NFL Training Camps are underway! That’s excellent news for sports fans because while college football has a lot to decide, the National Football League appears on track for a September 10 start between the Super Bowl winning Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans. Check out this week’s NFL update so you can plan ahead your bets against their NFL odds!
NFL COVID-19 Update – August 11th Edition
2021 Super Bowl LV
- When: Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021
- Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
2021 Super Bowl Odds
- Kansas City Chiefs +600
- Baltimore Ravens +650
- San Francisco 49ers +850
- New England Patriots +1200
- New Orleans Saints +1000
- Pittsburgh Steelers +2200
- Dallas Cowboys +1400
- L.A. Chargers +4000
- Green Bay Packers +2500
- Seattle Seahawks +1750
- Philadelphia Eagles +2000
- L.A. Rams +5500
- Cleveland Browns +3000
- Minnesota Vikings +2800
- L.A. Raiders +5000
- Indianapolis Colts +2000
- Tennessee Titans +3000
- Houston Texans +5500
- Chicago Bears +4000
- Atlanta Falcons +3300
- Buffalo Bills +2200
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers +850
- Denver Broncos +4000
- Carolina Panthers +10000
- New York Giants +10000
- New York Jets +9000
- Detroit Lions +6500
- Arizona Cardinals +4000
- Jacksonville Jaguars +17500
- Cincinnati Bengals +10000
- Miami Dolphins +7000
- Washington Football Team +12500
So far, only Patriots appear adversely affected by opt-outs
The New England Patriots are the lone team that seems to have taken a massive hit with dropouts. Even then, New England’s biggest issue settles around a couple of players.
Two of the Patriots’ top defensive players won’t suit it up this season. Dont’a Hightower is New England’s defensive quarterback. Hightower won’t play.
Neither will defensive back Patrick Chung. But, so far at least, everything appears copasetic in New England.
One thing that many Patriot fans have missed is how Isaiah Wynn, their talented left tackle, is one-hundred percent healthy. Wynn could make or break the Patriots’ offense this season.
While NFL Super Bowl future handicappers know how important Wynn is to the offense, it appears that no future bettors are afraid of the defense without Chung and Hightower.
The Pats offer +1200, making them a solid choice to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Chiefs, Ravens, 49ers, Bucs and Saints.
NFL Major League Baseball style Covid plan could work
Everyone keeps talking about how the NFL must step into a bubble to have any shot of pulling off the 2020-2021 season.
The reason the bubble works for the NBA and the double-bubble works for the NHL is due to amount of games.
Both the NBA and NHL play multiple games during a week. So does MLB, which is why the non-bubble concept hasn’t worked as well for them.
But the non-bubble concept should work for the National Football League. Teams can arrive to their destination the day before a game. That cuts down on time visiting players must spend in a different city.
The less time in a visiting city, the less time players have to break coronavirus-related rules.
Not only that, but the NFL plays once a week with every team getting a bye. That’s 17 weeks, 16 for each team, that must happen.
That’s not as big of a deal as multiple games during the week like what MLB is trying to accomplish.
NFL is here . . . almost
The first game takes place in less than a month. It’s time to sharpen our NFL pencils and get to work!
Because teams can’t assess young players in game situations, there’s no preseason, we must lean towards squads that had success in 2019. That’s one strategy.
The other is to simply take the points on every underdog home team. If the league insists on day before travel, home teams should have an advantage.
Have a great week!
