PPH Football Betting -- Lynch May Force Seahawks to Make an Unpleasant Decision

When there is a major issue with a key player for the defending Super Bowl champions, that is something no PPH football bettor can rightfully ignore. When that issue involves a contract dispute, it gets a little stickier. And when it further involves someone who doesn't want to fulfill his contract, then things have the potential to really get complicated, because there is no reason for the team holding that contract to budge. 

And so here we now stand, with Marshawn Lynch (+800 at WagerHome.com to lead the league in rushing), who has gained 4051 yards over the last three seasons for the Seattle Seahawks, sitting - at least for the time being - as he demands the team re-negotiate the last two years of a contract that was signed just a couple of years ago, and which calls for him to realize a total of $31 million over four seasons. 

He says (through his agent) he will not show up for training camp until that deal is done. Of course, the Seahawks, who are six-point favorites at WagerHome.com as they open the season September 4 against Green Bay, didn't get where they are now by making stupid decisions in the front office (although we do admit the emergence of Russell Wilson did spare them a bit of an embarrassment with the Matt Flynn signing). 

Lynch is one of those guys who has a very distinct running style, and admittedly it contributed to the overall character of this hard-nosed, in-your-face Seattle team. But this is the NFL, not the NBA. In this league the stars aren't big enough to make decisions for a whole franchise. stars get shipped off and it doesn't make one bit of difference in the TV money that comes in the end. 

Is there an amount of leverage Lynch could possibly have that would move the Seahawk management? Well, WagerHome.com customers might suggest that is the case only if whatever alternate plans Seattle's staff is making at the moment wind up falling flat. Those plans include having backup Robert Turbin ready, and they obviously have liked what they've seen out of him after taking him in the fourth round out of Utah State two years ago. And then there's Christine Michael, out of Texas A&M, who suffered a shoulder injury in yesterday's practice that was minor - at least that's what Pete Carroll hopes anyway. 

Of course, Carroll's giving it the old "we're focusing on the guys that are here" line, but that is actually true, and Lynch's position will probably get weaker for each day he holds out. Unless you are somebody like Adrian Peterson, running backs tend to be more interchangeable than their counterparts at other positions, and you don't have to be a high-round draft choice to excel - just ask Mike Shanahan, who has guided a slew of sleepers to the 1000-yard mark. 

During the pre-season there will certainly be other players let go by other teams that the Seahawks (posted at +400 to win the Super Bowl at WagerHome) can pick up, and as long as their excellent offensive line can remain intact, they will get something meaningful out of the running game. 

On top of that, Lynch isn't going to get much of a break from the media, and that, we guess, is the price one pays for refusing to talk to them. So much for being able to negotiate in the press, which is something absolutely critical for any player who wants to go back on what he has already signed on the dotted line. 

As far as the way PPH football bettors should be looking at it, well, it may be something that makes a difference for the Seahawks come playoff time (and they are priced at -350 to get there according to WagerHome's NFL futures), but if it didn't, it would be the first time in the NFL that a player who thought he had more leverage found himself replaced, with the former team not the worse for wear. 

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- Charles Jay, Gambling911.com