Baseball season is barely more than a month old, but what does that matter when fresh over/unders have been released for the upcoming NFL season?
Thanks to Sportsbook.og, we have an early look at what Las Vegas believes will be the win totals for each NFL team.
I’ll take a look at each team this week and will continue today with the NFC North.
Chicago Bears: Over/under 7.5 (-120 over/-110 under)
Replacing Matt Forte will take a bit more effort than many experts believe. But the Bears are poised for a big jump in production. With Kevin White and Alshon Jeffery available for Jay Cutler, the offense should feature a more prolific attack. And the defense will continue to chip away with John Fox as head coach.
The biggest issue that the Bears have to fix from last year is winning at home. The Bears were 1-7 at home and 1-5 against divisional foes. The division isn’t getting any easier, except for maybe Detroit. However, if the Bears can continue to win on the road, they should be able to at least reach .500 this year. Fox at the helm for another year makes me confident the Bears will challenge for a playoff spot. — Over
Detroit Lions: Over/under 7 (-125 over/-105 under)
I’m about as firm on the Lions being bad as I am on the Bears being better. Detroit finished the season last year on a respectable note, winning six of the final eight games.
However, there’s nothing exciting about that defense and without Calvin Johnson for Matthew Stafford to throw to, that offense leaves little to be desired. The division is tough with Green Bay and Minnesota as the class of the league, and with the Bears likely to show improvement. Somebody has to be bad, and that’s the Lions.
Detroit opens the season with three road games — Indianapolis, Green Bay and Chicago — in the first four games. We’ll know plenty about them by week 5. — Under
Green Bay Packers: Over/under 10.5 (-160 over/+130 under)
Everybody’s hammering the Packers this year. I like to go against the grain (or chalk for that matter), but even I have to admit when the public is right. Eddie Lacy is in shape. Jordy Nelson is back from injury. And Aaron Rodgers is motivated to erase last season’s less-than-great year from his memory. The defense will once again feast on opponents with Rodgers completing more passes and moving the chains at a better clip. I’d like to see the value work more in my favor, but Green Bay should have little trouble navigating 11 wins. — Over
Minnesota Vikings: Over/under 9.5 (-115 over/-115 under)
The Minnesota Vikings helped me own a solid record against the spread last season. The Vikings were undervalued on a weekly basis by oddsmakers and I took advantage of the marginal expectations. This is a different year, but the team should still be loaded with talent.
Teddy Bridgewater has another year under his belt with more weapons at the receiver position. Adrian Peterson has a solid year left in the tank and that defense is scary good. The Vikings have been near unbeatable at home during the regular season in the past few years, and that shouldn’t stop this season.
The only problem is that I expect a bit of a letdown, especially with a schedule that features two games against Green Bay, trips to Washington and Carolina, and home games against Dallas, Indianapolis and Houston. The Vikings win nine games, make the playoffs, but don’t win the division. — Under
