NFC North Divisional Preview: Odds, Expectations & Surprises
Transcript
00:00go.
00:05RS big picture looking at those divisional prices.
00:08How do you assess the NFC North entering this year?
00:12No surprise the lines at a plus 130 price.
00:14No surprise the Green Bay Packers at a 2 to 1 price,
00:17you might even be able to argue that they might even
00:18should be closer together.
00:20You know what the biggest surprise is here?
00:21It's a Chicago Bears not that they're coming in third
00:23because they should be ahead of the Vikings.
00:25And quite frankly should behind the Packers in the Lions,
00:27but a plus 330 price.
00:29This is a team that was average at best last year,
00:31a rookie quarterback coming in,
00:33and I understand how good this rookie is supposed to be.
00:35And yes, I am buying into expectations
00:38that the Bears certainly are on the rise,
00:40but a plus 3.30 price lets me to believe
00:42that this is a team come December
00:44that will be a game or two back
00:46of either the Lions or the Packers NBA playoff squad.
00:50If you were lining up the Bears
00:51at a five to one price or a six to one price,
00:53I might not even have raised an eye.
00:55I go, yeah, that probably makes some sense
00:56because technically the Packers to me
00:58and the Lions are better teams.
00:59But the fact that we're being priced at a plus 3.30,
01:01which also reminds us that there are a lot of people
01:03out there using Ben, the fan blue sports book
01:06to bet the Chicago Bears to win this division.
01:09They are gonna be so much fun this year.
01:10The reason I bring this up is you can really see it going
01:13one of two ways.
01:14If I told you at the end of the year,
01:15the Chicago Bears ended up 10 and seven
01:17and right in the thick of things in the NFC North,
01:19that wouldn't be a surprise.
01:20But if the Bears only won seven games and lost 10,
01:23you could probably go along with that as well
01:25and be not surprised.
01:26That's why it's so tough to gauge this team,
01:28but in the betting markets here,
01:29they are getting very aggressively priced
01:32at a plus 3.30 price.
01:33I'm interested to see how that one plays out.
01:36No doubt.
01:37And in that divisional race,
01:38they should factor come late November, early December,
01:41certainly as a part of the post-season picture
01:44around the NFC as the odds dictate.
01:47And we show you here,
01:48the Lions have the highest win total in the NFC North,
01:5110 and a half the number in the Motor City.
01:53The over has the juice.
01:55The over has the juice in Green Bay as well.
01:58Nine and a half, the win total,
01:59double digit wins expected
02:01for the Packers led by Jordan Love.
02:04The over has the juice in Chicago,
02:06greater than a dollar and 60
02:08in terms of that juice on the over.
02:11So a winning record is the expectation in the Windy City,
02:15despite having a rookie quarterback in Matt Iberflus
02:19entering year number three.
02:21The only team of the four in the NFC North, Donnie,
02:24that has the juice on the under of their win total
02:27is Minnesota.
02:28Seven and a half is that number.
02:29The Vikings have a lot of juice on the under
02:32to be around a seven win football team.
02:35They'll be competitive too, the Minnesota Vikings,
02:37whether or not they go darn old as the starting quarterback,
02:39or if they go with JJ McCarthy,
02:40who I believe they should,
02:41and we'll probably find out in week number two,
02:43if that's gonna be a formality.
02:45But if you are looking at the competitiveness here,
02:47this is a very good division.
02:48There's not gonna be a step over,
02:49oh, we finally get to play the Minnesota Vikings this week.
02:52No, they have a lot of talent on that Vikings roster
02:54and a devastating offense
02:55that leads with maybe the best overall wide receiver
02:58in the NFL.
02:59But again, it just comes back to that Chicago Bears.
03:01We got spoiled,
03:02and maybe a little bit spoiled here on the Vikings.
03:04Why do I say that?
03:06CJ Stratton was so good last year as a rookie
03:08on a team that wasn't expected to do all that much,
03:11and they turned it up doing a lot last year.
03:13I feel like we're putting that burden on,
03:15like, again, if you win Heisman Trophies
03:17and come in as the number one overall quarterback,
03:18where teams are talking about tanking for you
03:20for the past three years,
03:21you're supposed to have those expectations.
03:23Sometimes they're unfair,
03:24but I just feel like if CJ Stratton
03:26wasn't as good as he was last year,
03:27would we still be looking at the Chicago Bears
03:29and the Vikings maybe as a great chance
03:31to have a great season,
03:32or should I say a winning season and a playoff opportunity?
03:35It'll be interesting to have the Chicago Bears handle,
03:37because as I said, 10-7 or 7-10,
03:40I won't be surprised either way,
03:41which is a wild swing in markets
03:43where you won't be upset if it goes one certain direction.