NFL Best Bets – 2011 Season Review

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 04 January 2012 16:42
Written by BetRepublic
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A look back on the highs and lows that led to our fourth straight winning season in the NFL

It’s not uncommon to hear a sports bettor say it’s time to “roll up their sleeves” when going through a rough patch or perhaps for the old fashioned types, “sharpening up the pencil” still rings true.

Clichés for finding a way to get back in the winner’s circle run rampant through sports and with betting it’s no different, but it’s easier said than done.  

There were some highs and some lows during the recently completed NFL regular season and when things got hairy for our Best Bets, we put our noses down and said it was time to get dirty. The net result, a 19-12-3 (61-percent) record against the spread that included an 11-week stretch without a single losing week to finish the season.

Here is a recap of the BetRepublic.com NFL Best Bets from 2011. Click any of the links for a jump to that week’s picks.

FIRST QUARTER
It’s always a bit tricky designating anything a Best Bet in the first week of the season and with training camps limited by a lockout, this year was no different. Our two picks split in Week 1, winning with Arizona and losing with Tennessee. Wonder how the Titans look back to that loss against a Jags team that finished 5-11 SU?

Week 2 produced a pair of winners and a push, Week 3 was another split and then a loss in Week 4 was when the wheels started to fall off.
Record, Week’s 1-4: 4-3-1 ATS

THE ROUGH PATCH
Top plays in Week 5 looked at the side from Philadelphia and Buffalo, the total from Tampa Bay at San Francisco and a Monday Night Football team total on Detroit that missed by 2.5 points. It was a 1-2 record that only looked good in comparison to Week 6, when we finished 0-3 ATS.

It was three games that missed the mark by a combined total of just 14.5 points but it’s enough to rattle any handicapper.
Record, Week’s 5-6: 1-5 ATS

ROLL `EM UP!
If memory serves, a few of us actually had a conversation around late-October about what it meant for a bettor to roll up their sleeves and grind out a few wins. I mean, wouldn’t someone choose to do this every week if it resulted in a consistent winning record?


Our NFL picks from Week 13 to 15 were a perfect 6-0 against the spread


But it’s not that simple. Take Team Canada’s recent loss to Russia in the World Juniors, for example. Those kids could not find the effort during the first 30-40 minutes that brought them back within one goal of a miracle on ice, but their performance during the third period is what sports are all about.

The Best Bets went from a 1-5 slump to a 14-4-2 ATS run that delivered us back to the 60-plus percent range we’ve become accustomed to over the years.

Our top picks posted a 17-10-2 (63-percent) record in 2010 and our four year total since the launch of BetRepublic.com in 2008 is 62-37-6 ATS (63-percent).

We’re looking forward to more winners during the playoffs just as much as the rest of you and our first two Wild Card picks are up now in the NFL News. Stop by the forum and join the conversation with your predictions for this year’s conference and Super Bowl champs.


Good luck with all your plays.