OK then, the Superbowl
Lines are Patriots -3 Points o/u 58 (highest point line in 51 Super-Bowls)
Key strategy match up: How does the NE D stop the Atlanta O? I think it could well do and like the unders but thats not what i want to write about
I have been looking at the Patriots Offense against the Atlanta Defense and trying to look at match ups for player props/angles etc.
The Atlanta defense is young and upcoming but faces a major task stopping Brady. The general assumption is that Brady will test out the Atlanta secondary but I think a bit differently. I think one of the aims has to be to control the clock (which would help the under) and keep Atlanta's offense off the field
In this respect it has one major advantage
The Falcons missed 136 tackles this season (2nd-most in the league), and allowed 2.89 yards after contact per attempt (most in NFL). These stats from ProFootballFocus.
Put simply the Patriots are going to run at them, a lot
A fortnight ago when we backed Dion Lewis the game plan identified correctly was that the Pats would look to get away from Houston's stout defensive line and use the running backs in the receiving game to take the ball away from the middle
Here the strategy is going to be to run AT the middle and thus the key player is the Patriots battering ram RB LeGarrette Blount
Blount is coming off a career year.
1161 rushing yards on 299 attempts at just under 4ypc
I have become convinced that he will be at the heart of the Patriots offensive plan this weekend
Blount has logged nine games this season with three-plus missed tackles created. 42 missed tackles total. Of his 1,161 rushing yards. 741 yards came after contact. He has 3 40+ yard runs this year, at odds with the general view that he is a short yardage back
This directly plays to the weakness on the Atlanta defense mentioned above. Along their front seven, four key players—linebackers Vic Beasley, Deion Jones and De'Vondre Campbell and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett—are in either their first or second season.
The Falcons run defense allowed an average of 104.5 rushing yards per game (17th) and 15 rushing touchdowns (tied for 18th) this year and gave up an average of 4.5 yards per carry, which ranked 25th during the regular season.
Firstly, a boring recommendation
http://www.oddschecker.com/american-football/nfl/new-england-patriots-at-atlanta-falcons/total-rushing-yds-legarrette-blountIwouldn't be surprised to see quotes of o/u 60 be wrong by a factor of 50%. could easily see 90-100 yards
Skybet o55.5 at 10/11 we can't do. Someone might be able to so Bet365 o60.5 5/6 for us
Secondly, the flier from left field
There have been 50 super-bowls
27 of those 50 matches have seen the MVP won by a QB
This time round it is is expected to be a high scoring game and if it is a 33-30 type game then its going to take something special for either of Brady or Ryan not to win it (its only once been won by a player on the losing team)
but we all know this and so do the prices. The two quarterbacks take out a huge percentage of the market at 10/11 7/4 16/1 bar the QBs
http://www.oddschecker.com/american-football/nfl/new-england-patriots-at-atlanta-falcons/superbowl-mvpLooking at MVP awards again, after 27 QBs the next most frequent position is Running back with 7/50. High profile position, prospect of someone scoring multiple touchdowns or the winning touchdown etc
If we ally my view that Blount should have a big game with instinctively wanting to be under 58 points then the 25/1 widely available on Blount is a price i simply can't resist
Add to this that Blount is a "bad boy made good" so the story/narrative is impeccable., went to eastern missisippi (the college that featured in the netflix series "Lastchance U" ) after failing academically and was subsequently indefintely suspended at Oregon (
http://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?id=4446898). Has been cut twice as a pro and was a Bill Belicheck reclamation project
Who votes for the Superbowl MVP?20% of the votes is from fans during the game online or mobile. 80% of the vote is from 16 journalists.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_Most_Valuable_Player_AwardI have left the Blount anytime touchdown scorer market alone, 4/6 ish. He is of course a genuine candidate for first touchdown scorer at 8/1 co-favourite of three
If he does that though, we are at least in the starting stalls for the MVP trophy so lets go for it
RecommendationsLeGarrette Blount o60.5 yards rushing 5/6 Bet365 £help please
or
LeGarrette Blount o55.5 yards rushing 17/20 Ladbrokes £help please
(note, UK firms cut our margins on o/u player props about 18 months ago. Skybet 10/11 a nice exception here)
LeGarrette Blount Superbowl MVP 25-1 Coral £10