While most online
betting participants are focusing on their 2008 World
Series odds, NFL football fans should be getting ready to go over the first
half of what has been a wild season so far. No division proves this better than
the AFC South, which has seen a changing of the guard. Let us take a look at
whose Super
Bowl odds may have risen or dropped since the preseason.
Best
Surprises
Tennessee
(6-0)
The Titans now have Super
Bowl odds of +525 after winning their first six games of the season without
Vince Young at the helm, a strong running game and one of the NFL’s best
defenses. Coming up is a four-game stretch where they host Indianapolis and
Green Bay, followed by back-to-back trips to Chicago and Jacksonville, and this
will prove if the Titans are for real.
Arizona
(4-2)
The Cardinals have not had a winning season since 1998,
but now have great Super
Bowl odds of +1000 because of their fast start. Arizona plays in an awful
position and sit in pole position to claim the NFC West for the first time
since 1975. Their remaining schedule is favorable, with two games against St.
Louis, as well as home games with Seattle and San Francisco.
Buffalo
(5-1)
The AFC East is now wide open with the injury to New
England’s Tom Brady, and the Bills have stepped up to boost their Super
Bowl odds to +1250. The rest of the schedule is division-heavy for the
Bills, with a pair of games against Miami and the Jets before wrapping up the
season against New England.
Atlanta
(4-2)
The Falcons were supposed to fall on their face after
last season’s Michael Vick fiasco and a rookie quarterback in Matt Ryan.
Instead, Ryan has been phenomenal so far and has led the Falcons to decent odds
of +7100. Still, the Falcons are 25th in defense, and they still
face road trips to San Diego, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Minnesota.
New
York Giants (5-1)
Most thought last season’s Super Bowl win was a fluke,
and that the Giants could not hold up under the retirement of Michael Strahan
and the knee injury to Osi Umenyiora, their defensive leaders. But The Giants
have stormed out of the gate as favorites with Super
Bowl odds of +400, and their defense has not missed a beat, coming in
fourth. New York’s schedule is tough the rest of the way, highlighted by a pair
of games each with NFC East rivals Dallas and Philadelphia.
Worst
Surprises
Indianapolis
(3-3)
The Colts are in severe danger of seeing their AFC
South-title streak halted at five, and strangely, it is Peyton Manning and
their offense that is not producing. The Colts are coming up on a three-game
run that sees a home game with New England sandwiched between visits to
Tennessee and Pittsburgh. The Colts still have good Super Bowl
odds of +1000, but this stretch will determine if Indianapolis are no
longer the dominant force they once were.
New
York Jets (3-3)
The Jets were chided for their lack of a deep passing
attack with weak-armed Chad Pennington. Now they have Brett Favre, who is
legendary for his arm strength, and the Jets continue to short-pass their way
down the field, even with receivers like Jerricho Cotchery and Lavernaeus
Coles. A team with Favre and a decent defense should not have odds of only
+6400. However, the Jets catch a break as they play Seattle, San Francisco and
St. Louis, along with lowly Kansas City.
Dallas
(4-3)
Super
Bowl odds anointed the Cowboys as favorites when Brady went down for the
Patriots, but Dallas has lost Tony Romo until mid-November, three of their last
four games, and odds of +1275. How the Cowboys fare with Romo will define their
season, but the Cowboys do have a bye week before their Week 11 trip to
Washington, when Romo is aiming to be back.
Cleveland
(2-4)
The Browns have folded under the high expectations
caused by last year’s 10-6 campaign, and now Super Bowl odds has them as a
+14,000 long-shot to win the big game. The Browns had been riddled by injuries,
in-house controversy, and inconsistent play from Derek Anderson, who must be
hearing Brady Quinn’s footsteps behind him by now. The Browns also face a
number of difficult road games at Jacksonville, Buffalo, Tennessee,
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
San
Diego (3-4)
The Chargers are one of those teams that can blow out
the likes of New England one week, and then lose to Buffalo in disappointing
fashion in the next. LaDainian Tomlinson is hampered by a toe injury, and the
defense misses Shawne Merriman terribly. The Chargers still have Super
Bowl odds of +725, and they get two games against Kansas City and a visit
from Oakland. Their bye week also comes right after their overseas game in
London against New Orleans.