NFC Updated Odds: Current Favorites to Win the Conference

The Philadelphia Eagles are suddenly among the favorites to win the NFC, according to several online bookmakers.

The Eagles embarrassed the Cowboys 34-7 on national television, and the Rams  upset the Saints 31-21 to throw the odds out of whack.

Detroit is amongst the contenders, Chicago is getting little respect and a couple of teams can mail it in right now.

All of the odds listed are from sportsbetting.com

Waste of a Season

St. Louis Rams 300/1

Seattle Seahawks 300/1

The Colts at 0-8 and Miami at 0-7 are off to a blistering start to land Andrew Luck in the 2012 NFL Draft, and any team with one win seems miles behind the pack in drafting the Standford product.

How many teams regret winning games?

According to the odds, there are two in the NFC: St. Louis at 1-6 and Seattle at 2-5.

Both teams would have every reason to draft Luck, but that went out the window with a win. And along with a poor start, their chances at winning the NFC also went by the wayside. It's a complete waste of a season for both franchises.

By the way, if you ever put money on teams like these because the odds seem like a decent opportunity to take a risk, do yourself a favor and flush your money down the toilet.

Hopefully the Quarterbacks Are Legit

Arizona Cardinals 150/1

Carolina Panthers 150/1

Minnesota Vikings 150/1

Right now, Cam Newton and Christian Ponder look like a realistic option for the future of their respective franchises.

Kevin Kolb?

He makes the Eagles look like a genius for fleecing Arizona into giving up a first-round draft pick and Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for the rights to Kolb.

He can't find a way to get Larry Fitzgerald into the endzone or a win for his team.

Meanwhile, Newton is revitalizing the career of Steve Smith, and Ponder is ending McNabb's.

At the end of the day, none of of the teams have a shot to win the conference title. 

You Don't Need to Play Football to Understand the Game

Washington 100/1

It's annoying when people say, "You don't anything about football because you never played at a high level."

Oh, really?

Mike Shanahan has two Super Bowl rings, yet he's clueless this year. He thought it would be wise to enter a season with John Beck and Rex Grossman as his starting quarterback. He has abandoned the run over the last three weeks, despite having decent matchups, and his once 3-1 start is gone.

It's a safe bet most people sitting on their couch would have drafted a quarterback, ran the ball against a team like the Eagles and not squandered a 3-1 record.

Absolutely No Feel for Any of These Teams

Dallas Cowboys 20/1

Chicago Bears 25/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Find someone who knows what these teams are all about, and you've found yourself a liar.

All of these teams can look good against quality opponents one week and then look like an inept bunch the following week.

At times, they play solid defense and move the ball well on offense. Each has a quarterback with question marks that can turn it over with the worst of them or lead a game-winning drive with the best of them.

None of it makes sense, and the books have them tossed closer to the bottom than the top.

Maybe they are the ones who know something.

Undervalued Sleeper

Atlanta Falcons 12/1

Atlanta sits at 4-3 and has a head-to-head win over the Eagles and a favorable schedule down the stretch.

They have home games against the Saints, Titans, Vikings, Jaguars and Buccaneers and should be a favorite on the road against the Colts and Panthers.

So why is everyone so low on the Falcons to win the conference championship game?

For starters, they are in a competitive division with the Saints and Bucs, and if they get into the playoffs, they would have to win a handful of road games to advance to the Super Bowl.

We know Matt Ryan is not great away from the Georgia Dome, and the oddsmakers may be factoring that into the equation.

Brutally Tough Schedule

Detroit Lions 7/1

New York Giants 17/2

New York and Detroit currently hold the third and fifth seeds in the NFC.

Their respective schedules suggest it won't last much longer.

New York has a realistic chance to play a team with a winning record, except for Washington the rest of the season.

On the road, they have the Patriots, 493ers, Saints, Cowboys and Jets. And at home, they face the Eagles, Packers, Redskins and Cowboys.

It's hard to imagine many teams surviving that stretch.

Out in Detroit, the Lions have road dates with the Bears, Saints, Raiders and Packers, and home games against the Panthers, Packers, Vikings and Chargers.

A veteran team would trouble with that schedule, let alone a young one trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999 and in search for their first playoff win since 1991.

Dying to Get Exposed

San Francisco 49ers 7/1

The 49ers are not good. I don't care what anyone wants to say; they are simply an average team getting by with some luck.

Their record can say anything it wants, but the real truth lies in what we see each week.

Alex Smith is the quarterback, they had a miracle win at Detroit and Philadelphia and they play in a horrid division.

This team is reminiscent of the 2001 Bears team that went 13-3 and then got blown out by the Eagles 33-19 in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Wildly Overrated

Philadelphia Eagles 6/1

You will soon see the Eagles have the same odds as the New Orleans Saints, and they are considered a tie for the second-best contender to win the NFC.

Philadelphia certainly has the talent to win, but it has also shown an ability to play down to opponents and make bonehead mistakes on a weekly basis.

Maybe they'll get hot and run off a handful of wins in a row. Or perhaps they will stumble in the fourth quarter like they did against the Falcons, 49ers and Giants. Or even worse, what happens if Vick goes down?

To put this team this high and play them at these odds seems like a huge overreaction and a desperate attempt by the books to curb people from backing the Eagles.

But like it was mentioned earlier, maybe they know something we don't. 

Legit Contender

New Orleans Saints 6/1

OK, the Saints laid an egg against the Rams last weekend.

Who cares?

The year New Orleans won the Super Bowl, they almost lost on the road to a 4-12 Washington Redskins team and ended the year with three consecutive losses with two of them coming against teams that didn't make the playoffs.

Yes, New Orleans rested their starters, but they proved how capable they are of suddenly turning it on in the postseason when it matters.

They already proved they can go into Green Bay and hang with the Packers in the beginning of the season. The only question is if they can do it in January when the temperature will take a turn for the worse.

Overwhelming Favorite

Green Bay Packers 1/1

Installing a team as even money halfway through the season is pretty bold.

But it makes sense.

The Packers have a lethal offense that can overcome any shortcomings on defense, a watered down division and the inside-track to homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

Plus, they're the defending champs.

It will take a minor miracle for them not to play in Indianapolis by season's end. Then again, who thought the Patriots would lose to the Giants a couple years ago?