#1) Which conference will have a better record in inter-conference games?
AFC -185 – The AFC was 37-27 in inter-conference games this year, improving on last year’s 34-29-1 mark.
#2) Which division will have the best cumulative record?
AFC South +300 – The AFC South finished 38-26 (26-14 in inter-division play). In second place was the NFC East at just 34-30 (22-18); most divisions were clumped tightly around the middle this year (all but two had between 30-34 total wins).
#3) Which division will have the worst cumulative record?
NFC West +270 – The NFC West was the only team to miss .500 by a mile in either direction, finishing with a 24-40 mark (12-28 excluding divisional play). They were, at least, two games better than they were last year.
#7) Will a Head Coach be fired before the start of Week 17?
Yes -330 – The Bills fired Dick Jauron after Week 10. He was the only coach to be fired in-season this year.
#8) Will the largest point spread of the season by OVER or UNDER 17.25 (as per goldsheet.com)?
UNDER 17.25 -110 – Oak @ SD (Week 8) and Det @ Min (Week 10) both yielded spreads of 16.5. Oak @ NYG (Week 5) was 15.5. The favorites covered two out of the three games.
#9) Will the average number of total points scored in 2009 regular season games be OVER or UNDER 44.06 (i.e., last year’s average)?
UNDER 44.06 -125 – The average fell by more than a full point, to 42.93.
#10) Will the number of TD Passes thrown by LaDanian Tomlinson be OVER or UNDER 0.5?
UNDER 0.5 -135 – LdT was 0-1 with 0 TDs this year. This question may have to be retired after this season.
#12) Who will win the AFC North?
Cincinnati +900
#15) Who will win the NFC East?
Dallas +275 – The other six divisions were all won by the preseason favorites.
#19) Who will have the most passing yards in the NFL?
Any Other +250 – Matt Schaub, 4,770. Peyton Manning was 2nd, with an even 4,500 yards. Only 3 of the top ten in passing yards were not listed as options.
#20) Who will have the most rushing yards in the NFL?
Chris Johnson +1600 – 2006 yards. 6 of the top ten were not listed as options, but only one out of the top five (Thomas Jones, 3rd).
#21) Who will have the most receiving yards in the NFL?
Andre Johnson +500 – The favorite going in, leads the league in yards for the second straight season. 11 of the top 16 in yards were not listed as options, but only 2 of the top 5 (Austin, S. Rice).
#22) Which player will record the most sacks?
Any Other -200 – Elvis Dumervil comes out of nowhere to finish with 17.0 sacks. Five out of the top ten were not listed as options.
#26) Which team will score more points during the regular season [New England or New Orleans]?
New Orleans +105 – The Saints outscored the Pats by a total of 510-427.
#27) Which team will score more points during the regular season [Philadelphia or the Giants]?
Philadelphia -115 – By a score of 429-402.
#28) Which team will score more points during the regular season [Detroit or Oakland]?**
Detroit -125** – By a score of 262-197. Oakland scored the second fewest points in the league, behind only St. Louis (175).
#31) Which team will win more regular season games [New England (-7) or Detroit]?
New England -7, -125 – Despite failing to match expectations, the Pats just beat the spread, 10 wins vs. 2, thanks to Detroit’s failure to regress to the mean.
#32) Which player will throw more TD passes [Peyton Manning (-6.5) or Eli]?
Eli Manning +6.5, -110 – Eli just covers the spread by (quietly) having a career year (27 TD passes vs. Peyton’s 33).
#33) Which player will throw more TD passes [Tom Brady (-5.5) or Matt Cassel]?
Tom Brady -5.5, -120 – Brady in a blowout, 28-16. In retrospect kind of a silly line, but I’m not the one who set it.
#34) Which player will throw more TD passes [Drew Brees (-2.5) or Philip Rivers]?
Drew Brees -2.5, -115 – 34-28.
#35) Which QB drafted in 2004 will throw for the most yards?
Matt Schaub +950 – 4770
Ben Roethlisberger +515 – 4328
Philip Rivers -195 – 4254
Eli Manning +480 – 4021
Any Other +10000 – 2 (Losman 0/1, 0 yards; McCown 1/3, 2 yards)
#36) Who will be the Offensive Rookie of the Year?
Percy Harvin +1000 – Michael Oher was a distant second.
#37) Who will be the Defensive Rookie of the Year?
Brian Cushing +1200 – Jairus Byrd was a distant second.
#38) Will the player who scores the most total fantasy points be a QB, RB, or WR, given the following settings: 25/10/10, 0.5 points per reception, Passing TD = 4 points, Rushing/Receiving TDs = 6 points, fumbles lost/interceptions = -2 points?
Running Back +150 – Chris Johnson’s greatest achievement, obviously. The top five were Johnson (365.9), Aaron Rodgers (337), MJD (301.7), ADP (299.4), and Drew Brees (292.4). The highest scoring WR was Andre Johnson, who was a ways back with 264.4.
#39) Which Defense/Special Teams will score the most fantasy points, given the settings detailed in this post (it’s pretty close to standard)?
Any Other +120 – The Jets win this one with 261 fantasy points scored. The 8 teams I felt had the best shot were listed; only 3 finished in the top 10 in fantasy scoring, none higher than 5th. Starting with the favorite (Pittsburgh) and working down, their ranks were: 16th, 28th, 6th, 22nd, 5th, 12th, 8th, and 24th. That is, as a group, they were just barely better than average.
#41) Week 10, New England @ Indianapolis, who wins?
Indianapolis +2.5, -125 – By game-time, this had flipped to Indy -3.
#43 Which Quarterback will throw for more yards [Favre or Rodgers]?
Aaron Rodgers -400 – 4434 vs. 4202. Favre puts in a surprisingly good performance.
