The NFL season kicks off on Thursday night and we finally get to watch some real football where the wins count for something. With the NFL season comes a new wave of people into Vegas to put some cash down on who they think will win various challenges and get past certain thresholds in 2011.
Some of you may decide to put some money down on the Arizona Cardinals for the 2011 season, so let's take a look at what the current lines are for the Cards and why some of them could be set that way.
Bodog puts the Cardinals over/under for games won at 6 1/2 for 2011. The lines for the over are at -225, while the under is +185. What this tells us is that the odds makers expect Arizona to win at least 6.5 games. It was also explained that the public has been betting heavily on the over for the Cardinals.
Next, Bodog released odds on who could win the MVP award this season. Two Cardinals made this list, one of them being a player that just joined the team. Both Kevin Kolb and Larry Fitzgerald have lines on the board, but what may be surprising is that Vegas believes Kolb has a higher chance of winning the MVP.
The reason Kolb is listed at a 35/1 shot to win the MVP and Fitz is at 50/1 is because of the positions they play. It is far more likely for a quarterback to win the award, while it is very difficult for a wide receiver to do so. Also, the success of Fitzgerald hinges upon how well Kolb performs, so if Kolb flourishes, then Fitzgerald will follow suit.
Division odds are probably the most contentious part of what Bodog currently has up. The Cardinals are the second favorite in terms of winning the NFC West title at 2/1. In front of them lie the Rams at 3/2. I guess the reasoning for this would be too many unknown variables with Kevin Kolb, so Vegas figures that Sam Bradford and the Rams are a safer choice.
When it comes to winning the entire conference, that is where the odds get a little bit long, but the potential to win a large amount of money is there. The Arizona Cardinals are listed as a 25/1 longshot of winning the NFC, which is currently tied with the San Francisco 49ers. Apparently, Bodog has little faith that an NFC West team will make it to the Super Bowl, but to put the Cards on the same level as the 49ers is a bit embarrassing.
Now for the ultimate goal, the Super Bowl. The Arizona Cardinals have a line of 60/1 to win it all and become world champions. Again, they are tied with the San Francisco 49ers, but another team has joined them for this category. The Miami Dolphins are also a 60/1 longshot. Maybe I am blinded by my own homer emotions, but it's a bit hard to see how the Cardinals could be favored the same way teams quaterbacked by Alex Smith and Chad Henne are.
If anything, I would expect the Cardinals to beat out some of these odds pretty easily, including the over/under on their win total and the NFC West divisional odds.
What do you think of these odds fans? Are you thinking about putting some money down on your favorite football team?