Docs 5* Saturday Hoops Smash (Sat)
Docs Sports has a strong 5* selection on Saturday in college basketball that features two teams heading in opposite directions. Doc expects a blowout in this game by double-digits and this pick is backed by a 100% angle. Jump on board this selection early and often!

$50

COMBO

Season

NFL + CFB Season Package
Every Game in College and NFL can be yours with this package. It starts in August with the preseason and finishes up in February of 2011 with the Super Bowl.

$650

Monthly

All Sports 30 Day Package
30 days of premium picks for all sports - guaranteed to win! This is one of the best values on this website as you get access to all of our plays in all of the sports the we release selections in!

$600

Weekly

All Sports 7 Day Package
Seven days of premium picks for all sports - guaranteed to win! This is one of the best values on this website as you get access to all of our plays in all of the sports the we release selections in!

$300

NFL + CFB 7 Day Package
Seven days of premium NFL and college football picks - guaranteed to win! This will include any Bowl Games or NFL Playoff games that fall during this time.

$119

Daily

All Sports 1 Day Package
Today's premium picks for all sports - guaranteed to win! We offer selections in NFL, CFB, NBA, MLB, CBB, and NHL.

$75

Super Bowl Betting: Five Keys to the Game

by: Doc's Sports

We have so much time on our hands before the Super Bowl that we can afford the luxury of breaking this game down from a million different angles. It also means, unfortunately, that we have more than enough time to become very sick of talking about some aspects of the game. Yes, I'm talking about you, Anquan Boldin. That aside, the more I look at this game, the more I think that it is going to come down to just a handful of aspects. Here's a look at five factors that I think will be key to this game:

1. The pass rush. The stats here are stunning - the team that has had the most sacks has won 12 of the last 13 Super Bowls and has gone 8-3-2 ATS. It goes without saying, then, that we can't overstate the importance of the pass rush in this game. Because Pittsburgh is such a good defensive team while Arizona wasn't in the regular season, it would be the assumption of many that Pittsburgh would have an edge here. That's not actually the case. The teams were fairly well matched in the regular season, with Arizona securing just one more net sack. The teams have also been virtually identical in the playoffs - the Steelers are +3 in sacks in two games, and the Cardinals are +4 in three games. It's really a coin toss, and a really important one.

The importance of this matchup goes beyond the numbers, though. Kurt Warner handles the blitz so well that Pittsburgh might be hesitant to test him if they can't get to him early and often. Ben Roethlisberger isn't as good when facing pressure, and he isn't as healthy as Warner right now, so Arizona may be interested in taking more risks in the effort to get at Big Ben.

2. Red zone efficiency. Pretty much regardless of how this game plays out, the play in the red zone will be crucial. If Arizona's offense is running at full throttle, Pittsburgh's offense, which can be pokey at times, will have to be especially effective when they get close. If the Pittsburgh defense has a good day then the Arizona offense will have to capitalize on whatever chances it does get. Arizona's red zone offense wasn't as good as the offense was elsewhere on the field - it ranked just ninth. That's better than Pittsburgh's, which was 15th. Defensively, though, the gap is huge. Pittsburgh was tops in the league, allowing touchdowns in just one third of red zone possessions. Arizona was much worse, allowing seven points in nearly two thirds of the opportunities.

3. Effectiveness of Arizona's offense. This may seem overly simplified, but it really is the essence of this game - can Arizona score against the best defense in the league? If they can consistently find a way to connect with their ridiculously deep stable of receivers then they probably have the ability to put up more points than the Steelers can deal with. If the Steelers defense asserts itself early, though, then the Arizona defense could struggle to keep up with their counterparts. It's not as easy to figure out as it could be - both units for the Cardinals are overachieving somewhat in the playoffs, and while both units for Pittsburgh are a touch below what we came to expect in the regular season. How the four units will react in this game is a bit of a mystery.

4. Resilience of teams when they get in trouble. It's almost certain that one of these teams is going to find themselves in trouble at some point in this game. How the teams will react when that happens will determine what happens in the game. The Cardinals haven't had to deal with being far behind in the playoffs, but they have twice quickly given up big leads, and both times they have found the strength to fight back again. The Steelers were never behind against the Ravens, and only slightly a couple of times against the Chargers. If a team panics when they get behind it will be over.

5. Quarterbacks. The public almost always gives the quarterbacks far too much credit in the NFL. In this case, though, the quarterbacks need to be considered in a serious way. Both guys are key leaders of their teams, and both guys have the playoff experience that teams usually need to win. Both guys have the ability to be truly exceptional, but both can also be terrible. It's too simple to say that the player who plays best will win, but you can safely say that the player who best executes the team's plan is going to win. Now all you have to figure out is which on that is likely to be.

by T.O. Whenham

Doc's Sports Past Articles

NFC Championship Preview
Apparently defense does still win championships.San Francisco will host New York at 4:30 p.m. EST on Sunday for the NFC Championship Game. The winner ... read more

2011 NFL Power Rankings – Week 12
Family and feelings are the enemy of good gambling and good writing about gambling. So I apologize for the soggy lead in this week, but I am trapped in ... read more

NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 10
There were a handful of upsets in Week 9 that hopefully you avoided (and did if you took my top pick of the week) and kept you going in your survivor ... read more

2011 NFL Power Rankings Week 10
The weather is getting colder, the hits are getting harder, and the games are getting more critical as teams ride the elevator of expectations and expanded ... read more

NFL Week 7 Player Props and Betting Predictions
In my Week 6 player props story, there weren’t too many immediate results for us to look back on – in other words I tackled a few season-ending ... read more

All Doc's Sports Past Articles

More past picks...

All Doc's Sports Past Picks