posted June 13, 2008 at 19:45 in Other Free Picks

AFL betting commences as the league enters its 16th week of action, and online sports bettors get to sink their teeth into what could be a terrific Eastern Division battle as the (8-6) New York Dragons invade American Airlines Arena to take on Head Coach Will McClay’s (11-3) Dallas Desperados. New York is clinging to their playoff hopes at 8-6, and would love to get some help from the other teams in the tightly bound National Conference to make their job easier heading towards the second season. With last weeks come-from-behind win against New Orleans, the Dragons are now 8-6 ATS overall, but they’re only 2-5 ATS on the road costing sports bettors a few units this season. A win by New York could clinch the team’s first playoff birth since 2006 with some help. A victory will also mark Georgia’s first victory in Dallas since 2005.

Dallas needs to lick its wounds from their stunning 71-64 home defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Soul. The Desperados were in a position to coast to the #1 overall seed and a first round bye had they beaten Philadelphia, but barring a slip up by the Soul, Dallas will have to win three games to reach New Orleans for ArenaBowl XXII. They were kind to AFL bettors early in the season, covering their first 4 games, but since have been cruel, covering only 3 of their last 10 games in spite of their 7-3 SU record within that time frame.

New York heads into this key match-up on a bit of a roll having won back-to-back games. Legendary QB Aaron Garcia has been hot during this winning streak, piling up 633 passing yards and 12 touchdowns against only one interception. Both WR’s Jason Willis and Kevin Swayne have 9+ catches in the two victories as well. Should New York lose this game, their last game of the regular season gets no easier hosting Philadelphia, and could spell the end of their season if they don’t find a way to win one of these two match-ups.

This will be the second match-up between these teams this season as they last met back in Week 5. With backup QB Chris Sanders leading the charge, the Desperados snuck out a 33-31 victory that was decided on a safety, of all things. New York led 31-17 going into the 4th quarter, but didn’t score again. Defense has been the game when these two teams hook up of late, as four of their last five meetings have gone under the ‘total,’ mostly with ease. Dallas has held New York to an average of a putrid 23.4 points per game in that five game stretch.

Oddsmakers deemed the Desperados 6.5-points better than the visiting Dragons at the open, but early money pushed the line across the critical ‘7’ to 7.5. The ‘total’ opened at a low 102, but AFL bettors think that the trend of low scoring games will be bucked, as the number has risen to 107 since. BetUS.com offers all the Week 16 Arena Football lines your heart desires, so be sure to login and get your wagers down in what should be a heated Eastern Division contest.

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