As the bracket buster weekend concludes, we got to thinking about a sport that compares with March Madness betting, and came up with football. Annually, the NFL holds a preseason, in which the final cuts attempt to make a last ditch effort to show the coaches of the 32 franchises, that they belong on the opening day roster. On the other hand, the bracket buster weekend is comparable to the NFL preseason, in that schools from across the mid-major ranks are showing the NCAA selection committee a last ditch effort at why they belong in the tournament for the National title. Today, we’ll look at issues to consider when sports betting on the NFL preseason.

One of the most important things to remember when handicapping the preseason is that each week is literally its own season. The preseason is made up of four weeks, with rosters starting out with close to 100 players, before dropping down to the 50 required to start the season. What this means, is that each week is the be all end all for 50 percent of the players, as they know that they could be going home, at the end of the week. As it relates to handicapping, you want to break down each week by the staff and the roster. For instance, the first week of the preseason is just as unfamiliar to a new coach as it is to the handicapper, as the coach is acquainting himself with everyone.

The second and third weeks are the toughest to handicap, because every team’s situation is different. Essentially, with the head coach familiarizing himself with the roster, jobs will be on the line in the second and third week as competitions for different spots happen. The two week span, is also when the most cuts are made, as the new coach begins to mold the roster the way they want too. Also, returning coaches may trim the rosters almost immediately as they want their team they plan to break camp with, to get the systems down pat.