Sneak peek at NFL
By Jeff Haney
Early betting lines set up early story lines for football regular-season games
Football bettors looking to take an early stand on any number of NFL games this season have a couple of attractive options in Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Hilton sports book has posted betting lines on 80 “games of the year” for the 2009-10 regular season — five a week from Week 2 through Week 17, including each Monday night game. That’s in addition to point spreads on the full slate of Week 1 games.
The M Resort, meanwhile, has posted lines on every game of the regular season, including over/unders on each Week 1 game.
Besides giving bettors a chance to establish a position on games on which they have an early opinion, the lines on the games of the year and the full-season lines can serve as a valuable reference point as the season progresses. Lines inevitably change, after all, and sometimes substantially.
It can be illuminating, in the middle of the season, to review what the line on a particular game was back in the summer, when bettors and oddsmakers were looking at the schedule with such a limited amount of information.
The Steelers, whose betting lines figure to be monitored closely because they’re the defending Super Bowl champions, open as a 5-point favorite against the Titans on Sept. 10 in a game with an over/under of just 35 1/2 points — the lowest total on the board in Week 1. (As always, odds are subject to change.) Pittsburgh opened as a favorite in each of its other regular-season games as well, with the exception of Week 12, when the Ravens are favored by 1 point against the visiting Steelers.
The defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals command much less respect. They opened as an underdog in three of their first eight games alone. The Jaguars are favored by 2 against the Cardinals on Sept. 20; the Giants by 5 1/2 on Oct. 25; and the Bears by 4 on Nov. 8, according to M Resort lines.
Among other notable games on the 2009 regular-season schedule:
• In a big upset last season, the Dolphins beat the Patriots outright, 38-13, as a 12 1/2-point underdog in New England. This season the Dolphins are an 8 1/2-point underdog Nov. 8 at New England, according to M Resort opening lines.
• In another upset, the Chiefs beat the visiting Broncos, 33-19, as a 9 1/2-point underdog.The Chiefs are favored by 2 points on the early line against Denver on Dec. 6 at Arrowhead Stadium.
• In the Redskins’ biggest upset victory last season, they beat the Cowboys, 26-24, as a 10 1/2-point underdog on the road. This season Dallas is favored by only 5 1/2 points Nov. 22 at Cowboys Stadium.
• In an upset in the divisional playoffs, the visiting Cardinals beat Carolina, 33-13, as 10-point underdogs. The Panthers get another shot at Arizona on Nov. 1, with the Cardinals a 2-point favorite at University of Phoenix Stadium.
• The Oct. 25 game at London’s Wembley Stadium isn’t projected to be a tight match, with the Patriots favored by 10 against the Buccaneers.
• The Bills are favored by 3 points against the Jets in their Dec. 3 game at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
• The largest spread on the early line is 11 points, with the Saints favored by that amount against the Lions in Week 1; the Giants against the Raiders in Week 5; the Steelers against the Raiders in Week 13; and the Ravens against the Lions in Week 14.