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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Zack is coming off his third straight NFL Sunday sweep (26-5-1 (84%), posting a 5-0 ATS record. His winners included the New England Patriots, Bengals, Bills, under Jags/Dolphins, and over Packers/Saints. Zack’s plays are documented on kellyinvegas.com and jimfeist.com.

As for tonight in Monday Night football it’s not a game that I plan on putting action on. Public money seems to be on the right side this week, so we’ll see if that carries over into tonight’s game.

Dallas has had some great wins against the Saints and Seahawks, but also had some dud performances against the Rams and Texans. It could be a little bit of playing down to their competition.

Washington clearly is not in the same boat of class as the Cowboys are right now. Colt McCoy gets the start and it may be his last as an NFL quarterback. His downward spiral as an NFL quarterback has faded quickly since his departure from Cleveland. But while a Brown he did show some resiliency in tough spots. That wasn’t enough to win the third string battle in San Francisco last year.

As tough as it sounds my best advice in this game would be to sit it out or see if you can get a live bet on the Cowboys under the current number. Maybe early on the Cowboys are down 7-0 and you can get the line at far less value.

Enjoy the game tonight and come back later in the week for football plays.

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The fantasy football playoffs have concluded in the majority of leagues. Another area I like to focus on is analyzing the world of sports from a handicapping perspective. No sport is harder to gain a crucial pivotal edge on the books from a week to week basis than in the NFL. To succeed you need to pick your spots carefully. Here are some lessons learned from week 16.

Division Opponents Should Never Be Taken Lightly-
High lines to the favorite did not bode well. Dallas was just a field goal favorite but needed a valiant effort to keep the media off their backs for at least another week. Nonetheless they did not cover. The other shocker came with the Seattle Seahawks. Not that they didn’t cover, but that they lost outright at home. This was one of those games that the Seahawks finally surrendered via a poor offensive outing. There have been other games this season where they’ve been bailed out with late game heroics. Lastly, the Dolphins became the enemy of their own fate yet again. A shot at the playoffs seems slim thanks to their second loss to the Bills at the hands of quarterback Thad Lewis. With that performance Miami may have done themselves a favor to save embarrassment of a blowout wildcard loss.

Backdoors Always Rear Their Heads-
Those that had the San Diego Chargers minus the points should take the week off from any wagers. It was a win that you should have never won. But in sports this type of scenario always rears its head for the good and the bad. Oakland hung around this game and played to the number better than San Diego did. Marcell Reece gave all Chargers bettors an early Christmas present.

Totals stay Trendy-
Play the over, play the over, whoops week sixteen divided that thought to a high percentage of unders. It’s been a trend of game to game flow depending on the week. Much like the bowl games that started Saturday the over on a game always looks like your best friend. Week sixteen proved that the notion to seek consistent overs is still situational depending on the matchup.

Special Teams Negated-
Special teams typically can be a main factor in a handful of games on Sunday. This week however special teams were quiet in terms of punt returns or kickoff returns. Don’t have amnesia to discount special teams in week 17 and the NFL playoffs.

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Every football coach plans out his team’s first series plays in practice during the week. Why? Because it’s imperative to get off to a fast start and put points on the board. Preparation is critical, and can pay off in the form of coordinated offense in the first quarter.

Accordingly, predicting a team’s first quarter performance can provide you with a winning payout without suffering the various end-of-game pitfalls that lurk every week – turnovers, backdoor covers, missed field goals, overtime, and even coaching miscues.

If your goal is to beat the book (or offshores), you need to identify every opportunity to gain an edge. And each week, there are edges to be found in first quarter lines.

Consider Utah State. Last season, the Aggies were a team of overachievers in oddmakers’ eyes. They nearly defeated Wisconsin on the Badgers’ home field. But most teams do not surprise opponents by delivering fourth quarter comebacks week after week. Instead, they come out swinging. And Utah State came out swinging with strong, resounding starts every single week.

Utah State’s out-of-the-gate starts resulted in a supreme first quarter edge for bettors in 2012 – the Aggies never trailed once at the end of the first quarter. And defensively, Utah State was just as sharp – they never allowed more than a single field goal in the first quarter.

Over the course of its 13-game season, the combined prodigious total score of the Aggies compared to its first quarter opponents was an insane 138 to 9. But, based on the end result of many of their games, one might not have recognized this strong attribute of the 2012 Utah State Aggies.

There are places you can go to see this level of in-depth detail, such as sportsbook online sites like bovada.com. These will provide all the key lines you seek.

When considering a first quarter line, there are several variables to look at before you dive in.

First, unlike the end of the game, or the end of the half, a team’s sense of urgency is not critical at the end of the first quarter. Once the clock hits that minute-and-a-half mark, an NCAA coach will usually call a conservative run play or two in order to reduce the time left in the quarter.

That’s important to remember because you can be sure that teams are not going to go for a field goal or lob a Hail Mary pass into the end zone just because the quarter is coming to an end. In fact, a team may be gearing up for a traditional third-and-goal play or taking their time setting up to kick a field goal on fourth down. So if the play clock is under 40 seconds, you may as well consider the quarter over.

Knowing a team’s red zone percentage is also a key factor. If a team lacks the weapons to score a higher percentage of touchdowns to field goals, it may be wise to skip that game for a first quarter line.

There are plenty of collegiate teams that can get the ball inside their opponents’ 20-yard line but are unreliable when it comes to scoring TDs. Syracuse was a prime example of this last season. With Ryan Nassib at quarterback, the Orange moved the ball and scored a lot of points. Its touchdowns-to-field goal ratio was one of the reasons the Orange won a lot of close games. But, a closer look reveals that during all the first quarters in 2012, Syracuse had a total of 14 scoring drives and 10 of those were field goals while only four were TDs.

While it didn’t make its mark as a first quarter scoring team, Syracuse did a great job protecting the football. Turnovers are critical in all phases of the game, and they need to be appropriately taken into considerations for first quarter lines. Remember that odds are created to cover both sides of the spectrum from a potential bettor. The half-point is there, and you can be sure it will come into play.

With all the fast-paced offenses in college sports, time of possession has seemingly become a non-factor. But you can’t allow yourself to constrain your thinking when it comes to sides or totals. The opposing team will come prepared on game day with a plan to try to nullify their opponent’s strength.
Handicapping is all about percentages. A large percentage of wagers are on full-game odds. That is where the oddmakers make the bulk of their money. So use a contrarian mind and find cracks available in a first quarter line, where attention is neglected from a regular handicapper.

The net result of this strategy is simple: If you want to win, don’t limit yourself to just betting on complete-game action. Instead, find new angles and different edges throughout all the odds that are offered through bovada.com and at your local sportsbook.