Vegas Releases 2009 NFL Season Win Totals

The Venetian Sports Book in Las Vegas posted lines for NFL Season win totals on Monday after last weekend’s draft.  The New England Patriots claimed the top spot for projected wins with the over/under being designated as 12 wins for the regular season.

While it’s not surprising that the Patriots topped the list, mostly because Tom Brady will be back at full strength, but it was a little bit of a shock that the total for the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, was a whole game higher. Their season win total is posted at 11 regular season wins.

The biggest shock to me was the line given out for the Tennessee Titans, who won 13 regular season games last season and have pretty much everyone back except for star defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.  Odds makers set the line for the Titans at eight-and-a-half wins. 

As for the team that represented the NFC in the Super Bowl, the Arizona Cardinals line is set at just nine wins.  Speculation over the potential absence of Anquoin Boldin may be the reason, along with Kurt Warner’s age.  However, these two numbers seemed low for two good teams in my opinion, particularly the Cardinals who play in an absolute pathetic division.  One would think that they will win at least five games in division play.

Despite having the No. one overall pick in which quarterback Matthew Stafford was chosen and another first round pick, the Detroit Lions were given one of the two lowest season win totals at just five regular season wins. 

The St. Louis Rams also had a five win prediction.

The Oakland Raiders, who made some strange decisions in the draft, particularly passing on Michael Crabtree to take another wide receiver, Darrius Heyward-Bey, didn’t get much more respect then the Lions or Rams.  The Raiders' season win total has been posted at only five-and-a-half wins.

As for the team that made the biggest splash this offseason by acquiring Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler was the Chicago Bears, who won nine games last year. They were given a regular season win total of eight-and-a-half. It seems odd that the Bears would be projected to do worse this upcoming season with Cutler at the helm instead of Kyle Orton. I thought that the Bears would be projected at no less than nine wins, but odds makers must not be buying into all of the hype that Cutler brings to the Windy City.

It should be an exciting season and these numbers are important not only because they offer potential betting value, but they depict the bookmaker’s perceptions of teams.  These can be used as a tool for early season handicapping along with heavy research to see how teams may have gotten better or worse compared to the 2008 campaign.

The following is the complete listing of 2009 NFL team regular-season victory totals from the Venetian.

• Patriots: 12 under—130
• Steelers: 11 under—125
• Giants: 10.5 under—140
• Chargers: 10.5 under—150
• Colts: 10.5 under—140
• Cowboys: 9.5 over—120
• Eagles: nine under—130
• Cardinals: nine under—125
• Titans: 8.5 over—130
• Packers: 8.5 over—120
• Saints: 8.5 under—130
• Ravens: 8.5 under—120
• Panthers: 8.5 over—120
• Vikings: 8.5 over—135
• Falcons: eight under—120
• Jaguars: eight under—140
• Bears: eight over—135
• Redskins: eight
• Dolphins: eight under—150
• Texans: eight
• Jets: eight
• Bills: 7.5 over—120
• Seahawks: 7.5 under—130
• Broncos: 7.5 under—130
• 49ers: seven
• Browns: 6.5 over—140
• Buccaneers: 6.5
• Chiefs: 5.5 over—150
• Bengals: 5.5 over—140
• Raiders: 5.5 over—125
• Rams: five over—140
• Lions: five

Also check out the 2009-2010 Super Bowl Odds and the 2009 Week 1 NFL Odds.

(Senior Writer BetVega.com)