New England Patriots Now Listed With 6-1 Odds of Winning 2009 AFC
My how things have changed in just a matter of one day. The New England Patriots - originally an even favorite or better to win the 2009 AFC Championship have now been given much longer odds of 6/1. VIP.com was one of the few online sports books offering odds on the Championships and Super Bowl on Monday. Most others would be following with updated odds come Tuesday.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will undergo surgery on an injured left knee and miss the rest of the season, the team announced Monday.
"After extensive tests this morning, it was revealed that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's left knee, which was injured in the first quarter of yesterday's game, will require surgery," the team said in a statement. "He will be placed on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the 2008 season."
Matt Cassel said Monday he was ready to fill in for Brady next week against the New York Jets.
Cassel, who stepped in for Brady after the NFL's reigning MVP injured his left knee in the first quarter of Sunday's game against Kansas City, filled in for Brady on his scheduled radio appearance Monday.
"I'm not trying to be Tom Brady. I'm just trying to be Matt Cassel," he said the morning after leading the Patriots to a 17-10 win over the Chiefs. "I don't know where that's going to take us."
Cassel took over at his 2 yard-line and, after two handoffs nearly netted the Chiefs a safety, completed his first pass to Moss for a 51-yard gain. Cassel, Brady's backup for the past three years, finished the 98-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Moss that gave New England a 7-0 lead.
"This is something I've been preparing for a long time," said Cassel, who threw just 33 passes while backing up Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at Southern Cal. "It's not something I expected to come up on opening day."
The team will bring in quarterback Chris Simms for a workout Monday. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported the Patriots will also look at journeyman Tim Rattay.
And though the Patriots won outright, they failed to cover the spread against what is supposed to be the worst team in the league this season, The Kansas City Chiefs.
VIP's odds provide a glimpse of things to come. Ironically, the Patriots were the only AFC team of the four top early favorites to win the 2009 AFC Championship. The Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars all lost their respective games during Week 1 of the 2008 regular season. This has completely changed the pecking order in the AFC.
The Colts, Chargers and Steelers all have better odds now of winning the 2009 AFC Conference. San Diego would pay just shy of $400 for every $100 bet. The Colts would pay $400. Pittsburgh would pay out just over $500.
The Steelers in fact offered up one of the most dominant wins of the weekend against a lackluster Houston Texans team.
Other teams in this division to watch that were never even considered among Conference title hopefuls: The Buffalo Bills (now at 15 to 1 odds), Tennessee Titans (15 to 1 odds), the New York Jets (at 17 to 2 odds for a payout potential of just over $800 for every $100 bet) and - dare we say it - even the 100 to 1 long shot Miami Dolphins could win the AFC. IN OUR DREAMS OF COURSE!
The Bills odds of winning the AFC East were set at +600 for a $600 win with every $100 bet. The New England Patriots by comparison came in with -900 odds. WHOA!
On Tuesday, we will have a better glimpse as to how the odds will change in the AFC East division. Stay tuned to www.gambling911.com for more.
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
