NFL Futures at VietBet — A Quick Preview of the AFC: Pats and Broncos Lead the Pack
By Charles Jay
There are “usual suspects” in the race to be the AFC representative in the Super Bowl. Certainly one of them has to be the Denver Broncos, currently the +220 favorite in the NFL futures at VietBet to go back once again. As long as Peyton Manning is at the controls, the Broncos are going to be considered one of the contenders, of course.
But who else has a genuine opportunity? The New England Patriots are the first team that comes to mind. The Pats, who experienced a shakeup in the passing game last season with the arrest of Aaron Hernandez and injuries to Rob Gronkowski, might be more stabilized at tight end this year, IF Gronk can get through an entire season healthy. All football bettors know that one way or another, Bill Belichick and his staff can configure their personnel to win games, and they may not have a whole lot of legitimate competition for the AFC East title. That means we are looking at a very real possibility of another playoff berth for Tom Brady & Co., and that is reflected in the +320 odds that are placed on this team by the folks at VietBet to be the AFC champs.
Let’s get back to the Denver situation for a second. The Broncos are most certainly in one of the more challenging divisions, as the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers both made the playoffs out of the AFC West. And they lost Eric Decker in the off-season. But Manning, throughout his career, has been known to create stars out of his receivers; he did that with his whole crew in Denver, including Demarius Thomas, Julius Thomas and Decker. So they should be alright in that category. And one gets the feeling that DeMarcus Ware, who was cut by the Dallas Cowboys, might be determined enough to find himself a second life in the Mile High City. If he gets going, NFL futures bettors can only imagine the pass rush he could generate with Von Miller.
The Indianapolis Colts (+1000 to win the AFC at VietBet) can obviously be a threat with Andrew Luck, quickly becoming the master of the fourth-quarter comeback, at the helm, but they simply have to get stiffer on defense, because teams can run on them.
Oddsmakers are showing a lot of faith in the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are +1300 in the football betting odds to win the conference. For the Steelers, who won six of their last eight games in 2013, to make a dent, they’ll have to get continued success out of the no-huddle approach, and need to run the ball much better. We’ll see if LeGarrette Blount can provide a worthy complement to Le’Veon Bell in the backfield.
The Baltimore Ravens (+1400) had the Super Bowl “hangover” last season, and to be perfectly honest, the consistency of quarterback Joe Flacco is going to remain an issue. The Cincinnati Bengals (also +1400 at VietBet), who won the AFC North last year over Baltimore and Pittsburgh, gave Andy Dalton a very big contract extension, but is he capable enough to get them over their playoff disappointments? Last season they won all eight regular season games at Paul Brown Stadium, only to lose in the wild card round to San Diego.
And speaking of those Chargers (+1600), they should be able to build in the resurrection of their offense behind Philip Rivers, and they are deeper at the receiver spot. But the opinion of many football bettors is that defense is going to hold them back. They may again battle with the Kansas City Chiefs (+2000), who clearly won the turnover battle last season under Andy Reid, but couldn’t get the job done against better teams. The schedule is tougher, and what if the TO’s even out a little?
The Houston Texans (+2500) took Jadeveon Clowney with the first draft pick, and first year coach Bill O’Brien will try to get by with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback. That might be an uphill battle. The Miami Dolphins (+2500 in the NFL odds) will have to get a “coming of age” season out of Ryan Tannehill. It’s as simple as that. As for the New York Jets (+3000 at VietBet), they are looking for some real progress on the part of Geno Smith, but they have Michael Vick just in case that doesn’t happen. If they can do the “ground and pound,” they’ll be happy.
The Buffalo Bills (+4000 to win the AFC) have added weaponry in the persons of Sammy Watkins and Bryce Brown, but again, it is up to the development of a quarterback – in their case, EJ Manuel, who didn’t embarrass himself as a rookie. The Cleveland Browns (+4000), mostly because of the presence of rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel, are an interesting proposition. We’ll see how long it is before he’s the starter.
We’ll see how long the Tennessee Titans , under a new coach (Ken Whisenhunt) stay patient with Jake Locker if he doesn’t any progress. They are +4000 in the NFL futures odds to win the AFC. The Oakland Raiders (+10000) are going to be a longshot unless Matt Schaub, who went through a horrific experience last year in Houston, gets back to his Pro Bowl form. And pulling up the rear are the Jacksonville Jaguars, at +12000, who will probably devote this season to transitioning from journeyman QB Chad Henne to rookie Blake Bortles. For their sake, we hope they handle that smoothly, or else there will be a coaching transition as well!
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