2008 NFL Season Win Bets

We are going to take a look at a few teams that we like and dislike in regard to their lines in the season win bet proposition. While there are certainly more than these teams that we like, we are going to focus on three here.

Cincinnati Bengals
Win Total - 7

Didn't the Bengals seem to have turned the corner after the '05 season? They had a great, young offense and looked to be a team on the rise. Since then they have gone 8-8 and 7-9 and not looked good doing it.

This year, the problems started before the summer. WR Chad Johnson told anyone who would listen that he wanted to be traded and he and QB Carson Palmer traded jibes in the press. WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh was unhappy with his contract and let the team know it. Now RB Rudi Johnson says he expects to be traded any day. Even stalwart RT Willie Anderson has been relegated to backup duty.

The defense has been a problem for years and the presence of HC Marvin Lewis has done little to improve it. The team was right to let the expensive, overrated DE Justin Smith go in FA but at least he hustled. The team drafted OLB Keith Rivers and signed DE Antwan Odom but need a lot more to fix this leaky defense (27th overall in '07).

One of the biggest things we don't like about Cincinnati is their schedule. They face the four teams in the NFC East and the AFC South, the two toughest divisions in football by quite a bit. They have to battle good Cleveland and Pittsburgh teams twice. They also visit a Jets squad that improved in the offseason. We could see this team win only four or five games and they are simply a team in disarray.
Take the Under

Chicago Bears
Win Total - 7.5

Chicago is another team that endured a rough offseason. They drafted LT Chris Williams in the 1st round to solve their pass-blocking woes and he might miss the season with a back injury. They cut Cedric Benson, another 1st-round bust at RB (remember Curtis Enis or even Rashaan Salaam) and are going with rookie Matt Forte. In a bit of a surprise, Kyle Orton won the QB battle over Rex Grossman but he doesn't possess game-breaking ability. Both starting WRs from last year are gone and the defense ranked 28th in '07 (albeit injuries were a big factor). The Bears face the AFC South teams and the NFC South teams, two tough divisions. Two games against Minnesota and Green Bay won't be easy and they also tangle with the Eagles. The defense will rebound but the offense looks to be in deep trouble.
Take the Under

New Orleans Saints
Win Total - 9

New Orleans didn't build on their '06 dream season and fell to 7-9 last season. A 0-4 start doomed them early. However, QB Drew Brees rebounded from an awful start to lead the NFC with 4,423 yards and tied for second with 28 TD passes. WR Marques Colston is a stud and Jeremy Shockey could really increase the production at TE. The ground game is a question but has enough bodies to do OK. The defense ranked 26th last year but added MLB Jonathan Vilma, DE Bobby McCray and rookie DT Sedrick Ellis to strengthen a questionable front seven. They face the AFC West and NFC North, two of the weaker divisions. They have to visit Washington but host San Francisco. We think they have made enough improvements on defense to complement a strong offense (4th overall).
Take the Over