tall task to face the Shock and come away with a win, but ‘Zona is capable.

Tulsa Talons (10-6, #2 in American Conference) – We aren’t high on Tulsa’s chances of winning the ArenaBowl, but what is certainly on its side is the fact that it already knows it can beat Tampa Bay having done it earlier in the year. Still, playing six games in a division which only won a combined 12 games amongst the other three teams isn’t a ringing endorsement.

Chicago Rush (10-6, #3 in National Conference) – If HC Mike Hohensee is winning another ArenaBowl, it’s going to have to come without QB Russ Michna under center. The Rush is in big trouble right now with QB JJ Raterink calling the shots, as they lost their final two games of the season with him under center.

Orlando Predators (8-8, #4 in American Conference) – The Preds are going to have to face Jacksonville this weekend without OL Julius Wilson and WR Bobby Sippio after their role in a fight in the stands last week in Tampa Bay. This team already had enough problems, as QB Nick Hill is probably the worst signal caller in the conference’s playoffs. It should be a short stay in the second season for the black and red.

The AFL betting Playoffs are upon us and it is sure to be exciting for indoor football fans everywhere! The Divisional Round’s first matchup is Friday, August 6^th at 8pm ET; the game will be telecasted live on the NFL Network. It features the hungry Orlando Predators (8-8, 9-7 ATS) who will invade Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena to take on the Jacksonville Sharks (12-4, 9-7 ATS). Both teams fared very well in their regular season finales as the Predators beat up on Tampa Bay 75-60 as double-digit road underdogs, while Jacksonville ousted Spokane 64-49 as 6.5-point favorites to put an end to the Shock’s 11-game winning streak.

The Predators finished up the season with a .500 SU record (8-8), but finished in the green for AFL bettors compiling a 9-7 ATS mark. They were a .500 team both at home and on the road; they’re 2-1 SU & ATS their L/3 games. Offensively, the Preds scored an average of 54.1 PPG and gained an average of 290.4 YPG, but the defense has been atrocious allowing 52.8 PPG and a whopping 303.5 YPG. If they have a shot of pulling the upset in the “Shark Tank”, Orlando is going to have to step it up on the defensive side of the ball.

Jacksonville has been one of the better squads all season long (12-4, 9-7 ATS). They were dominant at home winning seven of their eight overall games while posting a 5-3 ATS tally. They were the best team coming out of the American Conference regular season, and enter the playoffs as the #1 seed. QB Aaron Garcia was the ringleader of the Sharks offensive attack throwing for 3471 yards to go along with a TD/INT ratio of 79/16. Defensively, HC Tony Moss’ outfit ranked amongst the best in the league allowing a shade over 50 PPG.

In these division rivals pair of AFL betting match-ups this season, the home team won each game. The first meeting was held in Jacksonville where the Sharks took care of business winning 57-31 as 4.5-point chalk, while the Predators took the second game in Orlando with ease 70-48 as 4.5-point underdogs.

The AFL betting season enters its eleventh week of play this week with a full slate of games. Check out how we’re ranking the clubs through the first ten weeks of the season!

1: Jacksonville Sharks (7-2 SU, 5-4 ATS) (LW: 3) – There were four 6-2 teams coming into Week 10. Only one lived to make it to 7-2, and that was Jacksonville. The Sharks were probably the least likely club to pull off the feat as well, as the upset in Chicago was a huge one. QB Aaron Garcia became the all-time leader in the AFL in passing touchdowns in the victory in the Windy City.
Up Next: Bye

2: Spokane Shock (6-2 SU, 4-4 ATS) (LW: 2) – The Shock remain in the stalking position in the AFL Power Poll after their bye week. The suddenly surging Predators are on deck, which could set up a big time battle in the Sunshine State.
Up Next: Away @ Orlando

3: Arizona Rattlers (5-3 SU, 5-3 ATS) (LW: 6) – Arizona is now on a three game winning streak that could easily push to five games over these next two weeks. The Rats took a narrow OT win against the Iron last week, but will get a chance to settle down over these next two weeks with cupcakes. They’d better be ready for the end of June and beginning of July though, as in three consecutive weeks, they travel to Jacksonville, Spokane, and Chicago.
Up Next: Home vs. Oklahoma City

4: Milwaukee Iron (6-3 SU, 5-4 ATS) (LW: 1) – Milwaukee tried its best to steal a win in the desert on Saturday night, but when the dust settled, it was Arizona that stayed hot. The Iron is still getting great offensive play, but the defense is still letting the team down too frequently, particularly on the road. Through the end of the month, this team could easily drop to 6-6 or be 9-3.
Up Next: Home vs. Cleveland

5: Chicago Rush (6-3 SU, 4-4-1 ATS) (LW: 4) – The Rush are in dire need of wide receivers, HC Mike Hohensee was quoted on the NFL Network Game of the Week last week as saying that he just doesn’t have enough bodies to play in a game. WR Samie Parker becoming an Oakland Raider didn’t help matters any either.
Up Next: Away @ Utah

6: Tampa Bay Storm (5-3 SU, 2-6 ATS) (LW: 5) – The Storm might have won last week at home against Oklahoma City, but it certainly wasn’t a thing of beauty. Tampa Bay needed a late rally to topple a team that has been awful for a good chunk of the year, especially on the road, and HC Tim Marcum can’t be thrilled with the way that his team looked in victory #203 of his career.
Up Next: Away @ Alabama

And the rest…
7: Orlando Predators (4-4 SU, 4-4 ATS) (LW: 10)
8: Alabama Vipers (5-4 SU, 5-4 ATS) (LW: 8 )
9: Tulsa Talons (5-4 SU, 6-3 ATS) (LW: 7)
10: Cleveland Gladiators (4-5 SU, 6-3 ATS) (LW: 11)
11: Iowa Barnstormers (3-5 SU, 3-5 ATS) (LW: 9)
12: Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (3-6 SU, 5-4 ATS) (LW: 12)
13: Bossier City Battle Wings (3-6 SU, 6-3 ATS) (LW: 13)
14: Dallas Vigilantes (1-7 SU, 1-7 ATS) (LW: 14)
15: Utah Blaze (1-7 SU, 2-6 ATS) (LW: 15)

The Jacksonville Sharks and Orlando Predators will meet for the first time in Jacksonville’s history on Friday night’s NFL Network telecast.

The Sharks are making their home debut after splitting road games at Oklahoma City and Alabama to start the season. They had a heck of an offense going for two weeks until the Vipers decided to shorten the field on them the entire second half, kicking five straight onside kicks and coincidentally going on a 35-0 run to ice the game. QB Aaron Garcia is normally fantastic in those situations and was most likely just having a tough time against a stingy defense on the road.

DBs Kenny McEntyre and Damon Mason couldn’t help the Preds defense at all against Bossier City last week, as Orlando only stopped the Battle Wings one time and conceded 74 points. Orlando’s defensive line got absolutely no pressure on QB Raymond Philyaw and probably won’t fare much better against a Jacksonville OL that has looked respectable in its opening games. Rookie QB Nick Hill did complete a slew of passes and had some moments where he looked great under center, but he is still a rookie and has moments where he plays like it and overthrows wide open receivers.

The Sharks are the team to go with in this Friday night fight, as a two score victory appears to be in the cards.

The Move of the Week that Cost You Money
Courtesy of Mike Rose at Handicapperspicks.com

The Jacksonville Sharks came into their Week 2 AFL betting duel with the Alabama Vipers knowing that they could take a commanding lead in the Southeast Division with a win. The AFL odds on the day had the Sharks favored by 3.5 points on the road against the Vipers.

All looked great for this team through two quarters of play. QB Aaron Garcia was throwing darts all over the field. Scoring was easy for Jacksonville, while the Vipers labored offensively. Even though they were kicking off in the second half, the Sharks mustered one stop right at the end of the first half to take a 28-14 lead into the locker.

The second half started off great as well, as Jacksonville got a stop and a score to go ahead by three touchdowns and seemed looked like it was on its way to yet another ‘W’ to move to 2-0 SU on the year.

Think again.

Following a 27-yard touchdown pass from Alabama QB Kevin Eakin to WR CJ Johnson, Alabama HC Dean Cokinos decided to go with an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff. The Vipers recovered.

The wheels simply fell off of Jacksonville at that point. The Sharks only held Alabama one time in its next five possessions and couldn’t score anywhere in between.

Why was that? The Vipers continued their onside kick strategy. After every single score in the second half until the final one, the team executed an onside kick. Though they didn’t recover any of the four attempts, what they successfully did was shorten the field on Garcia.

That being said, WR Jason Willis, who caught two touchdown passes in the first half, wasn’t able to score from long distances away. The defensive backs were given a chance to defend a significantly smaller space, and in the shortened end zones of the AFL, it makes playing defense even easier. The end zones in Alabama are also rounded, cutting off some real estate for wide receivers to work with.

Jacksonville HC Les Moss failed to counter with any answers for his offense, which was ultimately outscored 35-0 in that run.

Though they failed their betting backers in this spot, the Sharks won’t run into this tactic every week. Don’t let that one dismal quarter and a half of football scare you from backing a very solid team in the future.

The Sharks will look to turn the page on this tough loss on Friday night on the NFL Network’s national televised broadcast against the in-state rival Orlando Predators.

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