Football Futures
July 15, 2010
By Bodog.com
Football is the undisputed king of the American sports gambling scene. Even during the offseason, football is conspicuous by its absence. But the clich? is true: There is no offseason anymore. Players train and watch film, general managers wheel and deal, and handicappers spend as many hours as reasonably possible keeping tabs of it all.
Thankfully, the Internet allows us these days to follow the sport closely and still have a life. Let?s get those juices flowing with a look at the championship futures market for the 2010 NFL, CFL and college football campaigns; fresh updates on these football odds are available with just a click of a mouse at Bodog Sports.
NFL
Football bettors are too sharp to believe in the Super Bowl curse. Instead, they believe in Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, who are co-favorites at 9-1 with Drew Brees and the champion New Orleans Saints. And they have plenty of competition at the top of the NFL odds list:
New York Jets 10-1
San Diego Chargers 11-1
Baltimore Ravens 12-1
Dallas Cowboys 12-1
Minnesota Vikings 12-1
New England Patriots 12-1
Green Bay Packers 14-1
So much for the days when Tom Brady and the Patriots would open as clear favorites over the rest of the league. But the 2009 season flooded the league with great quarterbacks playing in strong offensive systems. No fewer than a dozen quarterbacks posted passer ratings of at least 90.0 last year, and five of those broke the century mark. The only QB to do that in 2008 was Philip Rivers of the Chargers at 105.5.
Two of the aforementioned contenders for 2010 are relying on defense to get the job done. Rookie Mark Sanchez (63.0 QB rating) and the Jets squeaked into the playoffs last year at 9-7 SU and ATS, but they went all the way to the AFC final, and they were aggressive in the offseason with the additions of LB Jason Taylor, CB Antonio Cromartie, WR Santonio Holmes and RB LaDainian Tomlinson. Sanchez should improve this year, as should Joe Flacco (88.9 QB rating) for the Ravens, who have also added WR Anquan Boldin.
CFL
We?ve already completed two weeks of the CFL regular season, which lasts 18 games and stretches into November. The Montreal Alouettes are the defending Grey Cup champions and are favored to repeat at 2-1. They?ve retained the services of QB Anthony Calvillo (108.4 passer rating), the league?s Most Outstanding Player in 2008 and 2009. Montreal?s closest competitors are the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 3-1; they lost the Grey Cup to Montreal on the final play, when a too-many-men penalty allowed Damon Duval to re-kick the winning field goal.
There?s a strong imbalance in the CFL between the East and West Division, with the East being significantly weaker. The league?s playoff format used to include the top three teams in each division, giving the first-place team a bye. Now the fourth-place team in one division goes to the postseason if it has a better record than the third-place team in the other division. Both the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts missed the playoffs coming out of the East in 2008 and 2009. Hamilton (9-1 to win the 2010 Grey Cup) might make it this year ahead of the Edmonton Eskimos (10-1), but the Argos (25-1) are still pretty lousy, which makes Montreal that much more likely to survive the regular season.
NCAA Football
We?re used to seeing the USC Trojans at or near the top of the college football futures market, but that?s definitely not the case this year ? Pete Carroll has left the program for the Seattle Seahawks, and the Trojans are under a two-year postseason ban for violating the NCAA?s amateur rules. That moves the national spotlight back East, where the defending BCS champion Alabama Crimson Tide are 4-1 favorites to repeat. The Ohio State Buckeyes are a close second at 6-1.
There is one hope for West Coast fans. The Florida Gators (10-1) have lost QB Tim Tebow to the NFL draft, and the Texas Longhorns (14-1) have likewise lost QB Colt McCoy, opening the door for the Boise State Broncos to move up the pecking order at 8-1. The Broncos are playing in the WAC for one more season before joining the tougher Mountain West; they return 23 of the 24 starters who won the Fiesta Bowl last year to cap off a perfect 14-0 campaign (9-5 ATS). Expect to see the Broncos take No. 2 in the preseason rankings ahead of the Buckeyes and behind the Crimson Tide.
July 15, 2010
By Bodog.com
Football is the undisputed king of the American sports gambling scene. Even during the offseason, football is conspicuous by its absence. But the clich? is true: There is no offseason anymore. Players train and watch film, general managers wheel and deal, and handicappers spend as many hours as reasonably possible keeping tabs of it all.
Thankfully, the Internet allows us these days to follow the sport closely and still have a life. Let?s get those juices flowing with a look at the championship futures market for the 2010 NFL, CFL and college football campaigns; fresh updates on these football odds are available with just a click of a mouse at Bodog Sports.
NFL
Football bettors are too sharp to believe in the Super Bowl curse. Instead, they believe in Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, who are co-favorites at 9-1 with Drew Brees and the champion New Orleans Saints. And they have plenty of competition at the top of the NFL odds list:
New York Jets 10-1
San Diego Chargers 11-1
Baltimore Ravens 12-1
Dallas Cowboys 12-1
Minnesota Vikings 12-1
New England Patriots 12-1
Green Bay Packers 14-1
So much for the days when Tom Brady and the Patriots would open as clear favorites over the rest of the league. But the 2009 season flooded the league with great quarterbacks playing in strong offensive systems. No fewer than a dozen quarterbacks posted passer ratings of at least 90.0 last year, and five of those broke the century mark. The only QB to do that in 2008 was Philip Rivers of the Chargers at 105.5.
Two of the aforementioned contenders for 2010 are relying on defense to get the job done. Rookie Mark Sanchez (63.0 QB rating) and the Jets squeaked into the playoffs last year at 9-7 SU and ATS, but they went all the way to the AFC final, and they were aggressive in the offseason with the additions of LB Jason Taylor, CB Antonio Cromartie, WR Santonio Holmes and RB LaDainian Tomlinson. Sanchez should improve this year, as should Joe Flacco (88.9 QB rating) for the Ravens, who have also added WR Anquan Boldin.
CFL
We?ve already completed two weeks of the CFL regular season, which lasts 18 games and stretches into November. The Montreal Alouettes are the defending Grey Cup champions and are favored to repeat at 2-1. They?ve retained the services of QB Anthony Calvillo (108.4 passer rating), the league?s Most Outstanding Player in 2008 and 2009. Montreal?s closest competitors are the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 3-1; they lost the Grey Cup to Montreal on the final play, when a too-many-men penalty allowed Damon Duval to re-kick the winning field goal.
There?s a strong imbalance in the CFL between the East and West Division, with the East being significantly weaker. The league?s playoff format used to include the top three teams in each division, giving the first-place team a bye. Now the fourth-place team in one division goes to the postseason if it has a better record than the third-place team in the other division. Both the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts missed the playoffs coming out of the East in 2008 and 2009. Hamilton (9-1 to win the 2010 Grey Cup) might make it this year ahead of the Edmonton Eskimos (10-1), but the Argos (25-1) are still pretty lousy, which makes Montreal that much more likely to survive the regular season.
NCAA Football
We?re used to seeing the USC Trojans at or near the top of the college football futures market, but that?s definitely not the case this year ? Pete Carroll has left the program for the Seattle Seahawks, and the Trojans are under a two-year postseason ban for violating the NCAA?s amateur rules. That moves the national spotlight back East, where the defending BCS champion Alabama Crimson Tide are 4-1 favorites to repeat. The Ohio State Buckeyes are a close second at 6-1.
There is one hope for West Coast fans. The Florida Gators (10-1) have lost QB Tim Tebow to the NFL draft, and the Texas Longhorns (14-1) have likewise lost QB Colt McCoy, opening the door for the Boise State Broncos to move up the pecking order at 8-1. The Broncos are playing in the WAC for one more season before joining the tougher Mountain West; they return 23 of the 24 starters who won the Fiesta Bowl last year to cap off a perfect 14-0 campaign (9-5 ATS). Expect to see the Broncos take No. 2 in the preseason rankings ahead of the Buckeyes and behind the Crimson Tide.
