The Atlanta Falcons Still Don't Get Any Respect.

[LeRoy_Was_Here]

The 'smart' money was all on Seattle beating Atlanta yesterday. Didn't happen. And now I see that the number one seed in the NFC playoffs is an underdog, at home, to the San Francisco 49ers. By three-and-a-half points.

Doesn't sound right to me. Now, I think the 49ers certainly COULD win that game, but I think Atlanta should be favored at home, probably by 3 or 4 points.

This Atlanta Falcons football team is better than people realize. The Seahawks found that out yesterday. When will the rest of America, and the oddsmakers, realize that?

My forecast for the San Franciso at Atlanta game is this: Atlanta 31, San Francisco 27.

My forecast for the Baltimore at New England game is this: New England 42, Baltimore 35.

 

[Craig]

The 'smart' money was all on Seattle beating Atlanta yesterday. Didn't happen. And now I see that the number one seed in the NFC playoffs is an underdog, at home, to the San Francisco 49ers. By three-and-a-half points.

Doesn't sound right to me. Now, I think the 49ers certainly COULD win that game, but I think Atlanta should be favored at home, probably by 3 or 4 points.

This Atlanta Falcons football team is better than people realize. The Seahawks found that out yesterday. When will the rest of America, and the oddsmakers, realize that?

My forecast for the San Franciso at Atlanta game is this: Atlanta 31, San Francisco 27.

My forecast for the Baltimore at New England game is this: New England 42, Baltimore 35.

The meltdown cost Atlanta and they survived by the skin of their teeth. Going from a 20-0 lead to a 28-27 deficit was not a good thing. 49ers, 41-28

I just think it's the Ravens turn. Ravens...34-24

 

[Bo-4]

Actually the smart money took Seattle plus 3 points. So we won by the a pube, kind of like Atlanta did.

I'll be taking NE -9.5. And San Fran -3.5.

 

[LeRoy_Was_Here]

Actually the smart money took Seattle plus 3 points. So we won by the a pube, kind of like Atlanta did.

I'll be taking NE -9.5. And San Fran -3.5.

Yeah, I know Atlanta was actually favored against the Seahawks, but all the talk around here was how the Seattle Seahawks were going to get to at LEAST the NFC Championship, if not the Superbowl.....

 

[LeRoy_Was_Here]

The meltdown cost Atlanta and they survived by the skin of their teeth. Going from a 20-0 lead to a 28-27 deficit was not a good thing. 49ers, 41-28

I just think it's the Ravens turn. Ravens...34-24

Picking BOTH road teams to win on championship Sunday is dangerous, Craig. Happens VERY rarely.

 

[fairsheet]

The Seahawks lost by 6" yesterday. The Falcons were out of timeouts. Had Lynch come up just 6" shorter than he did on the Seahawks last drive, they would've had sufficient time and downs to score while running out the clock.

Oh well...wait'll next year!...as they say.

 

[Craig]

Picking BOTH road teams to win on championship Sunday is dangerous, Craig. Happens VERY rarely.

Understood...

Hey...I live on the edge...

 

[Bo-4]

Yeah, I know Atlanta was actually favored against the Seahawks, but all the talk around here was how the Seattle Seahawks were going to get to at LEAST the NFC Championship, if not the Superbowl.....

I think a lot of that had to do with Matt Ryan's penchant for losing playoff games. I'm happy for him in that he finally pulled one out, but he was terrible for over half the game. Atlanta is a great team overall, but i think Kaepernick will be the better QB in the clutch and don't believe the Falcon's D has an answer for The Gazelle's happy feet!

 

[LeRoy_Was_Here]

I think a lot of that had to do with Matt Ryan's penchant for losing playoff games. I'm happy for him in that he finally pulled one out, but he was terrible for over half the game. Atlanta is a great team overall, but i think Kaepernick will be the better QB in the clutch and don't believe the Falcon's D has an answer for The Gazelle's happy feet!

That's the thing: I think the Atlanta Falcons have now finally overcome their playoff jinx. I think they should be favored at home. If the game was in San Francisco, I'd probably favor the 49ers by 10 points. But it's not.

 

[Bo-4]

That's the thing: I think the Atlanta Falcons have now finally overcome their playoff jinx. I think they should be favored at home. If the game was in San Francisco, I'd probably favor the 49ers by 10 points. But it's not.

Typically the oddsmakers deem home field advantage to be worth 3 points. So if Niners were at home, it would probably be Niners favored by 6.5 (not in a million years would i give 10).

 

[jammer]

Can't agree LeRoy, if no timeout was called, Atlanata lost. Outscored 28 to 7 in second half.

 

[Bo-4]

I should note that on my site, betting is running 76-24% for the Niners -3.5.

When they don't want to move the spread to 4, they pay a little less on a win for San Fran in attempt to even up the betting.

San Francisco at Atlanta San Francisco -3.5-115 (a winning $50 bet on SF pays $93.48)
San Francisco at Atlanta Atlanta +3.5-105 (a winning $50 bet on ATL pays $97.62)

IOW, they take their profits or "juice" from winners. So what they want ultimately is an equal number of bets on each side. A lot of these casinos will sell uneven risk to another casino at the last minute to insure their profits, unless their experts feel very strongly about a game, in which case they'll let it ride and hope for the best.

 

[LeRoy_Was_Here]

Can't agree LeRoy, if no timeout was called, Atlanata lost. Outscored 28 to 7 in second half.

28-10, actually. But the Seahawks were outscored 20-0 in the first half. Both halves count, you know.

 

[LeRoy_Was_Here]

I think a lot of that had to do with Matt Ryan's penchant for losing playoff games. I'm happy for him in that he finally pulled one out, but he was terrible for over half the game. Atlanta is a great team overall, but i think Kaepernick will be the better QB in the clutch and don't believe the Falcon's D has an answer for The Gazelle's happy feet!

The Falcons are 8-1 at home this year, counting the playoff game. The only game they lost was the final regular season home game vs Tampa Bay, which was utterly meaningless to the Falcons. They had nothing to play for in that game. They had already locked up the number one seed.