1. #1
    SBRforum Staff
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    Defending Champs Buried Down The Board

    Defending Champs Buried Down The Board

    By: SBR Staff
    8/7/2006 10:24:35 AM

    A pair of AFC teams top Super Bowl betting boards around the sportsbook world as NFL training camps around the league have kicked into full gear.

    And that’s probably fitting, considering AFC teams have won seven of the last nine Super Bowls.
    A bit strange however is the fact that the defending Super Bowl champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, are not one of the top four AFC teams, or among th
    Defending Champs Buried Down The Board
    e top six teams overall listed on Super Bowl betting boards.

    The New England Patriots, winners of three of the last five NFL titles, top the board at Betcris.com at +550 to win their fourth title in six years. The Patriots may have lost a few of the key players who have helped them win those recent championships, namely LB Willie McGinest and K Adam Vinatieri, to free agency. And New England has seen three top coordinators depart for head coaching jobs elsewhere in the last two years. But the Patriots still have a great head coach in Bill Belichick, a super QB in Tom Brady, and a solid, heady supporting cast of winners.

    New England is also listed at Betcris.com at +315 to win the AFC title this season, and –160 to win the AFC’s Eastern Division.



    The Indianapolis Colts, they of the 13-game winning streak to open last season and then the devastating home loss to Pittsburgh in the playoffs, rank second on the Betcris.com Super Bowl betting board at +600. Indy also lost a key cog in their machine, RB Edgerrin James, to free agency during the off-season. But the Colts pulled a coup when they replaced K Mike Vanderjagt with New England’s super-clutch Adam Vinatieri.

    Indy is also posted at +300 to win the AFC and a pricey –385 to win the AFC South for the fourth consecutive season.

    The first NFC team to appear on the Betcris.com Super Bowl betting board, somewhat surprisingly, is the Dallas Cowboys, who are posted at +1000. Now sure, Dallas picked up talented WR Terrell Owens during the offseason. But the Cowboys are only 25-23 under head coach Bill Parcells, and have yet to win a playoff game in his three seasons in charge. Dallas is also listed at +550 to win the NFC this season, and +175 to win the most balanced division in the league, the NFC’s East.

    The defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks and the team they beat in the conference title game last season, the Carolina Panthers, are both listed at +1200 to win the Super Bowl at Betcris.com. Seattle is also listed at a rather large –330 to win the NFC’s Western Division, and +480 to win the NFC. Carolina is a solid –130 to win the NFC South, and +500 to win the NFC.

    The Denver Broncos, who blew home-field advantage in the AFC title game last season, are also posted at +1200 to win the Super Bowl this season. Denver’s fortunes look great back in January when they knocked off the Patriots the same weekend the sixth-seeded Steelers upset (or was it?) the Colts in Indy. But the Broncos choked on that gift in a sorry loss to Pittsburgh in Denver. The Broncos are also listed as the favorites to again win the AFC West at +125, and at +550 to win the AFC.

    Those defending champion Steelers, now with that One for the Thumb, are posted at an attractive +1400 at Betcris.com to repeat as Super Champs. Early reports on Ben Roethlisberger’s head (his least-vulnerable body part?) are good, and this team might very well be better than they were last year. Remember, Pittsburgh was just 7-5 at one point last season, and could have easily missed the playoffs. But what a great run they made, winning their last four regular-season games and then winning three road playoff games in a row. Destiny was definitely on the Steelers’ side when they reached Detroit for Super Bowl XL.

    Pittsburgh is also listed at –145 to win the AFC North (which they didn’t do last year; Cincinnati did), and +670 to win the AFC again.

    Following the Steelers on the Super Bowl betting board at Betcris.com are; the New York Giants at +1500; the Kansas City Chiefs at +1600; the Chicago Bears at +1650; the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Redskins at +2000; the Bengals at +2500; the Jacksonville Jaguars at +2600; and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one of only two NFC teams (along with the St. Louis Rams) to win the Super Bowl over the last nine seasons, at an intriguing +4000.

    Super Bowl XLI will be played Feb. 4 in Miami.
    Last edited by SBRforum Staff; 08-25-06 at 03:41 PM.

  2. #2
    bigboydan
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    I just can't see the Patriots being a real threat this year. they have just lost way too many key people on this team in recent years including the core of there coaching staff.

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