posted June 27, 2008 at 19:21 in Other Articles

First round AFL playoff betting concludes on ESPN Monday night when the (6-10) #6 Grand Rapids Rampage head to the desert to take on the (8-8) #3 Arizona Rattlers in an American Conference Wild Card online betting affair. This will be the first playoff game for the Rampage since 2003. They’re 3-4 SU all-time in postseason play, but have only advanced past the first round of the playoffs back in 2001 when they won the ArenaBowl for the only time in franchise history. The Rattlers may be one of the more storied franchises in AFL history, but they’re only making their second playoff appearance in the last four years. Arizona is 21-11 SU in their playoff history, and have only failed to win their opening round playoff game once in franchise history (1995).

The Rampage punched their playoff tickets with an offensive showcase in the hostile “Graveyard” of the New Orleans VooDoo. As seven-point underdogs, Head Coach Steve Thonn led Grand Rapids to a resounding 86-70 victory, immediately making him one of the top choices for Coach of the Year honors. Grand Rapids offense is tops in the American Conference scoring 59.5 PPG, and though the defense has been suspect at times (allowing 60.5 PPG), the team has proven to be one of the more exciting clubs the AFL has to offer.

Rattlers team president Brett Bouchy put over $2,000,000.00 on the line when he offered a 100% money-back guaranteed to his season ticket holders that they would be in the playoffs. Not only did Arizona make the playoffs, but also earned itself a home game in the “Snake Pit” where it’s 16-3 SU all-time in post-season play. All isn’t rosy for the Rattlers though, as Coach Kevin Guy said two weeks ago that Matt Sauk was his starting QB for the remainder of the season. Now Sauk is out, and former starter Jeff Smoker (who began the year as the backup QB) returns to the lineup. Arizona has struggled of late, posting a disappointing 17-point loss to the Utah Blaze in Week 17, letting down their AFL bettors as 7.5-point home favorites. The Rattlers have failed to cover in back-to-back weeks, but both games were meaningless to them. In their previous four, they were 4-0 both SU and ATS.

The betting trends seem to provide mixed results for this game. Arizona is 4-3 ATS against Grand Rapids, but barely covered the team’s Week 13 meeting this year as three-point favorites (52-48). The Rattlers are 13-13 ATS since 1996 in playoff games, while the Rampage are 4-3 ATS all-time in post-season play. The Rampage are just 4-16 SU their L/20 road games (9-11 ATS), but Arizona is a mediocre 9-9-2 in their L/20 at home.

Oddsmakers labeled the Rattlers 1-point better in this Wild Card showdown, making them the lowest favorite on the betting board this weekend. The ‘total’ in this game now sits at a lofty 119.5. Online betting trends suggest a higher scoring game. Grand Rapids is 3-0-1 towards the over in the L/4, while last week’s under snapped a streak of three consecutive over’s for the Rattlers.