March 25, 2013
It's basically football season again; the first Vegas lines are out for the 2014 Super Bowl. In chart form, courtesy of BovadaLV via FOXSports.com:
| Team | Opening line | Current line |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 7/1 | 7/1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 15/2 | 7/1 |
| New England Patriots | 15/2 | 15/2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 12/1 | 10/1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 18/1 | 12/1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 10/1 | 12/1 |
| Houston Texans | 14/1 | 16/1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 18/1 | 16/1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 12/1 | 20/1 |
| New York Giants | 20/1 | 20/1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 18/1 | 20/1 |
| Chicago Bears | 20/1 | 25/1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 25/1 | 25/1 |
| Washington Redskins | 30/1 | 25/1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 35/1 | 30/1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 35/1 | 35/1 |
| Detroit Lions | 35/1 | 35/1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 33/1 | 35/1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 50/1 | 35/1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 35/1 | 40/1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 50/1 | 45/1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 50/1 | 50/1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 35/1 | 50/1 |
| New York Jets | 40/1 | 60/1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 50/1 | 60/1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 50/1 | 60/1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 66/1 | 75/1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 66/1 | 100/1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 100/1 | 100/1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 100/1 | 100/1 |
| Tennessee Titans | 66/1 | 100/1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 150/1 | 150/1 |
Curious eyes naturally gravitate toward the top, where the Broncos (with Wes Welker but not Elvis Dumervil) are very tenuously located, just ahead of the Patriots, Niners and Seahawks.
Morbidly curious eyes, though, gravitate toward the bottom to assess the NFL's carnage and offseason debris. And lo and behold, the (probably wise) guys who set betting lines are in agreement with most NFL experts and Cardinals fans: The Cards haven't gotten any better this offseason by replacing Kevin Kolb with Drew Stanton.
After opening at 66/1 a few days ago, the line -- to clarify, these are the odds of the Cardinals winning the Super Bowl about 10 months from now -- is now at 100/1, with the Cards tied for next to last with three other seemingly terrible teams. Only the Jaguars, at 150/1, are given less of a chance to win it all.
If there's any good news for those desperately hoping for competitiveness rather than another top-10 pick next season, here it is: The Colts, with Bruce Arians as offensive coordinator and eventual interim coach, were also listed at 100/1 last year in the preseason, and they went on to finish 11-5 and make the playoffs before having their season ended by the eventual champion Ravens in Baltimore in a game Arians missed due to an illness. They also had Andrew Luck, but still.
-- Matt Swartz
