There’s not much happening in the NHL these August days, except maybe the Capitals Grabovski signing today, which I think was a solid signing for what its worth. With no news on the NHL front, I figured I’d write a quick post today with my thoughts on who will win the Super Bowl this year. The NFL is almost in full swing, with the regular season starting in just two weeks.
Just like how they offer the best lines for NHL games, 5Dimes.eu also gives the best odds for people looking to bet on the NFL and the Super Bowl in particular. Let’s take a look at the NFL betting lines for some of the favourites and then I’ll give my thoughts.
- San Francisco 49ers +675
- Denver Broncos +700
- Seattle Seahawks +775
- New England Patriots +850
- Green Bay Packers +1350
- Atlanta Falcons +1600
- Houston Texans +1600
There is a bunch of four teams each being given a shot of better than 10 in 1 to win the Super Bowl this season. The 49ers, who narrowly missed winning last season are the favourites, but the Broncos, Seahawks and Pats are all right there as well.
Good Bets
I like the 49ers at +675. Kaepernick will have matured another year and with such a dynamic defense behind him, the 49ers deserve to be the favourites heading into the season. They destroyed Green Bay in the Divisional game last year, and then pulled off a big win in Atlanta to qualify for the Super Bowl, before falling just short against the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl. I like this team a lot.
The Seahawks are the third favourites, and the second team out of the NFC West on this list. I guarantee that 3 years ago, when every team in that division was below .500 nobody would have thought they would have 2 of the top 3 favourites to win the 2014 Super Bowl. Russel Wilson will also have a year under his belt for this season and the Seahawks, who play a similar game to the 49ers will once again have one of the best defenses in the league. I like this team to do well again this year. Seattle may be waiting for an NHL team, but their NFL team is legit right now and should get them to at least January with some exciting football.
The Atlanta Falcons seem to always be knocking on the door and they took one more step last year, when they made the Conference Finals, before losing to the 49ers in a tightly contested battle. The Falcons are like the Sharks, always on the verge of big things, but this year I think could be there year. Matt Ryan signed his massive contract and will now be ready to focus completely on football and getting the Falcons to the next level. At +1600 this is a smart play.
Bad Bets
The Broncos look great on paper with Welker joining to fold to help out Peyton Manning. I expect them to lead the league in wins during the regular season, but Peyton just doesn’t seem to bring his best stuff in the playoffs. This may be because he is so good during the regular season and then come playoff time the opposition defense steps up. I’m not sure, but I don’t see the Broncos winning 3 games in the post season this year. I expect another collapse like we saw against the Ravens last year at some point in these playoffs.
The Texans are a strong team, but they aren’t ready to take that next step. Matt Schaub isn’t a strong enough quarterback and Arian Foster is already having injury issues this preseason. I think this team once again will be a regular season beauty before going out in their first or second playoff game.
That’s it for this off topic post. Check back soon for some NHL posts in the near future!
Tagged with: NFL Futures • Super Bowl Betting