2011 Super Bowl XLV (45) Prop Bet: The Pittsburgh Steelers Player Props

Leading up to the 2011 Super Bowl XLV (45) between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, we'll be taking a look at Super Bowl proposition betting, or more specifically, the fun or funny Super Bowl 45 (XLV) prop bets that you hear so much about. That includes props on the Super Bowl coin toss, Super Bowl halftime show, Super Bowl National Anthem, Super Bowl postgame Gatorade Shower dump and much more. Follow along on the Super Bowl sidebar to the right!

Yesterday, we took a look at some Green Bay Packers player prop bets that we found to have some value, and today we're doing the same with the Pittsburgh Steelers as we count down the days to Super Bowl XLV (45).

Total Rushing Yards - Rashard Mendenhall

OVER 77 1/2 (-120)

Much has been made about the Packers stout defensive line, but Rashard Mendenhall will get his. This guy is an animal and the Steelers are committed to getting him his touches. He'll take care of the rest.

Total Receiving Yards - Hines Ward

UNDER 42 1/2 (-105)

Much like Donald Driver, Hines Ward is a big name and a quality receiver, but there are simply better options for Pittsburgh at this point. He hasn't had an entirely productive playoffs and we anticipate that continuing in the Super Bowl while others fill the void.

Total Receiving Yards - Emmanuel Sanders

OVER 35 1/2 (-120)

Just as we like Jordy Nelson to step up in Driver's place, we like Emmanuel Sanders to take the touches from Hines Ward. Sanders has had a great second half of the season, and should have a performance similar to his divisional playoff game (54 yards) rather than his AFC Championship (20 yards).

Total Receptions - Emmanuel Sanders

OVER 2 1/2 (-130)

Again, we're riding the Emmanuel Sanders gravy train. It'll cost us some chalk, but 2 1/2 seems about a catch too for this prop.

Total Sacks - James Harrison

UNDER 1/2 (+120)

Once again, we're going against a big name player recording a sack (see Matthews, Clay). Harrison should be a marked man, and Aaron Rodgers mobility and pocket presence will probably keep him from Harrison's hits, both legal and not. We're banking on as much.

That does it for our Steelers player props. We'll put the finishing touches on our coverage of 2011 Super Bowl XLV (45) this weekend and then, finally, enjoy the big game. We hope you have enjoyed our prop betting coverage, and we hope you enjoy it even more when it results in more spending cash.

Early 2011 Super Bowl XLV (45) Prop Bets

Leading up to the 2011 Super Bowl XLV (45) between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, we'll be taking a look at Super Bowl proposition betting, or more specifically, the fun or funny Super Bowl 45 (XLV) prop bets that you hear so much about. That includes props on the Super Bowl coin toss, Super Bowl halftime show, Super Bowl National Anthem, Super Bowl postgame Gatorade Shower dump and much more. Follow along on the Super Bowl sidebar to the right!

As your unofficial home for all things Super Bowl prop betting, we wanted to give you an idea of what to expect in your proposition betting adventures over the course of the next two weeks leading up to The Big Game.

Here are some standard and generic prop bets that will be offered for the matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers.

For starters, some of which we mentioned earlier this morning, here are some of the fun and wacky Super Bowl prop bets we look forward to every year:

• How long will the National Anthem last? This will be an over/under, usually somewhere between 1:30-2:00. This year, the Star Spangled Banner will be performed by Christina Aguilera.
• How many times the announcers will say ____? This could be the name of a player not involved in the game but heavily mentioned in the pre-game hype. Brett Favre is an obvious possibility.
• How many times will cameras show ____? This could again be a famous person or player not involved in the game but in attendance. Not President Barack Obama, evidently.
• Will this be the highest rated Super Bowl ever? With two large fan bases in the Packers and Steelers, this will be attainable. This year's Super Bowl will air on FOX.)
• What color will the liquid poured on the winning coach be? One of our favorites, this will be a multiple choice question. Just pick a color, simple as that.
• Who will the game MVP thank first? It could be teammates, a higher power, God, parents, fans, etc.
• What songs will the halftime entertainer sing? The Black Eyed Peas are this year's halftime act. You can always expect their biggest hits to be played, but there is usually a wild card or two thrown in there.
• Will the coin toss be heads or tails? Very easy to bet on. Very popular bet. Yes, there is a correlation between the two.
• Which Super Bowl commercial will have the highest rating according to the USA Today's annual ad meter? Here, you'll bet on which company will be advertised in the top commercial. Beer makers, soft drink producers, and some of the other major Super Bowl advertisers will be options.
• Which game will be higher scoring, the Super Bowl or _____? Variations of this will exist, asking whether the Super Bowl score will be higher than a college basketball game on Super Sunday, or if a quarterback will have more completions than a basketball player has points, etc.

Aside from the fun props, here's a general list of what to expect:

First, there are your regular lines. The Packers opened at -2 favorites with an over/under set at 45. Don't feel like you have to bet on those, though. Those lines will be different on a quarter-by-quarter basis and updated as the game goes on. The basic bets look like this:

• Spread
• Moneyline
• First half line
• First quarter line
• Second quarter line
• Third quarter line
• Fourth quarter line (not including overtime)
• Over/Under

Then you get a little more specific:

• Total points scored by the home team (Packers)
• Total points scored by the visiting team (Steelers)
• First team to score
• Last team to score
• Will the last team to score win the game?
• Will there be a score in the last two minutes of the first half?
• Will either team score three unanswered times?
• Will there be a score in the first six and a half minutes of the game?
• Which team will have the longest touchdown?
• Will there be a successful two-point conversion?
• Will there be a safety?
• Which half will have the highest point score?
• Which quarter will have the highest point score?
• Will the home team ever have the lead?
• Which team will commit the first turnover?
• Which team will use the coaches' challenge first?
• Which team will be the first to call a timeout?
• Will there be overtime?
• Which team will get the first penalty?

Then, as we inch closer to the game, we'll have plenty of player props:

• Who will have more yards between a Packers RB/WR (such as Greg Jennings) and Steelers RB/WR (such as Hines Ward)?
• Who will have more tackles between a Packers defender (such as Clay Matthews) or Steelers defender (such as James Harrison)?
• How many yards will a team's star player (such as Aaron Rodgers) have? Answers will be in increments. For example: Between 200-240; Between 240-280, etc.)

Now that you know what to expect, you can expect to find more in-depth coverage of the above proposition bets right here at Stock Lemon. Tomorrow we will begin with our very detailed coverage of some of these aforementioned prop bets as we try to make prop betting profitable during the 2011 Super Bowl XLV (45) between the Packers and Steelers.

The Glorious Return of Our Free NFL Picks

It's been a long, looooong offseason, but the NFL is finally back tomorrow, kicking off with the Steelers and Titans.

And, of course, we can't resist betting on it.

The defending Super Bowl champions are six-point favorites against Tennessee tomorrow and show good value in our Free NFL Picks system. James Harrison, shown above riding in the Steelers victory parade, should help the Steelers ride their top defense to victory in the opener.

Last year, our Free NFL Picks had a pretty strong season at 31-22-2 (58%), but we can do better. The 60% mark is always our benchmark, and we're usually at or above it with most of our systems. We're looking forward to reaching that goal--and going much, much further in what could prove to be our most profitable year of football betting ever.

Make sure to check back every weekend for our Free NFL Picks, as well as our Free NCAA Football Picks (off to a 67% start). Both finishing with winning records in 2008, but we want much more than that in '09.

Again, our First Free NFL pick of the 2009 season is:

Steelers -6 over Titans

Good luck and welcome back to football season! We hope you'll come back week after week for more picks. We'll give you good reason to.