NFL Preseason Handicapping

Lots of money be made on NFL preseason picks. Handicappers should not approach the preseason the same way they do in the regular season and proper precautions should be taken. With not much information to work on, there are only a few indicators of ATS (against the spread) results in the preseason. In fact, the same issues that make these games more difficult to handicap make them more difficult for lines-makers to peg.

By following the factors listed below, we can analyze preseason handicapping.

Coaches and their philosophy.

Some coaches take the preseason seriously and others use it for exactly for the intended purpose of analysis. Some make every play count, with a strict disciplined approach. Some do exactly the opposite. Apart from good coaches versus poor coaches, where the difference is not much, further analysis is required to unearth more predictive trends. Finally, "new" NFL coaches have to prove their mettle than experienced vets who are secure in their jobs.

Team Depth

Backups play more than starters and some teams' backups are better than other teams' starters. Teams with veteran starters who are not fighting for their job will tend to play these starters very little in the preseason. These players will get extra playing time as coaches try to determine the starter. Some teams' second or third-string quarterbacks could start for other teams. When they get to play against their opponent's second or third-stringers, they'll rack up the yards - and the points.

Game Plan

Coaches very often announce their intentions for upcoming games. Sometimes they want to give a specific player a lot of playing time and other times they just want to get out of there as quickly as possible without injuries. Sometimes after several weak preseason performances, coaches challenge their teams to put up a good show before the regular season starts.

Preseason Trends

It is true that some simple older popular trends are no longer predictive. However, there will always remain very good predictive trends for the preseason. Look out for those.