The NFL's hard stance on fining players for hard hits has handcuffed the league's best defenses. Playing against an aggressive, hard hitting defense players would think twice before wanting to go over the middle on a pass play. Well that fear is now gone as you can't punish a player anymore. I remember when Pittsburgh Steeler great Jack Lambert once said in regards to the league wanting to protect the QB him saying "why not just put dresses on them"!! That's what the league has become and if one week of the new rule changes is any indication bettors can forget about betting UNDER in the NFL.

Last week there was 14 games played and 10 of them went OVER with most of them going way OVER the posted number. Clearly one week is not enough of a case study but as a Handicapper looking for a edge you want to be out in front of the trend before Vegas makes the necessary adjustments if this proves to be a viable pattern rather than just a one week trend. What I saw on Sunday makes sense as your giving the offense's all of the advantages because the defenders are now thinking before they lay that hit that would of made the receiver drop the ball. Or on those quick slants or crossing patterns if the defender is pulling up on his hit it gives the receiver a chance to put a move on the hesitant would be tackler and turn a 7-9 gain into a big play.

This is something worth following over the next few weeks but I would be careful betting UNDERS given what I saw last week.