Picking divisional winners before the NFL regular season usually means paying a high price for the fave or throwing darts at your favorite darkhorse for plus money but this new offer from one book gives bettors a chance to focus on any team or division with plenty of plus-money paybacks
Today while I was checking out the offers at a couple online books I noticed a unique style of NFL futures bet that allows players to predict where a team will finish in the standings through Week 17. It’s obviously just another way for the man to try and lasso some of our money and increase his handle for four-plus months and really, predicting the 2nd-3rd-4th place teams may actually be more difficult than picking the winner but it’s still interesting. Flat bets aside, I think this would make for one helluva’ season-long contest or pool!
Here are the first two strategies that came to mind as I read through the numbers:
CELLAR DWELLERS
1. Circle all eight division dogs – the teams projected to finish fourth this season – and then pick a few of them at plus money to come in third.
AFC: Buffalo +190, Cleveland +300, Jacksonville +275 and Oakland +300
NFC: Dallas +220, Minny +350, Tampa Bay +225 and St. Louis +200
Six of those eight teams (exclude Dallas and Jacksonville) were 4th or at least tied for fourth last season. In a league where parity rules, the annual shakeup all but guarantees we won’t see the same group at the bottom again.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER
2. Focus on one division, the one you follow the closest, and make one, two (or even three) bets on how this division will play out
Running through the full schedule on all 32 teams is for retired folks but everyone has a team or a division that hits closer to home. Do some homework, check strength of schedule (home and away), compare the latest ‘Season Win Totals’ at your favorite book and crunch the numbers. When you spit the final standings, check the odds and see which teams offer the best value at plus-money, according to your calculations. It will certainly add some extra spice to the divisional meetings throughout the season and it may even setup a nice hedge opportunity when Week 17 rolls around!
THE 2014 NFL DIVISION ODDS
Here are the numbers from Sportsbetting.ag for all 32 NFL teams. Note that all bets must be placed before kickoff of the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks game in Week 1:
Arizona Divisional Finishing Position
1 1st +700
2 2nd +500
3 3rd +160
4 4th +130
Atlanta Divisional Finishing Position
5 1st +300
6 2nd +200
7 3rd +275
8 4th +275
Baltimore Divisional Finishing Position
9 1st +250
10 2nd +240
11 3rd +200
12 4th +350
Buffalo Divisional Finishing Position
13 1st +1100
14 2nd +325
15 3rd +190
16 4th +115
Carolina Divisional Finishing Position
17 1st +325
18 2nd +275
19 3rd +225
20 4th +250
Chicago Divisional Finishing Position
21 1st +300
22 2nd +175
23 3rd +180
24 4th +550
Cincinnati Divisional Finishing Position
25 1st +180
26 2nd +225
27 3rd +250
28 4th +450
Cleveland Divisional Finishing Position
29 1st +650
30 2nd +350
31 3rd +300
32 4th -110
Dallas Divisional Finishing Position
33 1st +400
34 2nd +275
35 3rd +220
36 4th +180
Denver Divisional Finishing Position
37 1st -360
38 2nd +325
39 3rd +1100
40 4th +4000
Detroit Divisional Finishing Position
41 1st +350
42 2nd +200
43 3rd +150
44 4th +500
Green Bay Divisional Finishing Position
45 1st -150
46 2nd +200
47 3rd +600
48 4th +1600
Houston Divisional Finishing Position
49 1st +275
50 2nd +175
51 3rd +220
52 4th +450
Indianapolis Divisional Finishing Position
53 1st -170
54 2nd +220
55 3rd +600
56 4th +1600
Jacksonville Divisional Finishing Position
57 1st +1800
58 2nd +600
59 3rd +275
60 4th -200
Kansas City Divisional Finishing Position
61 1st +600
62 2nd +175
63 3rd +150
64 4th +350
Miami Divisional Finishing Position
65 1st +600
66 2nd +175
67 3rd +200
68 4th +275
Minnesota Divisional Finishing Position
69 1st +2000
70 2nd +800
71 3rd +350
72 4th -300
New England Divisional Finishing Position
73 1st -340
74 2nd +350
75 3rd +1000
76 4th +2000
New Orleans Divisional Finishing Position
77 1st +110
78 2nd +220
79 3rd +300
80 4th +900
NY Giants Divisional Finishing Position
81 1st +300
82 2nd +240
83 3rd +250
84 4th +250
NY Jets Divisional Finishing Position
85 1st +700
86 2nd +225
87 3rd +180
88 4th +200
Oakland Divisional Finishing Position
89 1st +3000
90 2nd +800
91 3rd +300
92 4th -275
Philadelphia Divisional Finishing Position
93 1st +130
94 2nd +225
95 3rd +350
96 4th +500
Pittsburgh Divisional Finishing Position
07:30 PM 97 1st +200
98 2nd +220
99 3rd +260
100 4th +400
San Diego Divisional Finishing Position
101 1st +550
102 2nd +140
103 3rd +160
104 4th +450
San Francisco Divisional Finishing Position
105 1st +140
106 2nd +150
107 3rd +350
108 4th +900
Seattle Divisional Finishing Position
07:30 PM 109 1st +110
110 2nd +160
111 3rd +450
112 4th +1100
St. Louis Divisional Finishing Position
113 1st +1100
114 2nd +450
115 3rd +200
116 4th -110
Tampa Bay Divisional Finishing Position
121 1st +600
122 2nd +350
123 3rd +225
124 4th +120
Tennessee Divisional Finishing Position
117 1st +450
118 2nd +200
119 3rd +150
120 4th +350
Washington Divisional Finishing Position
125 1st +350
126 2nd +250
127 3rd +220
128 4th +225