FiveStarPick.com is working round the clock to gather information on Super Bowl XLIII.  We are analyzing stats, trends, player matchups and injury reports to give our members the best chance to cover against the spread.  Las Vegas sportsbooks currently have the Steelers as 7-point favorites with the total at 46.5.  Today we will be providing you with an interesting article from the Dallas Star that might give you insight to the irony of this Super Bowl Matchup.  The pros at FiveStarPick.com will be previewing this matchup for you later in the week.  Here is what the article said…

“When Bill Cowher walked away from the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 2006 season, there was a scramble among his assistants to replace him.

The Steelers interviewed offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and offensive line coach Russ Grimm for the vacancy. The Steelers wound up offering the position to Grimm, then retracted it and, in the span of 24 hours, named an outsider, Mike Tomlin, as their head coach.

Having been passed over by the Steelers, Whisenhunt and Grimm knew they couldn’t – and wouldn’t – stay in Pittsburgh. Whisenhunt became the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals that off-season and took Grimm with him.

Imagine the culture shock: Whisenhunt and Grimm were leaving a franchise that annually played in January for a franchise that was annually out of contention by Thanksgiving.

The Steelers share the NFL record with five Lombardi Trophies. The Cardinals are at the other end of the spectrum with a 61-year championship drought, the longest in the league.

But in two years, Whisenhunt has done what few thought possible, capturing an NFC championship with the Cardinals. Standing in the way of Arizona’s first NFL championship since 1947 – his former team, the Steelers.

The Cardinals toppled the Philadelphia Eagles, 32-25, in the NFC title game Sunday, and the Steelers upended the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14, in the AFC title game.

Even before the AFC game began Sunday, Whisenhunt expressed a desire to play the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

“The reason I’m here is because of my time with Pittsburgh,” Whisenhunt said. “I’m very grateful for that.”

The Steelers won four Super Bowls in the 1970s to capture team of the decade acclaim, then played in a Super Bowl in the 1990s and another this decade. They lost to the Cowboys in 1996 and beat the Seattle Seahawks in 2006. Whisenhunt and Grimm both have rings in their safe-deposit boxes commemorating that championship season.

Arizona, on the other hand, has won more playoff games this month (three) than in it had in the franchise’s first 87 years (two). The Cardinals are the most unlikely Super Bowl team since the 1979 Los Angeles Rams, who were the last nine-win team to advance to the NFL title game.

Like the Cardinals, the 1979 Rams won the NFC West with a 9-7 record. Like the Cardinals, the Rams rode a string of upsets to the Super Bowl, winning on the road at Dallas and Tampa Bay.

The Cardinals were underdogs in playoff victories this month over Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia. And like those Rams, the Cardinals will face the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

Since moving to Arizona from St. Louis in 1988, the Cardinals have managed two winning seasons, finishing 9-7 in 1998 and 2008. The Cardinals have nine last-place finishes in Arizona.

“I just want to say the words ‘Arizona Cardinals’ and ‘Super Bowl’ in the same sentence,” said Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner after his four-touchdown pass performance against the Eagles. “I like the way that sounds.”

During that 21-year stretch, the Steelers have won nine division titles and qualified for the playoffs 11 times. Now these two teams square off for NFL supremacy. The Cardinals will attempt to become the first nine-victory team to capture a Super Bowl since the 1967 Green Bay Packers (9-4-1).

The two conference champions bring contrasting styles to the Super Bowl.

The Cardinals finished fourth in the NFL in offense and second in passing. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald all were selected to start in the Pro Bowl.

The Steelers led the NFL in defense for the third time in five seasons. Pittsburgh allowed the fewest yards and points this season and also led the NFL in pass defense. James Harrison was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and he’ll join fellow linebacker James Farrior and safety Troy Polamalu at the Pro Bowl.

But keep an eye on the sidelines in the Super Bowl. Whisenhunt and Grimm have something to prove to their former employer.”

So who covers the spread in Super Bowl XLIII?  Step up your game, become a member of our family and get the answer.  Why not try our service out for 2-days and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 2300 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors won nearly $100K in 2008.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

Now this is going to be a good game…FiveStarPick.com can’t wait for the AFC Championship game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Pittsburgh is listed as 6-point favorites with the total set at 33.5.  CBS Sports will provide coverage of the AFC Championship Game from Heinz Field at 6:30 p.m. ET. Sunday’s forecast for Pittsburgh calls for snow showers, with a high of 27 degrees and a low of 19.

Baltimore (13-5 straight up, 14-4 against the spread) enters this matchup on a 4-game SU and ATS winning streak.  Last week they upset top-ranked Tennessee as a 3-point road dog, 13-10 and cashed the under again…improving the under to 5-1 the past six games.

Pittsburgh (13-4 SU, 10-7 ATS) crushed AFC West Champion San Diego last weekend as a 6-point home favorites, 35-24. The Steelers are now 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS their last eight outings and the combined 59 points went over the 37.5-point closing total.

The Ravens are 6-2 ATS the last eight meetings in this series and Baltimore has a stout 6-2 ATS record as a road underdog.  The birds are 7-1 ATS away from home on grass surfaces and Pittsburgh is a modest 5-4 ATS when listed as a home favorite.

So who covers the spread in the AFC Championship Game?  It’s time to step up your game, become a member of our family and find out.  Why not try our service out for 2-days and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 2300 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors won nearly $100K in 2008.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com is coming off a 3-1 ATS Divsional Playoff record and looks forward to this weekends line-up of games.  The focus of this preview is the matchup between Arizona (11-7 straight up, 11-7 against the spread) and Philadelphia (11-6-1 SU, 12-6 ATS).  The Cardinals have home field advantage and will enjoy a closed roof over University of Phoenix Stadium.

The Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner is a former Superbowl champion and will definately be a factor in these benign conditions.  He is 7-2 over his career in the postseason and has a 63% completion percentage with 2,712 yards, 19 touchdowns and a mere 12 interceptions. The Eagles are currently listed as 4-point visiting favorites, with the total set at 47.5.  But it will be turnovers that will make the differnce on Sunday.  After pummelling the Panthers last week, the Cardinals now have a +7 turnover ratio in the playoffs. The Eagles, on the other hand are at +1.

Arizona’s defense has improved dramatically in the post season.  Prior to the playoffs, the Cards gave up over 35 PPG.  In the playoffs, they have only allowed 19.3 PPG.  This tenacious ‘D’ has helped the Cards cover their last three games ATS.

The Arizona offese has scored less than 29 points at home only once this season and when Arizona has scored 30 or more points, the team has gone 8-1 SU and ATS.

Philly is 6-1 SU and ATS since McNabb was benched in Baltimore in Week 12.  Since then, the Eagles have busted up their opponents with 27.7 PPG and only relinquished 12 PPG to their opponents.  This will be the  Eagles 3rd road game in a row and one that will require the Eagles to travel across the country.  The birds have gone 2-0 SU and ATS this season out west beating San Francisco in Week 6 and Seattle in Week 9.

Here is an interesting trend to ponder…teams that knock off the defending Super Bowl Champs the week before are 0-10 SU and 1-9 ATS the following week.

Now let’s talk about past performances.  In one of his best games of the season, McNabb passed for 260 yards and 4 TDs beating Arizona 48-20 back on Thankgiving Day.  RB Brian Westbrook, added 110 rushing yards and 2 scores of his own.  But Westbrook reinjured his swollen left knee in the win over the Giants.  The Eagles are 5-4 SU and 7-2 ATS in their last nine head-to-head meetings versus Arizona.

So who covers the spread in the NFC Championship Game?  It’s time to step up your game, become a member of our family and find out.  Why not try our service out for 2-days and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 2300 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors won nearly $100K in 2008.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com lit it up yesterday as we took down the sports book with both dogs.  As a matter of fact, our handicapping team took Arizona on the money line and turned $10,000 into $37,500.  We look for today to be no different as we give our members the ATS winners of both Divisional Playoff games.  The focus of this preview is this afternoon’s game between the San Diego Chargers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Las Vegas sports books list the Steelers as 6.5 home favorites with the total set at 37.5. 

San Diego (9-8 SU, 8-8 ATS) enters this contest riding a five-game SU winning streak (4-1 ATS) after knocking off Indianapolis last weekend in overtime during Wildcard Weekend as a 2 ½-point home underdog, 23-17. The combined 40 points went ‘under’ the 50-point closing total, ending a string of three straight ‘over’ outings.

The Chargers led the Colts in first downs (26-17), rushing yards (167-64) and time of possession (37:09-29:11), but were hindered by a pair of turnovers. Quarterback Philip Rivers completed 20-of-36 passes for 217 yards with an interception, while Darren Sproles had 22 carries for 105 yards with two scores including the game winner. Backfield mate LaDainian Tomlinson had just five carries for 25 yards and a touchdown in limited action.

Pittsburgh (12-4 SU, 9-7 ATS) enjoyed a bye week compliments of the AFC’s second seed. The Steelers throttled Cleveland two weeks ago in the regular season finale as an 11-point home favorite, 31-0. The 31 points failed to eclipse the 33 ½-point closing total, helping the ‘under’ improve to 3-1 the previous four outings.

Pittsburgh controlled all aspects of the game, leading in first downs (20-8), rushing yards (176-106), passing yards (193-20), turnovers forced (2-1) and time of possession (33:20-26:40). However, the Steelers had some anxious moments when signal caller Ben Roethlisberger suffered a concussion in the second quarter.

The Miami of Ohio product went 9-of-14 passing for 110 yards with an interception before being knocked out, while backup Byron Leftwich entered to go 7-of-12 passing for 80 yards. Running back Willie Parker accounted for 23 carries and 116 yards with a score in the victory.

San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson (groin) is ‘doubtful’ versus the Steelers, while tight end Antonio Gates (ankle), wide receiver Vincent Jackson (possible suspension), place kicker Nate Kaeding (groin) and linebacker Brandon Siler (foot) are ‘probable.’ Wide receiver Malcom Floyd (lung) is ‘questionable’ for this contest.

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (concussion), linebacker James Harrison (hip) and cornerback Ryan Clark (shoulder) are ‘probable’ against the Chargers.

So who covers the spread in this NFL Divisional Playoff matchup?  It’s time to step up your game, become a member of our family and find out.  Why not try our service out for 2-days and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 2300 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors won nearly $100K in 2008.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com is so excited that the NFL Divisional Playoffs are here.  Las Vegas sports books list the Titans as 3-point favorites with the total at 34.5.

Preview Courtesy of VegasInsider.com

A year ago, the Titans were able to make the postseason thanks to Vince Young’s heroics and an Indianapolis squad that took it easy in Week 17. Yet they were expected to finish third in the AFC South in 2008 behind the Colts and Jaguars by many experts.

Baltimore really didn’t know what to expect this season, losing Steve McNair and Jonathan Ogden to retirement after a 5-11 campaign in 2007. Adding more uncertainty was the decision to throw rookie signal caller Joe Flacco into the fire as the starter.

Now both clubs are just three victories away from claiming the Lombardi Trophy. They’ll butt heads on Saturday in Nashville for a 4:30 p.m. EST showdown on CBS.

Rookie head coach John Harbaugh didn’t have to rely on his rookie quarterback to win the game in Miami last week as his defense dominant. The Ravens never stopped Chad Pennington last Sunday, sacking him three times and forcing four interceptions. Plus, Baltimore forced a fumble to bring its takeaway total to five. To give you an idea of how impressive that is, Miami led the league in giveaways by turning the ball over just 13 times during the regular season.

We shouldn’t be too surprised by the Ravens’ prowess on defense. After all they ranked fifth in the NFL against the pass (224.0 yards per game) and the best squad defending the run (52.0 YPG). Ed Reed, who scored on one of his two interceptions last week, leads the league with nine picks for the year.

Flacco performed reasonably well in his first playoff start, completing nine of 23 passes for 135 yards and not getting sacked by the Dolphins. It was still a drop off from his regular season stats of connected on 60 percent of his passes for 2,971 yards with 14 scores and 12 interceptions.

While his numbers are solid, VegasInsider.com expert handicapper Andy Iskoe believes they don’t tell the whole story for Flacco…especially against playoff squads. “All 5 of Baltimore’s losses this season came to Playoff teams with 4 of the losses to teams that had Byes last week (twice to Pittsburgh, once to the Giants, once to Tennessee) and the fifth loss was to 12-4 Indianapolis,” says Iskoe. “Yet the Ravens actually played the tougher schedule as their foes were 132-121-3 while Tennessee’s foes were a combined 117-138-1.” He completed 122 of 206 passes for 1,280 yards with more picks (nine) than scores (five) when he faced teams that made the postseason.

The plus side for Raven fans is that they have the No. 2 running game in the league, averaging 151.0 YPG on the ground this year. Willis McGahee only played in 13 games this year but still picked up 671 yards on 170 carries and scoring seven times. Le’Ron McClain exploded onto the scene for Baltimore by snapping up 3.9 yards per carry and leading the team with 10 rushing touchdowns.

Jeff Fisher was able to get his Titans back to the playoffs for the second straight year thanks to a defense that stepped up. Tennessee gave up 93.9 YPG on the ground, while surrendering 199.8 passing YPG.

Tennessee was able to put up those numbers by applying pressure in the trenches and in the secondary. Albert Haynesworth (51 tackles, 8 ½ sacks) Kyle Vanden Bosch (24 tackles, 4 ½ sacks) found their ways into the opposition’s backfield. Meanwhile, Cortland Finnegan (five interceptions, 17 defended passes) and Michael Griffin (seven picks, 11 defended passes) are quick to shut down receivers.

On the offensive side of the ball, the biggest change for the Titans was the ability to throw the ball with Kerry Collins under center. Collins took over in Week 2 of the year after Vince Young went down with a sprained knee. He averaged 167.3 passing YPG this season with 12 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. Compare that to Young’s nine scores to 17 picks in 2007. Collins’ could have some issues though as center Kevin Mawae (elbow) is “out” for this Saturday’s match.

Tennessee received a jolt to its running game in drafting Chris Johnson out of East Carolina, running for 1,228 yards and nine touchdowns. Former starter LenDale White was able to bite his lip and accept his new role as primarily a short-yardage back by rushing for 773 yards and 15 scores.

Normally you’ll give the home squad the advantage in this setup. Yet the Ravens have proven that they can win away from M&T Bank Stadium this year by posting a 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS mark. They also saw the ‘over’ go 6-3 in road tilts this season.

Baltimore will have its work cut out this weekend visiting the Titans. Tennessee is 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS at home this year. The ‘over’ is 5-2-1 for Fisher’s squad at LP Field as well.

These squads faced off back on Oct. 5 where Tennessee won as a one-point road fave against the Ravens, 13-10. But Iskoe points out that that final score is a bit misleading. “When the teams met earlier this season in Baltimore, the Ravens led 10-3 after 3 quarters before the Titans scored the final 10 points to win 13-10. Yet Baltimore outgained Tennessee 285-210. Neither QB was sacked but each tossed a pair of interceptions. These teams are evenly matched with each team’s strength being the defense.”

The Ravens have been a solid fade against teams from the AFC South, posting a 4-7 SU and 2-9 ATS record against that division since 2005.

Visiting teams are 7-3 SU and ATS in the last 10 head-to-head meetings of these former AFC Central rivals.

So who covers the spread in this NFL Divisional Playoff matchup?  It’s time to step up your game, become a member of our family and find out.  Why not try our service out for 2-days and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 2300 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors won nearly $100K in 2008.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com