Handicappers love people like you. In fact they make their money off people who don't understand what a betting line means. Handicappers set the point spread at the point where they will think they will get a near equal amount of money bet on both sides of the bet. They are setting spreads based on what gamblers think not on what they think. In addition to taking into account the usual power rankings and other statistics, they also factor in things like betting trends. If they know there are a lot of people who like to bet on the Cowboys historically, and there are, they will raise the point spread favoring the Cowboys to get more bets on the opponent, which is Chicago this week. Call me clueless all you want, I don't give a rats behind, but it doesn't make you right. Do you wonder why the Cowboys were favored to beat the Bills by 6 points? Its because the sportsbooks are probably seeing a lot of money on Dallas based on everyone's expectations that Dallas is a good team. The perception that Dallas is better than they are is easy money for sportsbooks.