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Immediately following news that the Minnesota Vikings had signed Brett Farve as their starting quarterback, online oddsmakers scrambled to change the Vikings from a double digit long shot to win the 2010 Super Bowl to one that is now among the top three teams favored at some books.
Sports Interaction is one of the holdouts, maintaining the Vikings odds at +1300 (the payout would be $1300 for every $100 bet if they were to win the 2010 Super Bowl).
There is reason to be concerned about the Vikings chances for victory amidst all the Farve chatter.
ESPN posted a story on its Web site Wednesday afternoon that cited a source saying there was a "schism" in the Vikings' locker room over who should start at quarterback and that Favre has "little support" among his new teammates.
ESPN and Pro Football Talk had issued earlier reports that some players believe Tarvaris Jackson should be the starter and the latest ESPN story said others think it should be Sage Rosenfels .
Jackson is popular among his teammates to be certain but this club also must understand their chances of winning with Farve are that much greater.
Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson , who is friends with Jackson, seemed genuinely surprised when told of the reports about division in the locker room.
"That's something new tome," Peterson said. "I'm not sensing nothing like that at all. I don't know where that came from. That's news to me."
According to the oddsmakers at Sports Interaction, the Vikings are a -167 favorite to win OVER 9 regular season games, and that should be more than enough to win the NFC North division as well where they are a +140 favorite (actually very good value paying $140 for every $100 wagered).
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Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com
