NFL Week 3 Betting Recap
by Richard Gardner | Bodog Sportsbook Manager - 9/28/2010
Running a sportsbook can be a stressful business, so there’s nothing we like more than a guaranteed profit. That’s what we had Sunday night at Bodog when action was almost perfectly balanced for the Jets-Dolphins game.
Balancing the action on a game is a tough task. Sometimes we know we’ll carry a decision one way or the other – it’s simply unavoidable – so we have to trust our oddsmakers to post the correct number more often than not. That said, we love it when we don’t have to worry about sweating through the action.
Sunday’s game had plenty of things for us to consider from a game perspective. Which Jets offense would show up? Could Mark Sanchez play well on the road? How much of the game would Braylon Edwards miss? Was Chad Henne ready for primetime? The list of questions went on and on.
However, bettor sentiment and bettor demographics are often more important than the actual game. Both the Jets and the Dolphins are fairly popular with the public. However, whenever there’s a New York team involved we have to take into account the city’s population and the team’s legions of loyal fans. With that in mind, we made the Jets 2-point underdogs on the road. Maybe if it’s the Jacksonville Jets and not the New York Jets, the spread is +3. At the end of the day, though, New York fans don’t need much incentive to bet on their teams.
In other Week 3 betting news, a couple of bad teams helped us out on Sunday. Cleveland’s 24-17 loss to Baltimore meant the Browns covered the 12-point spread, while St. Louis (+5) defeating the Redskins was another good result for the book.
The players did well when the Colts (-6) whipped the Broncos in Denver and the Bengals (-3.5) took care of the Jimmy Clausen-led Panthers in Carolina.
Looking ahead to Week 4, we’ve got a huge game on Sunday in Philadelphia between the Eagles and Redskins. The return of Donovan McNabb to the City of Brotherly Love. The redemption of Michael Vick’s career. Those are two great storylines and we expect an abundance of bettor interest on this game.
We’ve got the Eagles by 6.5, a line that should provide incentive for both sides of the wager. On the one hand, Vick is playing some great football and the Redskins just lost to the lowly Rams. On the other, 6.5 points is a lot for a game between two NFC East rivals, and you have to know the ‘Skins will be angry about last week.
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