Steve Maltepes, known as “The Philly Godfather,” will impart his gambling wisdom on the Eagles and where the smart money is going on various pro football games each weekend this season. Maltepes is one of the nation’s hottest sports betting experts who appears weekly on national radio and has his own website, www.thephillygodfather.com [thephillygodfather.com].
Arizona Cardinals (3-12) at Philadelphia Eagles (11-4), 1:00 p.m. Sunday
The Line: Eagles minus-12/Total: 48
What is the line telling you:
Originally, the Eagles opened as 10-point favorites, and there has been a two-point uptick in the market, with the Eagles currently favored by 12. The combined total is set at 48. You have two of the worst pass defenses in the NFL here. Arizona rank No. 28 in opponent yards per pass attempt at 7.1 yards a completion, while the Eagles rank No. 15. These teams should put points on the board. The familiarity between Jonathon Gannon should give Arizona an opportunity to cover the spread. The Eagles have not outperformed the market this year. Neither team could defend the pass. The Arizona defense is horrible.
Bottom line: The over is the pick here, figuring both teams will score and be patient, because this line could keep climbing with Arizona jumping to possibly 13-points favorites. Take the over 48 and the Cardinals plus the 13.
DeVonta Smith over 53.5 receiving yards -115
Jalen Hurts over 1.5 TD passes -105
Jalen Hurts over 242.5 passing yards -115
What is the line telling you:
The Cardinals can’t stop the pass. Arizona is giving up an average of 363 yards passing a game, which is Ranked No. 27 in the league and 381 a game over its last three games. Jalen Hurts should have a big passing game.
AROUND THE NFL
Miami Dolphins (11-4) at Baltimore Ravens (12-3) 1:00 p.m. Sunday
The Line: Ravens minus-3.5/Total: 47
What is the line telling you:
The line opened as the Ravens minus-3, and some of the sharper offshore books have it 3.5. The total opened at 46.5. As of now, 55-percent of the tickets placed in Vegas fall on the Baltimore Ravens. As long as Miami’s offensive line holds up, this could go to Miami. Baltimore is coming off an emotional cross-country win over San Francisco. Anytime you play a team like the 49ers, that takes something out of you. It is tough to play at an optimum level the following week. The other problem with Baltimore is that it struggles against teams in the top-10 in sack percentage. Then you have Miami coming in which is ranked No. 1 in the sack percentage metric. You have to be able to put pressure on Lamar Jackson, or else he will run around and make things happen. He’s so good at buying time.
Bottom line: We like the Dolphins here plus 3.5. Miami should be able to get enough pressure on Jackson to cause problems.
(Betting lines are subject to change.)
The Philly Godfather can be followed on twitter @Phillygodfather [twitter.com] & his website is www.thephillygodfather.com [thephillygodfather.com]. Watch the best gambling show there is, The Sports Betting Show, 6 pm-8 pm ET live every Thursday available on Jakib YouTube, Action YouTube and Sirius XM channel 159.
Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who has written feature stories for SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, MLB.com, Deadspin and The Philadelphia Daily News. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a special project piece for ESPN.com called “Love at First Beep.” He is most noted for his award-winning ESPN.com feature on high school wrestler A.J. Detwiler in February 2006, which appeared on SportsCenter. In 2015, he was elected president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
