Offseason betting odds, baby! That’s what we’re talkin’ about today, ’cause why not? FOX Bet, whatever the fuck that is, released their odds to win the NFC a few days ago, and well – I’d say that aside from the favorites, it’s a pretty damn interesting list. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the obvious favorites at +333, and that makes all the sense in the world. I don’t know that we fully appreciated it until they got into the Super Bowl and delivered that fastball against the Kansas City Chiefs, but that was one hell of a performance throughout the postseason. Tom Brady and the offense gets a ton of credit, and deservedly so, but man….that defense just looked scary. I can’t recall too many Super Bowls in which a team completely outclasses their opponent in every facet of the game, but the Bucs did that. Byron Leftwich and Todd Bowles had impeccable game plans and the boys executed to perfection. I know a lot of casual fans were disappointed with that Super Bowl, but I feel like football nuts like myself saw it as a masterclass in football. It was like watching an artist paint his/her masterpiece – just one of those rare type of nights.
And, when you look at what the Bucs were able to do to keep that roster intact, by and large, it’s completely understandable as to why they’d be the favorites. There’s a wealth of talent on both sides of the ball, Brady decided to run it back for another year, they re-signed just about every big contract they had expiring and I don’t honestly know how they pulled it off, and they got better through the NFL Draft, too! But, doesn’t that just feel a little bit too easy?
Who will be the NFC Champs this season?
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) July 6, 2021
(Odds by @FOXBet) pic.twitter.com/1e704Eoemb
I mean, it’s a common betting mantra for a reason, right? If you can choose between one player/team and the field, you take the field, right? It’s hard to look at all of the question marks among the contenders in the NFC this season and NOT go with the stability and the momentum that the Bucs have. Still, it kind of feels like a trap – how many times has something been a virtual lock in the eyes of bettors only for the upset to happen? I do think the Bucs have a pretty strong chance of repeating, not only as NFC Champions, but as Super Bowl Champions as well. But, where’s the fun in that?
That’s why I think I’d put my money on the Los Angeles Rams right now, as things stand here in July. They were damn good just about everywhere in 2020 EXCEPT for the quarterback position, and what do they do? They go out and get one of the NFL’s most perennially underrated quarterbacks in the league, Matthew Stafford (that’s right – I’m a big Matthew Stafford guy). I haven’t really dug into the offseason moves and how the schedule breaks down for all 32 teams just yet, but my gut feeling right now is that the Bucs and Rams should be the last two teams standing in the NFC.
And, how about all four NFC West teams being in the top eight here? That has to be the most brutal division in all of football, and the old head in me is still remembering when that division was complete and utter trash. My how the turn tables have turned. I can’t quite say that I understand the buzz surrounding the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys right now, so I’m going to throw the Seattle Seahawks in as the wild card payout of this bunch. And, that’s your mid-July NFC betting column for the day.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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