New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins 2008 Week 1 Betting Odds
It's hard to believe that after the New York Giants get through playing the Washington Redskins, the New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins game is the most bet on heading into the start of the 2008 NFL season.
Last year, these were two of the worst teams in the league. The Jets improve with Brett Favre and the Dolphins improve with Bill Parcels heading the team, but the fact is that Miami can't get much worse than its one win season in 2007.
2008 Week 1 betting odds reflect the heavy action on the New York Jets, who are a -3 favorite at Sports Interaction.
Here are some very interesting observations that Gambling911.com has made on Thursday in regard to the New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins 2008 Week 1 betting odds.
The Jets were a flat -3 favorite. Only about 10 percent of the sports books had this one moving to -3 ½ (including Sports Interaction on various occasions).
The books that are offering this line at Jets -3 ½ are those that regularly encourage betting on the dog, which is usually a sign that they have a strong opinion the favorite will win. However, in this case that might not matter much. The -3 ½ number at press time was rare and this could just be a means of getting some action on Miami. More than 90 percent of the betting action was coming in on both the Jets -3 spread and the -160 money line, whereby New York could win without covering but it will cost you ($160 to win $100 and get the initial $100 back only if the Jets win it).
The idea that the books are holding pat or only moving the line a mere half point indicates a very strong opinion on the Miami Dolphins at least covering in this game, though an outright win is indeed possible. To understand this concept one must realize that with over 90 percent of the bets coming in on the Jets, a New York win would be devastating to the bookmakers especially when we consider this game the most bet on of Week 1 after the Giants vs. Redskins. In fact, it's entirely possible the Jets vs. Dolphins game will be the most bet on when all is said and done.
If the bookmakers really believed the Jets had a strong shot of winning this game we would be seeing a line all the way up to -5 or higher at this point, especially when we consider the perception that Miami will be the worst team (outside of perhaps Kansas City) once again this season.
The trend is not to move this one beyond -3 1/2 either, though we could see a -4 here or there before game time. -3 1/2 will likely be the primary number just before game time. Frankly, we don't see any significance here as to whether you would get -3 1/2 or -3 as we don't see the Jets winning by exactly 3 points in this game.
Miami was a small -120 favorite to win 6 2008 regular season games or more. The Jets were a small -125 favorite to win 8 ½ or less regular season games this season.
Oddmakers are not believing the Favre factor will have a significant impact - at least not early on.
The one catch of course is that Week 1 is always the hardest to draw an accurate picture.
Gambling911.com will be monitoring betting action and trends throughout the season so we strongly suggest you add this website to your favorites - www.gambling911.com
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Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com
