The new NFL season gets underway this week and as is always the case in American Football, an argument can be made for a number of teams having good seasons. This is reflected by the fact that three teams are vying for favouritism in the Super Bowl betting with the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles the sides bookmakers consider to be the ones to beat ahead of the 2011 season kicking off, which promises to be as exciting as ever. With up to five games shown live on TV each week, the popularity of NFL continues to grow in the UK and once again this year, there will be a regular season game at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 23rd October when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Chicago Bears.
It is the New England Patriots who are the marginal favourites to win Super Bowl with Sportingbet offering the best price,13/2, about them winning a fourth Super Bowl in ten years. The Patriots have gone in to the season as favourites for the past two years only to be beaten in the play-offs when holding home advantage, leaving questions marks about the team's ability to win the games that matter. There's no doubting that head coach of eleven years, Bill Belichick, has improved his side once again in the off season, particularly with the signings of Defensive Tackle, Albert Haynesworth and Wide Receiver, Chad Ochocinco, who compliment an already talent packed roster. However, whilst there's little doubt that the Patriots will have an excellent regular season record and should justify the odds of 4/7 to win the AFC East, it should be remembered that this team is 0-3 in their last three post-season games and there's questions to answer about their play-off credentials and others make more appeal to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy in Indianapolis next February.
One team who certainly deserve to be at the head of the betting is reigning Super Bowl Champions, the Green Bay Packers, who look primed for another run at the trophy they won earlier in the year that is named after man who was head coach of the Packers team that won the first two Super Bowls back-to-back in 1967 and 1968 and it would be no surprise to see them repeat that feat by following up last season's victory by winning Super Bowl XLVI.
Green Bay overcame an injury ravaged season in 2010 to rally late and secure a play-off berth. As big as 50/1 to win the main event at times 12 months ago, the Packers were one of the outsiders to go on an win Super Bowl, especially as they were an NFC wild-card and thus, had to win three road games to reach the final in Dallas. Ranked as the fifth youngest team in the league with an average age of 25 twelve months ago, the Packers came of age in the post-season and under the guidance of Quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, the team can continue where they left off going in to the new season.
Apart from draft picks, the Packers have had the quietest off season of all 32 teams with just one new acquisition but with the return of last year's injured players including Running Back Ryan Grant and Tight End, Jermichael Finley, the Packers can only improve and given their strength of schedule, they should challenge for the NFC's best record, securing home advantage in the play-offs. If that turns out to be the case then expect the Packers to return to a second successive Super Bowl and at 7/1 with Victor Chandler, Green Bay can become the fifth team in the past 20 years to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
The biggest danger to Green Bay in the NFC is Philadelphia Eagles who the Packers beat in last season's play-offs but have since gone out with the clear intention of rectifying that in 2011 by signing no fewer than 14 players in the off season, some of which have been very eye-catching, none more so than Corner Back, Nnamdi Asomugha from Oakland and Wide Receiver Steve Smith from NFC East rivals, the New York Giants.
The quality that the Eagles have added to its team, together with the talent they already had, including the dynamic Michael Vick at Quarterback, has seen their odds slashed from 16/1 to 8/1 over the past month with Stan James a stand out a best price 9/1 about winning a Super Bowl for the first time.
Although the Eagles look like contenders on paper, it may take time for the new players to adapt and as a result it is best to remain cautious about them winning the Championship now that the value has gone, although the 10/11 about winning the NFC East looks a solid bet.
The other protagonists in the NFC include both the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, both of whom are 16/1 to win Super Bowl and have proved they are amongst the best teams in the league in recent seasons, the Saints winning the Super Bowl two seasons ago and the Falcons finishing last season 13-3, the NFC's best regular season record. The pair will battle it out in the NFC South and can both be expected to be live contenders deep in to January.
The dark horse in the NFC, or 'sleeper pick' as Americans like to call it is the Detroit Lions, a team who was blighted by injury last season but has quietly assembled a talented team over the past couple of years and whilst much will depend on the fitness of key players again this season, especially young Quarterback, Matt Stafford, the Lions will be a force for anyone and whilst a Super Bowl run may be another year or two away, they can certainly get themselves in the hunt for a wild-card place, finishing second to Green Bay in the NFC North and the straight forecast at 5/2 with Boylesports looks a cracking bet.
Another sleeper pick for the 2011 season is the Houston Texans to win the Super Bowl at 28/1 with Betfred. As the NFL's newest franchise, the Texans have yet to reach the play- offs since joining the league in 2002, however, that should change this season and they can finally win the AFC South, for which they are a 6/4 chance with Paddy Power. For the last couple of years the Texans have threatened to be a great team, particularly on offense where they boast three of the league's most prolific players in Running Back, Arian Foster, Wide Receiver, Andre Johnson, and Quarterback Matt Schaub, all of which have helped the team rank in the league's top four for offense in the past three years. However, their defense has let them down in that time but having used their first five picks in the 2011 draft on defensive players together with more defensive acquisitions in free agency, they should be solid on both sides of the ball and look ready to end the Indianapolis Colt's dominance of the division and in doing so, make the play-offs for the first time and as such, 28/1 looks a value bet that should give backers a run for their money.
In the NFL's other divisions, the San Diego Chargers should bounce back after last season's slow start cost the AFC West, whilst the St Louis Rams look good value to win the wide open NFC West after showing good signs of improvement last year and should improve again whilst the others in the division all have question marks to answer.
2011 NFL Season Tips
Tip #1: Green Bay Packers to win Super Bowl @ 7/1 with Victor Chandler.
Tip #2: Houston Texans to win Super Bowle @ 28/w with Betfred.
Tip #3 Green Bay Packers to finish first, Detroit Lions second in the NFC North (straight forecast) @ 5/2 with Boylesports.
New England Patriots (AFC East) 8/13
Houston Texans (AFC South) 5/4
San Diego Chargers (AFC West) 1/2
Philadelphia Eagles (NFC East) 10/11
Green Bay Packers (NFC North) 2/5
St Louis Rams (NFC West) 7/4
Win accumulator pays 40/1 with Blue Square.
Posted: Tuesday, 6th September 2011
Author: Tony Smith
Tags: superbowl, superbowl, super bowl, nfl, paddypower,
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