Matty B’s SEC Coaching Blitz: Gus Malzahn is all the rage on The Plains. Auburn’s new offensive coordinator is getting more credit and more attention than new head coach Gene Chizik for Auburn’s 4-0 start. And there certainly is a good reason for it since the Tigers have done a complete 360 as far as offensive production goes. In 2008, Auburn’s offense was abysmal as they scored 21 po ...  read more

Matty B’s Coaching Blitz:

Missouri showed a lot of patience with Gary Pinkel. He was hired as the head coach going into the 2001 season. From 2001 through 2006, the Tigers went just 37-35. A win – loss record like that isn’t really tolerated in this modern era of “win now” college football. But the Missouri brass kept Pinkel around, and their faith in him paid off in spades ...  read more

Paul Johnson has proven himself to be one heck of a college football coach. Johnson started to get recognition during his final four years at Navy where he guided the Midshipmen to a 35-15 winning record. His team also covered the pointspread at a 58.7% clip (27-19-1) from 2004-2007.

Prior to going back to Navy as the head coach in 2002 (he was their offensive coordinator in `95 a ...  read more

With the 2009 college football season already underway and the NFL set to kick-off on Thursday night, it’s time for us to bring you a new weekly series, The Inside Blitz. This new weekly report will take you inside the pointspread during the football season. We’re going to be delivering you a weekly column that will reveal winning coaching spread patterns, get you inside the SEC confer ...  read more

Our 2009 NFL previews wrap-up with a peek at the NFC West. In last year’s edition of these previews, we called for the Arizona Cardinals to make some serious noise in 2008. And they did exactly that as they were 2:30 away from a Super Bowl championship. The Cardinals were the class of this division in ’08 as the Rams, 49ers, and Seahawks all had terrible seasons. We do anticipate this divis ...  read more

We’re coming down the home stretch with our 2009 NFL previews.

The NFC South appears to be a division that may regress this season. In 2008, NFC South teams were extremely tough to beat on their home fields, both straight-up and against the spread. But we think it will be extremely difficult for three of these teams to duplicate that success. There is one team in this group that ...  read more

The NFC North has a lot of interesting quarterback situations heading into the 2009 season. Three of the four teams will be playing a different QB from a season ago; only Green Bay will have last year’s starter (Aaron Rodgers) back.

Chicago made a big splash by trading for former Denver starter Jay Cutler. But as you’ll read in my write-up below, Cutler’s acquisition is meaningless ...  read more

By now I’m sure you’ve heard the sad news of Philadelphia’s longtime defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. He passed away in July at the age of 68 after a long battle with cancer. Johnson was an NFL assistant for 22 years, and he was widely regarded as the best defensive mind in the game. We wrote the previews below way back in early May, and in our write-up of the Eagles, we mention that as lo ...  read more

Here is our take of the AFC West.

This division is the weakest quartet in the American Football Conference. The Chargers are a substantial favorite to win the division at – 430 while the Broncos, Chiefs, and Raiders are field listed at + 390. To compare, the Chargers are almost double the favorite price of the defending Super Bowl champs as the Steelers are a – 240 favorite to tak ...  read more

Here’s our preview of the AFC South. Just another reminder so you guys don’t think I’m giving you stale information. I told you that these previews were written way back in May. And some things have changed. But these quick-hitters will be a good tool to use and compare when you pick-up a copy of my Blitz Report Preseason Football Annual. I cover teams in that publication in much mo ...  read more

In our AFC East preview, I told you that these previews were written way back in May. And some things have changed. But these quick-hitters will be a good tool to use and compare when you pick-up a copy of my Blitz Report Preseason Football Annual. I cover teams in that publication in much more depth and detail, and give you very specific ways to play teams I’ve isolated either to imp ...  read more

Football is close, and welcome to Matty B Sports’ 2009 NFL previews. These quick-hitters first appeared in Marc Lawrence’s Playbook magazine which is currently on newsstands across the country. If you haven’t picked-up a copy yet, I strongly recommend you do so soon. Marc Lawrence gave me a great opportunity back in 2007 when he asked me to write the NFL Previews for his Playbook Magazine. ...  read more

The Champs Sports Bowl is such an interesting match-up. Florida St has the speed and athleticism not seen in the Big Ten. Wisconsin has the strength and physicality not seen in the ACC. This game is such a tricky handicap because of the clash of styles. Below are 5 tidbits that go beyond the stats in this game. Kickoff is set for Saturday, December 27th at 4:30PM EST. It will be played in ...  read more

By now, I’m sure you have all seen “The Play” in the Chargers – Steelers game that ended with confusion and controversy. I was watching it live, and after that play, I was sick to my stomach. I released the Chargers on my late telephone service, and for 59 minutes and 59 seconds, the Chargers were never behind the spread. But that play changed it all. Instead of an 11-10 spread covering los ...  read more

It’s that time of year when weather plays a huge role in the outcome of many games. By paying attention to the weather reports around the country, you can benefit in a couple of ways. First, if potential bad weather is being reported early in the week, you might want to take a look at the total. By taking a lead on the number, it sets you up in a great situation if the weather report turns o ...  read more

Well that didn’t take long. After just 6 games, Tony Franklin was fired at Auburn. The offensive coordinator who brought the spread offense to The Plains was cut loose by Tommy Tuberville. Or in Franklin’s words, they “Told me to get lost.” We chronicled the ongoing saga that was playing out in front of the college football world a couple of weeks back. And those tidbits told to us back in ...  read more

Here’s a question I want you think about for a minute:

Who is more important, the coaches or the players when it comes to picking winners against the spread?

Now, answer it. I guarantee you’ll have a different answer after reading what I’m about to tell you.

Many of you probably answered in the players favor while some (I would say the minority) of you may h ...  read more

Last year, I wrote an article titled: The Key To The Turnover Mint? midway through the NFL season. As we approach the first quarter of the season, I figured I’d update this article to include the seasonal numbers from 2007.

Here is the updated version of my The Key To The Turnover Mint? article:

Well, not really. But in 2007, what I’m going to tell you worke ...  read more

Last year, I wrote an article titled: Donuts To Doughnuts midway through the NFL season. So with two weeks of play already in the books, I figured I’d update this article to include the seasonal numbers from 2007.

Here is the updated version of my Donuts To Doughnuts article:

There’s one thing you don’t see too often in the NFL…shutouts.

But when the ...  read more

Last year, I wrote an article titled: Pass The Buck midway through the NFL season. So with Week 1 already in the books, I figured I’d update this article to include the seasonal numbers from 2007.

Here is the updated version of my Pass The Buck article:

Over the last two weeks, I talked about the importance of running the football and stopping the run in the N ...  read more

Last year, I wrote an article titled: One Way Ticket midway through the NFL season. So with a new season set to kick-off on Thursday, I figured I’d update this article to include the seasonal numbers from 2007.

Here is the updated version of my One Way Ticket article:

There has always been a strong predictor of what it takes to win games in the NFL.

Last year, I wrote an article titled: Under A Buck midway through the NFL season. So with a new season set to kick-off in 10 days, I figured I’d update this article to include the seasonal numbers from 2007.

Here is the updated version of my Under A Buck article:

In the NFL, many games are won at the line of scrimmage. Teams that can run the ball and teams th ...  read more

Last year, I wrote an article titled: 2 + 2 = 4 midway through the college football season. So with a new season set to kick-off next Thursday night, I figured I’d update this article to include the seasonal numbers from 2007.

Here is the updated version of my 2 + 2 = 4 article:

There is a simple way to judge a team’s performance in college fo ...  read more

Boston and Tampa Bay played a home and away series over this past week, and the home team dominated going a perfect 6-0. The Devil Rays won the three games at Tropicana Field by a combined score of 10-5 with every game going under the total. The Red Sox won the three games at Fenway Park by a combined score of 26-10 with every game going over the total. Both Clay Buchholz and J ...  read more

Who is more important, the coaches or the players? That debate has been ongoing forever in the world of sports. I have a very strong opinion on this subject, and my reasoning is strictly based on the results that I have tracked when focusing on spread results. To be honest, if I wasn’t a handicapper and a bettor, I’d view this subject as irrelevant. A casual fan could care less, and basical ...  read more

Belmont Stakes 139, Saturday June 9, 2007 Race 11 @ Belmont Park Post Time: 6:25 PM EST

Attached is a pdf of my speed ratings. My top 3 rated for the Derby finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with the tri paying $440. The speed ratings once again finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the Preakness in two of the three categories. Not much to brag about as the tri paid just $50. We did hav ...  read more

Preakness Stakes 132, Saturday May 20, 2006 Race 12 @ Pimlico Racecourse Post Time: 6:09 PM EST

Attached is a pdf of my speed ratings. My top 3 rated for the Derby finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with the tri paying $440. We missed the boat on that one, but like I mentioned in the Derby report, there are a lot of other factors besides the fastest horse that wins these races. S ...  read more

Shall we just call it the Todd Pletcher Derby? Pletcher makes-up 25% of the field as he will send out five of twenty runners in Saturday’s 133rd running of the Kentucky Derby. Pletcher has never won the Derby despite saddling 14 runners since 2000. Pletcher is the most prominent trainer in the country, and if you were to look at his daily entrants across the country, most of those runners go ...  read more