Sports betting expert and LVASportsboards co-moderator Fezzik responds:
I've always been hyper-critical of those who watch games nine hours a day, simply wondering, "Who the heck has the time?" Given the dozens of other things you should be doing:
1. Tracking your exposure on games. 2. Betting select games in live wagering. 3. Betting second halves. 4. Shopping for Lines on games coming up later in the day (and occasionally racing to a book at top legal speed to get bets in!). 5. Prepping/updating power ratings on Sunday for opening lines that go up that afternoon. 6. Maybe having time to use the bathroom … or eat. Maybe.
Having said that, I've actually become an advocate of watching the games. I think if you watch them condensed, you can get 75% of the value you'd get watching for three hours in about 25 minutes. If you just read the box scores, you'll likely get more like 50% of the value. As an extreme example, when an 80-yard TD pass gets nullified by a questionable holding call, it gets recorded as a 10-yard penalty, not a penalty of 80 yards, which is what it really is. In cases like this, if you don't see it, you don't know it.
So, if you have the 30 hours in the day it requires, go ahead and watch 'em all. Otherwise, look to pull up the condensed-game replays on NFL rewind after the Sunday games have all ended. And start taking notes on what you see so that time yields best results.
Don't get me wrong, I'll continue to poke fun at the "pros" who think they're working hard drinking three beers while watching Monday Night Football in a sports book. As Dire Straights would say, That ain't workin'!
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