When Cantor Gaming opened their numbers for the first 16 weeks of the 2012 NFL season the Baltimore Ravens were 3 1/2-point favorites over the Denver Broncos in their Week 15 game. That was in May. Now as we actually head into Week 15, the Broncos are now minus-3 (EVEN).
The massive change is in part to the Ravens losing two in a row, and in reality a situation where they could have easily lost four in a row. Think about it, the Ravens won by three points (13-10) against the Steelers without Big Ben four weeks ago and in the following week they needed a fourth-and-29 play to keep them alive at San Diego to win a 16-13 game.
In successive weeks following the narrow wins, they lost to the Steelers and Redskins, both by three points. Their rating has taken a serious dive because of that four game stretch.
Meanwhile, The Broncos are on an eight-game winning streak, but really, who have they beaten? After losing to the Patriots -- their last loss, the Broncos have beaten a lot of mediocre teams with bad records. In addition to losing to the Pats, they also lost to the Falcons and Texans. You could say that the Broncos and Peyton Manning have been piling up wins against bad teams. The Ravens will be their first quality team they've faced in two months.
The Broncos opened as 1-point road favorites and the number has climbed steadily to -3 (EVEN).
The Ravens fired their offensive coordinator Cam Cameron after losing to the Redskins last week, showing that they have some major concerns about how their offense is operating. It may seem like a panic move by Ravens coach John Harbaugh, but in reality, it's a pretty good move. Why wait until the season is over. Make the move and get things straight while you have a chance to make a difference. That shakeup offensively should be enough to get the Ravens a win this week. Look for running back Ray Rice to get more touches this week and lead the way. For some reason the Ravens have tried to make things more difficult this season than they need to be. Give Rice the ball and get out of the way.
Here's a look at some of the other moves around town this week:
The Packers opened as 2 1/2-point favorites at Chicago and have been bet up to -3 (EVEN). The Packers have covered their last two games and the Bears have gone 1-4 both straight up and against the spread in their last five.
-- The LVH opened the Giants as 1-point road favorites at Atlanta and bettors have pushed the Falcons to 1 1/2-point favorites.
-- The Saints opened as 3-point favorites and have been bet up to-4 against the Bucs. Both teams are reeling, having lost three games in a row.
-- The Redskins game has been "Off the Board" just about everywhere in Las Vegas, except the Wynn who opened the Redskins as 1 1/2-point road favorites at Cleveland. Quarterback Robert Griffin III is expected to play. The Redskins have won four in a row and the Browns have won three in a row. However, the Browns three wins have been a little less impressive. Beating the Steelers without Big Ben and the Chiefs and Raiders aren't exactly big wins. But for Cleveland, it's still pretty nice.
-- The Texans opened as 8-point favorites against the Colts and have been radically bet up to -10. The Texans come of an abusive loss at New England and the Colts just continue to find ways to win.
-- The Seahawks opened as 3-point favorites for their neutral site game at Toronto against the Bills and have been bet up to -5 1/2. This is supposed to be a home game for the Bills, but the Toronto crowd has proved to be anything but a home field edge.
-- The poor Cardinals have lost nine games in a row after starting out 4-0. The Lions opened -5 1/2 and have been bet up to -6 1/2. There aren't a lot of reasons to feel the Cards will show up in this one.
-- The Cowboys opened pick 'em against the Steelers for their home game, but the Steelers have been bet up to -1 1/2. Dallas has won four of their last five and the Steelers have lost three of their last four.
-- The Patriots opened up as three-point home favorites for their game against the 49ers and were bet up to -3 1/2. That was Sunday night. After the Pats played their Monday night game they were opened up at -6. Quickly, 49ers money bet the game down to -4.5. The Patriots have won seven games in a row by an average score of 40-19. The big question -- that sharp money appears to have answered -- is whether or not the 49ers can stall the Pats offense in the Eastern Time Zone. Cantor Gaming made the Pats -6.5 in May, a number we'll might likely see by kickoff.
