The season is about to start. Is there really any doubt that the Patriots will win (again)? NFL - Latest odds for all 32 teams to win Super Bowl LII
I'm confident that not only will the Patriots win the Super Bowl again, they're going to run the table and finally shut-up the 1972 Dolphins. And, I put my money where my mouth is; a friend of mine who's in Ireland now has placed a bet for me for 100 Euro for the Pats to go 19-0 this season.
Of course. It's hard to repeat, too many things have to go right. But I do tend to agree with the Vegas sports book. The Patriots do deserve the best odds. I'm something of a Raiders fan myself. They may meet the Patriots in the AFC Championship (where they will probably lose) if lots and lots of things go right for the Raiders. (That may or may not be a long-shot.) The NFC is more unpredictable than the AFC. Green Bay is my choice to meet the Patriots in the Super Bowl. But that's mostly based on Aaron Rogers. The Cowboys probably should be higher (lots of pressure on Dak). The Falcons may be way too low, given their performance last year (they just don't get no respect). I'm not sure what personnel losses they have suffered during the off-season to justify the drop. The Jets at the bottom with the worst odds? I expect the 49ers to be improved, but not very much. They just don't have the personnel that they need to not suck. I do think that Cleveland will rise some. Hue Jackson is a good coach (as he showed in his short tenure with the Raiders). But does he have the players to win more games? But the beauty of football is that every year there's a team that comes out of nowhere and makes a run at the playoffs that nobody predicted.
Maybe everyone is just trying to spare my feelings (somehow I don't think that's it) or maybe you all know that one game doesn't mean much but, let's face it, the Patriots looked pretty bad last week. They're going to have to play much better than that if they want to beat New Orleans on Sunday.
The Raiders looked good against a strong Titans team on Sunday. Solid in all aspects of the game. Unfortunately for them, the Broncos and (yes) the Chiefs won as well. The AFC West is a tough division. No room for error.