NFL: Bettors Insider Staff Super Bowl LIII Picks
Super Bowl LIII:
Patriots -2.5 vs. Rams
Over/Under 56.5
Just for fun, we asked the full staff over here at Bettors Insider to give their picks for the Super Bowl. Not included on this list is our NFL Degenerate, who already filed his picks earlier in the week. Keep in mind, not all of these people are comfortable picking NFL games. Some refused to give us a pick entirely. That in mind, here are their picks:
Neal Abrams (Tennis): Patriots and the under
Andrew Albert (MLB): Rams and the over
Chuck Darrow (Entertainment & Dining): Patriots and the over
Craig Dietel (NHL): Patriots and the over
Mark Eckel (MLB, NCAA): Patriots and the over
Greg Frank (NBA, NFL, NCAA): Rams and the under
Ben Geier (NCAA): Patriots and the over
Howard Gensler (Editor, NCAA): Patriots and the over
Mike Kern (NFL, Golf, NCAA): Patriots and the under
Robert Mims (Casino, Sports Betting): Patriots and the over
Ben Turk Tolub (Technology & things like this): Rams and the over
Bob (Boop) Vetrone (Stats, Prop Bets, Associate Editor): Rams and the under
TOTALS: 8 of 12 picked the PATRIOTS - 2.5 . . . 8 of 12 picked the OVER 56.5
A few comments:
Craig Dietel: Ah, the hockey guy gets to give his 2 cents on football. As the resident Cowboys fan of Bettors Insider, I would love to see the Rams get taken out in spectacular fashion this year after eliminating Ezekiel Elliot and the rest of the Dallas squad. Tom Brady and his band of cohorts are just the guys to get that done. Brady being the caliber of quarterback that he is isn’t going to drop back to back Super Bowl appearances. The Patriots seem very promising this year, especially with no Nick Foles magic or Eli Manning in sight. My gut tells me New England will claim yet another Super Bowl.
Robert Mims: Pats dominate the big stage and Brady is MVP. Rams are good but they also got the benefit of a blown call that changed the outcome of the championship game. Take experience and consistency over luck.
Greg Frank: Three weeks ago entering the divisional round against the Chargers, there wasn’t much of a betting bandwagon for New England. Now, the public is all over the Patriots in the Super Bowl. But, what really changed? New England took care of business at Gillette Stadium against a Chargers team playing its third straight road game, and needed a Dee Ford offsides penalty to beat Kansas City. At the start of the playoffs, if you asked any two football fans to make a line between the Rams and the Patriots on a neutral field, it certainly wouldn’t be New England as a 2.5-point favorite, and it looks like this number may close at the valuable key number of three. All the value is on the Rams here and I like the under too. We’ve seen both of these teams take ball control approaches in the playoffs. While Jared Goff did play much better in the NFC Championship game, the Rams will probably want to keep Brady off the field. With a workhorse back in Sony Michel and a super-utility player like James White in the backfield, New England’s backs are likely going to be involved early and often as well. There’s a historical trend that would support the under too. Last year was the first Super Bowl under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick that the Patriots scored in the first quarter. Granted, there ended up being a total of 74 points in last year’s Super Bowl, but give me a rejuvenated Rams defense to keep Brady and company to about 24 points and Los Angeles to win the game outright.