Jeff Benton
Steelers 15*
As most of you know, I made a crapload of money in the NFL over the final month of the season, even going 13-0 over three successive Sundays before finally rolling snake eyes last week. How did I do it? More times than not, I did it by going against the grain, by taking the opposite play in so-called ?obvious? games. I did it by being a ?contrarian.? Here are a few examples:
In Week 16, when everyone loved the Vikings against the Redskins, I made Washington my Best Bet and said they?d probably win outright. They did. Same week, everyone loved the Packers over the Bears, and I made a strong case for Chicago. Another outright upset winner.
In Week 15, I played five of THE ugliest underdogs you could possibly find, taking the Raiders over the Colts, Eagles over the Cowboys, Redskins over the Giants, Panthers over the Seahawks and the Bears over the Vikings on Monday night. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, was on the opposite side of all five of those games. So what happened? The Eagles, Redskins and Panthers all pulled off stunning outright upsets, while the Raiders and Bears both covered inflated pointspreads.
In Week 14, among five winners, I played the Patriots over the Steelers when everyone and their mother was backing Pittsburgh, even saying the Steelers had a shot at the outright win. And then the week before that, I was one of the very few people on the planet to back the Ravens plus the points against New England.
So what does all that have to do with this selection today? The entire world ? from handicappers to TV talking heads, to Internet columnists, to amateur bettors, to the majority of wise guys ? is picking Jacksonville in this game. Hell, I?m sure when you saw this pick you probably wanted to pound your fist into the nearest wall, ticked off that I would support a team that no one is giving a chance to win. Well, there?s my point right there: Nobody is giving the Pittsburgh Steelers ? a team that won its division, a team that?s playing at home (where it went 7-1), a team with a veteran quarterback (who just happens to own a Super Bowl ring), a team with the No. 1 defense in the NFL ? a prayer tonight. And that makes absolutely NO sense.
Yes, I?m aware of Pittsburgh?s injury situations ? I will not gloss over that. You lose your best defensive lineman, your left tackle and your leading rusher in the span of three weeks, that?s huge. Not only that, but the Steelers? best defensive back and fierce defensive leader (Troy Polamalu) has been banged up for weeks and will not be at 100 percent, if he plays at all. I get all that. I also get that the Jags have been as hot and playing as well as any team in the NFL, including the Patriots, and that Jacksonville came to Pittsburgh three weeks ago and put it to the Steelers in a 29-22 win. All relevant points.
But this is the playoffs. This is Pittsburgh in January. And to ask a team from Florida to come into this environment and lay points is too much. I don?t care how ?built for cold weather? the Jags are; they?re still from Jacksonville. Also, their quarterback, who definitely played out of his mind this season, is still making his first-ever postseason start ? again, in Pittsburgh. Big Ben is making his seventh playoff start. Do NOT underestimate that fact.
Listen, guys, everywhere you turned the last three weeks, all you?d hear was ?watch out for the Jaguars,? ?nobody wants to play the Jaguars,? ?the one team that could give the Patriots fits is the Jaguars.? Well, I?m telling you, the Steelers are being shortchanged here, and I mean BIG TIME. And I think they?re going to use that disrespect as motivation, I think Roethlisberger is going to play very well, I think Davenport is going to run the ball effectively, I think the defense, after giving up more than 420 yards to Jacksonville three weeks ago, is going to be stout. And I think the Steelers are going to send Cinderella packing.
Bottom line: Remember the old adage, ?If something looks too good to be true, it is?? Well, never is this more poignant than in sports betting, especially in the NFL. And the fact of the matter is, the Jaguars look ?too good to be true.? EVERYONE is backing them ? everyone but us. Play the Steelers and watch once again as we collect when 95 percent of the public out there loses!
Seahawks
Well, after reading what I just wrote about the Jags-Steelers game, is it any wonder that I?m going to go against the grain again and play Seattle?
Here we go again with a home team that is getting the short-shrift from both the betting public, the oddsmakers and the media. The Seahawks are 23-4 in their last 27 games at Qwest Field, including 7-1 there this season and 5-0 against the number in their last five ? and they?re barely favored? Over the sixth-seeded Redskins, a team that needed to win four straight games just to get into this tournament? A team guided by a journeyman quarterback who, until a month ago, hadn?t started in this league in a decade? A team that lost its last playoff game two years ago in this very building by a 20-10 score?
What the hell am I missing here?
Listen, what the Redskins did to make the playoffs was impressive, there?s no denying that. But let?s not lose sight of the fact that they were under the gun to win all four of those games, and as such, they had to lay it all on the line and their starters got no rest whatsoever. To ask them to win a fifth consecutive pressure-packed game, including a third straight on the road, in one of the more hostile environments in the league, with Todd Collins at quarterback against an opportunistic defense that ranked second in the league in forced turnovers (41, including 20 INTs), is lunacy!
Guys, the Seahawks coasted over the final three weeks after wrapping up the NFC West title, so you can throw the two losses at Carolina (13-10) and at Atlanta (44-41) out the window ? meant nothing. Or, hell, you can include those games, plus a 33-30 overtime loss at Cleveland, and say Seattle was three field goals away from finishing the season on a 10-game winning streak! It?s true, look it up. So let me ask you: Had the Seahawks won those three road games at Cleveland, Carolina and Atlanta ? again, only one of them was meaningful ? do you think they?d only be a field-goal favorite today? Hell no! They?d be laying what they were two years ago when they hosted Washington in the playoffs, about 10 points.
Oh, and since we all know how huge playoff experience is this time of year, here?s a little nugget of information for you: Only two teams ? TWO ? have qualified for the postseason for at least five straight years. One is the Colts. The other? You guessed it, Seattle, which has won three straight home playoff games!
Just like Pittsburgh, another home team being disrespected will get it done today ? and I?ve got a feeling it?s not even going to be close!