Costly win for Ravens

Baltimore Ravens are now 8/1 with bet365 to go all the way and win Super Bowl XLVII after improving their record to 5-1 but Sunday’s narrow win over Dallas Cowboys came at a huge cost.

The Ravens are sitting pretty at the top of the AFC North – for which they are now 2/7 to win with bet365 – but coach John Harbaugh is sweating over injuries sustained by two key defenders.

There are fears that defensive heartbeat Ray Lewis has sustained a torn triceps muscle, while cornerback Lardarius Webb has suffered a suspected torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Although the Ravens are still waiting for confirmation from MRI scans, Harbaugh has already admitted that Webb is likely to be out for the rest of the season.

The Ravens conceded 200 yards on the ground for the second successive game – the first time in franchise history that this has happened – with their record papering over the cracks of their struggling D.

With Terrell Suggs also ruled out these latest injuries have come as a massive blow – although the side is still at least finding ways to win.

Houston Texans are priced as 6/1 joint favourites for Superbowl glory with bet365, although they lost their unbeaten record to the Green Bay Packers (15/2), while the New England Patriots (6/1) fell to a third defeat of the season at Seattle Seahawks.

San Francisco 49ers are available at 7/1 despite being taken to school by defending champions New York Giants (9/1), while Atlanta Falcons are the only undefeated side still standing and are priced at 13/2 to lift the Lombardi Trophy.

49ers set for Wembley return

It has been announced that the San Francisco 49ers (5/1 – Super Bowl outright with bet365) will once again play in front of a bumper crowd at Wembley Stadium, when they take on Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2013 NFL season.

The 49ers last played in London in 2010 as they entertained a crowd of just under 84,000 to beat the Denver Broncos, and now the Californian outfit have confirmed they will be back in the UK next year.

The Jaguars have committed to a four-year deal (starting next year) to play one of their home games at Wembley and first up for the Florida- based side will be San Francisco (12/5 – NFC Championship outright with bet365).

49ers Chief Executive Officer Jed York has revealed his delight at the fixture next year and believes playing in London will continue the good work to expand the popularity of the NFL outside the United States.

He said: “The 49ers are excited and privileged to once again serve as ambassadors for the NFL and the game of football internationally.

“Our 2010 experience in London was tremendous. The atmosphere at Wembley Stadium on game day was electric. The ability for us to share 49ers football with our faithful fans internationally is a treat for everyone in our organisation.”

Luck shows Colts promise

Despite losing 26-24 to the Pittsburgh Steelers (20/1 Super Bowl outright with bet365) on Sunday, Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback Andrew Luck showed plenty of potential ahead of the new NFL season.

The 22-year-old is one of the most highly-rated players to come out of the college game for a number of years and the playmaker was snapped up by the Colts (150/1 Super Bowl outright with bet365) who had the first choice in the draft picks.

Luck was tested in his second appearance in pre-season, with the former Stanford college quarterback throwing an interception bound pass to Steelers corner Ike Taylor.

However Luck produced three scoring drives after his error to give the Colts fans plenty to be optimistic about ahead of their opening game against the Chicago Bears on September 9.

The rookie star is still finding his feet in pre-season but is confident he will have plenty to offer come the start of the regular season.

Luck said: “I knew after last week everything wasn’t going to be smooth-sailing.

“But I think you can learn a lot from mistakes and hopefully not repeating mistakes.

“You never want to throw any interceptions, even if they are tipped, bobbled, whatever. I’ve got to cut down on those, but I think showing we can bounce back from those mistakes and kind of climb out of that hole was a good sign.”

Manning set for Broncos switch

Former NFL and Super Bowl MVP, Peyton Manning, is set to join Denver Broncos (20/1 in Super Bowl XLVII – Outright with bet365) after his 13-year career as an Indianapolis Colt came to an end when they released him earlier this month.

Manning is understood to have told his agent Tom Condon to wrap up negotiations with the Broncos on what is believed to be a five-year, 95 million dollar contract offer (100/1 Colts).

According to multiple reports, the Broncos will now try to trade their starting quarterback Tim Tebow – who led the team to the playoffs last season but divided fans because of his one-dimensional power-running game.

Manning is also understood to have called the San Francisco 49ers (14/1) and Tennessee Titans (50/1), the other two teams in the running for Manning’s services, to inform them that he will be going elsewhere.

Denver won the AFC South Division with a three-match winning streak that took them to 8-8 in 2011, but they lost in the divisional round to New England after Tebow inspired them to a remarkable win over the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card match.

Manning threw passes for Broncos VP of Operations John Elway and a large group of Broncos and executives and coaches on Friday in North Carolina, and Elway was impressed.

“We enjoyed visiting with Peyton today in N.C.,” Elway tweeted on Friday. “He threw the ball great and looked very comfortable out there. Watching him throw today was the next step in this important process for our team and Peyton. It was a productive visit and went well.”

Pats ace on course for Super Bowl

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is winning his battle to be fit for this Sunday’s Super Bowl showdown with New York Giants (Super Bowl XLVI Game Line – Patriots 5/7, Giants 6/5 with bet365).

The 22-year-old suffered an ankle injury in the Pats’ AFC Championship victory over the Baltimore Ravens and was considered a doubt for the Indianapolis NFL showpiece.

But Gronkowski (4/9 Touchdown Anytime with bet365) practised for the first time on Friday and hopes are high that he will be able to take his place in the New England offence.

Head coach Bill Belichick insists it was too early to say following Friday’s practice, whether he would be fit to face the Giants.

Belichick revealed: “He did some things. He didn’t do everything. We’ll see how he is. I think that will be the big key – how he responds to this session.”

Gronkowski is a key player for the Patriots, setting the National Football League records for a tight end, with 1,327 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns this season.

Meanwhile, the Giants are waiting for news on the fitness of running back Ahmad Bradshaw, after he sat out Friday’s practice session.

Bradshaw (10/11 Rush Attempts – Over 14.5 with bet365) has an injured right foot, which Giants coach Tom Coughlin revealing that is was ‘a little sore’ but is confident ‘he will be ready’.

Colts owner in spat with Manning

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has hit out at star quarterback Peyton Manning describing the four time MVP as a ‘politician’ and says he doesn’t appreciate Manning’s public campaign after he openly criticised the side’s training facilities.

Manning’s comments coincided with the introduction of new coach Chuck Pagano and comes exactly six weeks before the owner has to make a decision on whether the franchise will decide to keep him on for another year and pay the still-recovering 35-year-old a $28million bonus.

The playmaker missed the whole of the season due to a neck injury and speculation is rife that he may leave the side the Lucas Oil Stadium in the off-season. Anyone looking at the Super Bowl 2012 betting will be keeping one eye on developments in Indianapolis.

The owner has now come in defence of his club and openly criticised the man who led the team to Super Bowl glory in 2006.

“I don’t think it’s in the best interest to paint the horseshoe in a negative light, I really don’t,” Irsay said following Pagano’s introduction.

“The horseshoe always comes first, and I think one thing he’s always known, because he’s been around it so long, is that, you know, you keep it in the family.

“If you’ve got a problem you talk to each other, it’s not about campaigning or anything like that.”

Manning is known for his outspoken views and has never been afraid to speak his mind. However, Irsay’s comments obviously struck a chord with the playmaker who has says in future he’ll try to act more professionally and says his comments were borne out of frustration after a number of the coaching staff recently lost their jobs. Fans of Betfair NFL should bear this in mind.

“I wasn’t trying to paint the Colts in a bad light, but it’s tough when so many people you’ve known for so long are suddenly leaving. I feel very close to a lot of these guys and we’ve done great things together. It’s hard to watch an old friend clean out his office. That’s all I was trying to sad” he added.

Will the St. Louis Rams soon be the London Rams?

Although the NFL has been slightly slower than expected to move towards basing a single team overseas in recent years, the announcement that the St. Louis Rams have been designated as the team set to visit Wembley for the next three years means that they have made a major step forward in the decision to base one franchise in London on a permanent basis one day.

Whether or not the Rams are going to be that team, or whether the NFL are just testing the waters, hoping to see that there is still the hunger among UK NFL fans for a team (or several) to be based in Europe is not yet clear. What is clear, though, is that the decision to allow Stan Kroenke to buy the franchise when it would normally have been firmly against the rules of the NFL to do so, before letting him bring that same side to London where he already owns Premier League side Arsenal, hints at a push forward in the quest to commercially expand the NFL into the UK. Those looking at the Super Bowl Betting will be wondering if American football is about to change forever.

With American Football fans in the UK now granted three years to get behind an emerging, but not amazing, team, the time is coming for fans of the NFL over here to decide whether they are just curious as to what the NFL is about, or hold genuine affection for the sport. Anyone looking at www.betfair.com should remember this.

If it is the latter, then don’t be shocked to see the NFL start to become a major player in Europe over the next few decades, perhaps even eventually emerging as a threat to the absolute dominance of football in the UK.

Patriots looking strong – again!

There is no doubting that the New York Giants looked pretty decent against the Green Bay Packers, and the San Francisco 49ers looked like they possess a defence to turn tight games in their favour, but there is one team that boasts a long history of success and glory and also has the experience needed to pull through when the going gets tough. That team is none other than the New England Patriots.

With the Pats boasting the single greatest quarterback in modern NFL history (perhaps even of all time) as well as a defence that can mix it up with the best of them, few can doubt that they are perhaps the team to beat when it comes to winning the Super Bowl this season. Those looking at the American Football Betting should bear this in mind.

As the Baltimore Ravens are a long shot to do anything but provide cannon fodder for the majestic Tom Brady, the real question now remains whether they can overcome the ghosts of a few seasons back when they had a near perfect season that ended 18-1. While the 1 in the losses column was the most painful loss that could have occurred, the nature of the defeat was perhaps the most enduring legacy of the game, with Brady and co doing almost everything possible to win the Super Bowl before a last minute moment of magic from a player who decided to make his name there and then in the last seconds of the game popped up from nowhere. Fans of betfair.com should remember this.

Should Brady and his team end up facing the Giants again, they will not only be looking to prove that this year isn’t the one that sees the underdogs sneaking through with a win, but is rather one of retribution, where the strong make sure that they are in total control, showing everyone watching what should have happened back before Eli Manning decided to take it upon himself to make history for the Giants.

Coughlin impressed with Giants

New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin says he has confidence in his side’s ability to secure a trip to the Super Bowl after upsetting Green Bay Packers in the NFC divisional play-off game  (Giants 7/2 to win Super Bowl with bet365).

The Giants stunned the reigning Super Bowl champions at Lambeau Field with a 37-20 victory, spearheaded by a scintillating display from quarterback Eli Manning.

He threw three touchdown passes and a total of 330 yards in the game to help the Giants book a date with the San Francisco 49ers, who overcame the New Orleans Saints, in the NFC Championship game next Sunday (49ers 16/5 Super Bowl outright with bet365).

Coughlin, who was unhappy with the officiating against the Packers, reckons he is happy with how the Giants are now looking as they look to secure a first Super Bowl victory since 2008.

“I think we’re a dangerous team,” Coughlin said. “I like where we are.”

In the AFC, Baltimore Ravens proceeded to the AFC Championship game after beating Houston Texans, where they will face the New England Patriots after they overcame the challenge of the Denver Broncos (Patriots 11/10, Ravens 7/1 Super League outright).

Raji talks down Giants

Green Bay Packer’s star B.J. Raji has started the tough talking ahead of his side’s NFC Divisional game against the New York Giants by criticising their offensive line.

The two sides face off at Lambeau Field on Sunday to see who will progress in the play-offs and Raji has start the pre-game war of words by saying that Giants’ running back Brandon Jacobs is tougher than the blockers he’ll be facing. Anyone following the NFL betting should remember this.

“Not saying they’re soft, but it’s not the toughest group I have been against,” according to Raji, a New York City native who starred in high school at Westwood in Bergen County (N.J.).

“I played [the Giants offensive line] once this year and once last year,” Raji added, referring to a pair of Green Bay victories.

“I can only judge from my vantage point up front — not necessarily the most physical. Their backs are pretty physical, but it’s not the toughest [offensive line].”

The slight is obviously an attempt at mind games as the Packers’ defence has disappointed all season and are ranked the worst in the lead, despite their 15-1 record.

Raji himself has come in for criticism this season, despite making the Pro Bowl and was ranked by one website as the worst defensive tackle in the league with only 10 hits made all season. Fans of the Betfair Super Bowl Betting should bear this in mind.

The Giants were ranked last in rushing in the regular season but Raji says he is still impressed by their attacking roster, especially the aforementioned Jacobs.

“Ahmad [Bradshaw] is always tough,” Raji said. “He’s a good player, and he plays hard all the time. When Brandon’s running like Brandon, he’s very tough to tackle.”