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BY MIKE VORKUNOV
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Alright so Super Bowl XLIV is only days away and by now you probably wish you could fast forward to the game just to stop hearing about all the "intriguing storylines" surrounding it. Peyton Manning is the NFL's new Golden God. Drew Brees saved a city and created a football Renaissance in New Orleans. Dwight Freeney's ankle, the rain in Miami, blah, blah, and blah.
But there is reason to avoid putting on the blindfold and earmuffs until 6:30pm Sunday night: Betting! I'm not talking about who you have in the game, that's hardly any fun. I'm talking prop bets.
Prop bets are whacky, fun and most intriguing wagers you can make on the Super Bowl. So with Super Bowl saturation what better time than now to look at some interesting prop bets and then a few New Jersey related ones that could spruce up the game.
Real Prop Bets (from various internet sites)
- Heads vs. Tails — a simple one to start it off. This is self-explanatory. Always bet tails
- How Long it takes Carrie Underwood to sing the National Anthem — The over/under for this one minute, 42 seconds. Jennifer Hudson sang it in 2:03 last year. I have no idea how they figured this one out. I would take the over
- First endzone celebration — My favorite is the Captain Morgan pose, but I haven't seen odds for that anywhere. I like punching the goalpost at 15-to-1
- Color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach — Yellow has 1-1 odds. I like red at 25-2
- Total Net Yards by Both Teams — The number is 789.5 yards. I think that's low considering these two teams and offenses. Take the over
- Over/Under Jersey Number of Player to score First TD — The number is set at 25.5. This basically depends on who you like to score first. All of the Colts' main receivers and running backs except Austin Collie have a number higher than 25. Jeremy Shockey and Lynell Hamilton are the outliers with numbers higher than 25 for the Saints. A hunch says go with the under
New Jersey Props
The Jets were a game away from the Super Bowl and the Giants looked like they had the Super Bowl in their sights...in September. So the New Jersey connection this game is limited, other than Gary Brackett, Donald Brown and Eric Foster playing for the Colts. So why not make up some. No Jersey team is playing that Sunday, with their games coming the day before on Saturday so these become two-day events.
- Devils goals scored vs. Peyton Manning touchdowns — New Jersey plays at the Rangers and in three games against New York they've averaged 2.3 goals per game. In 16 full games this season (including playoffs but not counting the regular season's final two games where he was in exhibition mode) Manning has thrown an average of 2.38 touchdowns per game.
- Total points scored in the Super Bowl vs. Points scored by Seton Hall — The over/under for the Super Bowl is set at 57. The Pirates scored 64 points in a win against Pittsburgh at home but the Panthers are allowing just 60.2 points per game.
- Blocks by Hamady N'diaye vs. Total touchdown passes by Peyton Manning and Drew Brees combined — N'diaye is averaging 4.9 blocks per game this season. On average, Manning and Brees threw for a combined 4.7 touchdowns a game this year.
- Herb Pope rebounds vs. Reggie Bush touches — Pope averages 11.2 rebounds a game and Bush averages 7.3 combined rushes and receptions.
- Total shot attempts by Mike Rosario and Jeremy Hazell vs. Drew Brees pass attempts — Rosario and Hazell combine for 32.9 shot attempts a night. Brees unleashes 33.9 passes per game.
- Tackles by Gary Bracketts vs. Spread in the Nets game — Brackett averaged 7.6 tackles per game in the 14 full games he has played. The Nets lost at home to Detroit by four Tuesday night and , on average, lose on the road by 14.5 points this season.
Email Mike Vorkunov at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or find him on Twitter.
