Super Bowl prop bets becoming more popular than betting on the game itself

Filed under Superbowl by on February 6, 2011 at 5:56 am {no comments}

Prop bets have become a big part of Super Bowl betting, and all you have to do is check out the props available for Super Bowl XLV on Sunday in Dallas at sportsbooks to see for yourself.

There are the crazy, wacky props that have nothing to do with the game itself, which tend to attract non-football fans, and there are the individual player and team props that NFL bettors usually prefer.

One of the most popular are quarterback props, like what will happen first for each QB. For Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, throwing a TD pass pays -200 while tossing an interception is at +160.

For Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, throwing a touchdown is at -230 and throwing an interception is at +190

You can also wager on the over/under for total passing yards for the two pivots, with Roethlisberger’s total at 247.5, and the over at +105 odds and the under at -135. For Rodgers, the over/under is 272.5, with over at -135 and under at +105.

There are also plenty of running back prop bets for Super Bowl XLV, like total rushing yards. For the Packers’ Brandon Jackson, the over/under is 11.5 yards, with over at +125 and under at -155.

For the Steelers’ Rashard Mendenhall, the over/under is 81.5 rushing yards, with the over at +105 and the under at -135.

Of course, some sportsbooks offer so many wacky bets, it’s hard not resist, like how long Christina Aguilera’s version of the Star Spangled Banner will last.

Super Bowl XLV injury update: Pittsburgh Steelers & Green Bay Packers

Filed under Superbowl by on February 5, 2011 at 6:43 am {no comments}

Any NFL Betting fan knows that one of the biggest contributing factors to a team’s performance is health – specifically which players are out of the lineup with injuries, and which players are playing hurt.

And at no time, in no game, are injuries a bigger factor than the Super Bowl.

Heading into Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, both the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers have some injury concerns.

For the Packers, wide receiver Donald Driver is nursing a quadriceps injury, but the team said Friday he will play in Super Bowl XLV on Sunday against the Steelers.

Driver has been battling the injury all week. He was put on the Packers’ injury report Thursday, leading to speculation he wouldn’t play in Dallas. But Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Friday that while Driver was being held out of Friday’s practice as a precaution, he expects the veteran receiver to play Sunday.

For the Steelers, there has been a lot of speculation about starting center Maurkice Pouncey’s availability for the Super Bowl.

Pouncey suffered a high left ankle sprain in the Steelers’ 24-19 win over the New York Jets in the AFC championship, and has been seen on crutches and wearing a walking boot on his left foot.

But Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Friday he expects Pouncey back at center on Sunday. Pouncey’s ankle sprain is a Grade II+, in other words, almost a complete tear of at least one of the major ligaments in the ankle. If this was a regular season game and not Super Sunday, there’s little doubt he would be out.