Bookmaker's Corner: Recap and NFL Week 16 Odds
by Richard Gardner | Bodog Sportsbook Manager - 12/23/2009
Over at Bodog Sportsbook the New England Patriots started out as seven-point favorites over the Buffalo Bills before the number was bet up to 7.5. Of course, the Pats ended up winning by a touchdown, leaving the early birds with a push and those late to the party with a loss. If you waited too long for those opening lines then chances are you learned a valuable lesson.
Buffalo action could have pushed the number to 6.5 but floods of money don't typically come in on losing teams from small markets, especially when that team is playing a high-profile public favorite like New England.
A bad game for the book (and the team) was the New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys matchup. The Saints failed to cover their sixth spread in eight games, but this time they actually lost the game outright, too. Too bad for Bodog, since we booked a fair amount of action on the Cowboys moneyline (+270), wiping out what would've been a nice win for us. Oh well.
The Saints host Tampa Bay on Sunday and, with home-field advantage still to be clinched in the NFC, opened as 14.5-point favorites over the Bucs. The last time these two teams met, New Orleans came out on top 38-7, so we expect a whole lot of bounce-back betting on the home side.
We were cheering hard for Tampa Bay last week as well and were pleasantly surprised when the Bucs beat the Seahawks as 7-point dogs in Seattle.
Over in the Pacific Northwest, things are not going to get any easier for the Seahawks as they head to Green Bay to play the Packers. Seattle has won just once away from home this season, getting outscored by double digits in their other six road games. Don't be surprised if the spread gets bet past the opening -14 for this one; Green Bay has beaten quality sides in Dallas, San Francisco and Baltimore over their last three games at Lambeau.
And finally, Monday night's bout between the Vikings and Bears in Chicago should be interesting as well. The Vikes, who we opened as 7-point favorites, have laid consecutive eggs on the road in Arizona and Carolina. The Bears will undoubtedly be motivated to play spoiler on national TV. I've seen spreads as low as 6 and as high as 7.5 at other books, with no real momentum on either side.
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