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Zack Cimini and Hollis Barnhart have previewed the NFC South and now the NFC East divisions from a win totals perspective. See where they project the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins for the 2015 NFL season.

NFC East Handicapping Preview from Zack Cimini on Vimeo.

Hollis Barnhart and Zack Cimini discuss the NFC East from a sports handicapping perspective.

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Zack Cimini and Hollis Barnhart continue their coverage of each NFL division in terms of win totals for the 2015 season. How will the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fare in the NFC South division this upcoming season.

NFC South Handicapping Preview from Zack Cimini on Vimeo.

Hollis Barnhart and Zack Cimini discuss the NFC South from a sports handicapping perspective.

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Preseason football is a mere two weeks away. The month of August will feature a gamut of games. With that comes the lure of point spreads. The NFL is probably the toughest to handicap on a week to week basis. But some find the preseason easier to handicap. I find that odd as playing time is unpredictable and point spreads can often come down to third stringers.

The best comparison of this would be the NBA Summer League. Point spreads have been available for the summer league for a good three years now. Often times the point spreads are set with a low variance between -1 to -5. Rosters shuffle each game whether it’s profiled rookies or second year players seeing reduced playing time, or proper evaluation by the coaching staff.

In preseason football you obviously have a higher job security basement for on field players. Besides the third preseason game, playing time from the 1st quarter onward is for players vying for backup or roster depth positions.

My advice in handicapping preseason football is similar to the regular season. Avoid the “easy” plays. People tend to believe a line movement in football indicates sharp money. Often times it’s the trap play that ends with a fourth quarter backdoor situation. Instead latch onto games where you’ve seen backup players perform well before.

Backup quarterbacks have typically seen the field as starters or in preseason situations before. Key in on if they know the playbook well or are turnover prone. Turnover prone quarterbacks and running backs do not tend to have a preseason flurry of greatness. The same tendencies usually carry over and that can be detrimental to protecting a lead or keeping the chains moving.

Leads are going to evaporate even more in preseason football. Defenses have vanilla blitzes and game plans that expose third and fourth units.

If you’re planning on wagering on preseason football set yourself a layout. In that layout I’d have the amount of games total you’d plan on wagering on. A safe number would be between a handful and low double-digits in my opinion. Keep your wagering limits also set. Whatever your regular season weekly game wagers are maybe decrease that in half.

Don’t start the regular season off on a sour-note by digging yourself an unmanageable hole from preseason. On the field coaches are evaluating all phases of their football team. Do the same be having proper discipline with preseason wagers that you can evaluate on a game to game basis.

The line between fantasy and reality is being blurred by the rapidly-growing Daily Fantasy Sports market, offering fans a chance to not only build the team of their dreams and test their football knowledge but earn big money by playing fantasy sports against other passionate pigskin aficionados. In fact, fantasy footballers are more like sports handicappers than ever before.

Fantasy sports are nothing new to the mainstream, stemming from those hallowed Rotisserie League days in the 1980s and booming in popularity at the turn of the century. Much like sports betting, fantasy football gets fans to not just tune into their favorite NFL teams each Sunday but also watch games involving different players on their fantasy rosters.

And, again like sports betting, managing your fantasy team – daily or season-long – takes a keen eye to spot value in certain matchups that may not be visible to the average fan. Fantasy football is one of the most underrated places to find sports betting tips, and vice versa.

For example, sports handicappers may look to play the Under in a contest in which a team’s passing game is facing a stingy secondary that ranks among the top pass defenses in the NFL, knowing that the offense won’t be able to pick up big gains and will likely have to run the ball more than usual – keeping the gains short and the clock ticking.

The fantasy football player sees this matchup in a similar light, spotting added value in the offense’s running back, knowing the team won’t be passing as much and giving the rusher extra carries to try and move the chains while taking pressure off the receivers and forcing the defense to loosen up on the pass coverage.

One of the biggest trends in fantasy football in recent years is the shift away from the rushing game, with most teams using a multi-back run attack, and the boom in passing. Since defenses are all but handcuffed when defending receivers, more importance is being put on quarterbacks and wideouts – but also running backs who can make plays after the catch. Finding a hybrid running back, that can run the ball and also make catches, is a smart way to win your weekly or daily fantasy football matchup.

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NFL win totals were recently released by LVH Westgate in Las Vegas. Last June I profiled grabbing the under on Saints wins for the 2014 season. The entire division was in free fall mode and that was a solid grab for all of us.

This upcoming season, I’ve had my eyes on a team that I knew would come into the 2015 season with devalued buyers and odds. San Francisco is a team that seems bent backwards from an organizational stand point and player personnel. They’ve had issues dating back to a season ago that have transpired into Jim Harbaugh exiting, two players retiring on defense, and a new head coach in Jim Tomsula. A recipe that in normal organizations would lead you to believe a down season is upcoming.

An overhaul of this size may save the transitional phase of Colin Kaepernick’s career. San Francisco never let Colin be himself from a quarterback stand point. His success during their Super Bowl run came from utilizing him as a mobile quarterback. They rolled him out for big play action gains with Vernon Davis or ran the wildcat to perfection. The toned down use of the wildcat was understandable, but making him a pocket quarterback made no sense to me.

San Francisco never truly had capable receivers that got open on a consistent basis besides Anquan Boldin. Michael Crabtree was hurt far too often and is now a Raider. Davis has been back and forth healthwise but has been their main asset on offense.

The raw talent and capability is there for Kaepernick. Even during his rough phase the past two seasons he has shown enough glimpses to showcase an uptick with new surroundings. Against the Saints he showed poise on the road in a game where he had to utilize his arm via mobility. Down in the fourth quarter he threw a missile downfield that ended up leading the 49ers to victory. The first game of the 2013 season against the Packers was one of the top quarterback performances I can recall watching over the past two years. He threw for over 400 yards and made sideline throws that are unmatched by the majority of NFL quarterbacks due to his overall strength.

This offseason he has spent time training with Kurt Warner and should show development from Warner’s teachings.

Frank Gore was one of the key assets that kept the 49ers from self destructing completely the past couple of seasons. But the time was appropriate to move on and let Carlos Hyde become a feature back along with newly signed veteran Reggie Bush. The speed components of Torrey Smith and Jerome Simpson are going to allow for Kaepernick to showcase his deep ball more often. His primary deep ball target has solely been Vernon Davis the past two seasons.

From a division stand point it’s hard to fathom the Cardinals replicating last year’s success. They won far too many games from relying on their defense. Counting on turnovers and stout defense can not be accounted for as often as the Cardinals did last season. St. Louis is still in limbo in my eyes. They have the great coach in Jeff Fisher but the offense remains a huge question mark. The same can be said for Seattle. The addition of Jimmy Graham looks great on paper but will Russ Wilson be able to fit the billing?

Wilson and the Seahawks have had their supreme rise done via a great home field advantage and timely plays on defense and from Wilson with his legs. I haven’t seen enough from Wilson’s arm to believe he can be a top ten drop back passer. Defensively they’ve come down to Earth substantially from their Super Bowl winning season. The Chargers, Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs, and Rams showcased that you can attack the Seahawks defense and put the pressure on the offense to produce.

The x-factor in my decision to grab the 49ers is their new Head Coach in Jim Tomsula. The Pennsylvania product has truly worked his way up the ranks. He had a great track record during his years coaching defense in NFL Europe. Since 2007 he has been a part of the 49ers organization as their defensive coordinator. Many people scratched their heads at his hiring but he is the player’s coach that leads to success for NFL franchises. Pete Carroll, John Harbaugh, Mike Tomlin, Bruce Arians, etc.

Tomsula will get the job done. Gaps currently seen on defense will be filled before the season begins. Offensively the 49ers may have their best offensive team in years.

Play the over on 7.5 wins with the 49ers.

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Zack Cimini gives out three Super Bowl props. Catch them here and good luck with any wagers/pools on Sunday.

*** Note the prop on Chris Bosh is still a go even though Dwayne Wade has been officially declared out 2-3 weeks with him hamstring injury.

Super Bowl Props from Zack Cimini on Vimeo.