The strategies used in NFL games, unlike those used in professional baseball, basketball or hockey, tend to be somewhat complex. While baseball has a Manager, a hitting coach and a pitching coach and basketball and hockey have a head coach and a couple of assistant coaches, football is different, very different.

Football has a head coach, just like basketball and hockey, but that is where the comparison ends. Football teams have many assistant coaches. Theres a coach for the offensive line , another for the defensive line , a quarterback coach , a receivers coach , a coach for the defensive backs and for the linebackers .And there are coordinators, one for the offense and one for the defense. These two coaches are, for all intents and purposes, Assistant Head Coaches.

Every football team needs all of these coaches because the different groups of players perform different functions on the field, all of which require different techniques , which is what these specialized coaches teach. Then, each week, all of the coaches meet for long hours to create a coordinated strategy, and plan of attack, for the upcoming game.

Its tedious, tiresome , and necessary. Depending on the strengths of a particular team, a strategy, or game plan, might center around a strong and prolonged running attack, with few passes thrown by the quarterback. Or, it could go the other way , lots of passes with virtually no ground attack.

The decision belongs to the Head Coach and, ultimately, is based upon two factors: his teams strengths and the opposing teams weaknesses. Of course, the best plans mean nothing if the players dont execute the strategy to perfection.

Of course, another factor that plays an important role in a coachs strategy is weather. Early in the NFL seasons schedule, the weather is generally good throughout the league. But, as autumn turns to winter, games played in the eastern U.S. are often subject to extreme weather conditions, frigid cold , snowstorms , heavy, freezing rain , powerful cold winds , and more.

The knowledge that the weather will be bad always factors into the strategy that will be employed in the game. Moreover, bad weather almost always favors the cold weather teams over those that play their home games in the south or in the west.

So, how do you determine who to bet on each week when Sunday rolls around? As an observant and loyal fan, youre likely to know which coaches are better at game-planning , and at putting their players in the best positions to succeed, in every game.

Its not a science, but it does require a lot of hard work and a laser-like focus to calculate all the factors relevent in this game thats going to be played. Its interesting to note that when looking at angles, trends and so fourth, that not all could pertain to this game. Theres a million stats, but there will only be one winner or loser vs the line. An nfl sports handicapper can see what should play into the matchup and what doesnt, then make his sports pick for you.