By Richard Gardner | Sportsbook Manager
As the 2010 NFL regular season approaches, we continue to see strong interest in our list of total wins for each team, which can be found on our NFL team props board at Bodog.
As is usually the case, we’ve had to adjust a number of the moneylines to account for unbalanced betting. For example, if you think the Atlanta Falcons will win more than nine games this season, you’ll have to wager $190 to win $100. If you think they’ll go under that total, you’re in luck, because a $100 bet will net you $155.
Making odds on each team’s win totals is good for the book for a number of reasons. First and foremost, our players love betting on them. But it also gives us a good idea of how bettors see each team before we start posting our regular-season NFL lines. Obviously, a lot of bettors seem to think the Falcons are a strong team – perhaps stronger than we initially believed when we set their win total at nine – so we’ll have to be careful not to underestimate them going forward, or else we’ll risk going offside on their games.
Another team that bettors have been aggressively backing is the New York Giants, for whom we set a win total of 8.5. If you like the over, you’ll have to bet $165 to win $100.
I suppose the flood of Giants money isn’t a huge surprise considering the team has such a large and loyal fan base. A lot of fans in New York probably saw 8.5 as an insult to a squad that won the Super Bowl in 2008. But remember that the Giants, who finished 8-8 last season, play in one of the toughest divisions in the league, plus they have to face teams like Indianapolis, Minnesota and Green Bay in 2010.
As for a team that bettors believe we overestimated as opposed to underestimated, I give you the Seattle Seahawks. We set the total wins for Pete Carroll’s troops at 7.5, but you’ll have to risk $195 to win $100 if you like the under.
The Seahawks are a tough team to figure out. They were terrible last year, winning just five games against 11 losses. But injuries were a huge factor, particularly to the offensive line. While injuries have once again been a factor in the preseason, Seattle has the luxury of a spot in the worst division in the NFL. Two wins over the Rams and a split with both the 49ers and Cardinals should be the expectation, after which the Seahawks have to find just more four wins out of their remaining 10 games to hit the over. Worth a $100 bet to win $155?
