Eagles get attention in Vegas
August 31, 2015
You never want to get too excited about what happens during the NFL preseason, but it’s hard not to be a little giddy about what’s going on with the Philadelpha Eagles, who have won all three of their games by an average score of 38-17.
Yes, it’s preseason, but the Philly offense is clicking no matter who is throwing the ball, and its been quite impressive. Both Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez have been super stars at quarterback combining for six TDs and no picks. The offense has averaged 429 yards per game, 150 of them on the ground.
While most sports books and oddsmakers don’t adjust their power ratings too rapidly due to what happened in preseason games, the Eagles have become an exception.
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has dropped the Eagles odds to win the Super Bowl from 12/1 last week down to 8/1 on Monday due to a combination of bets taken and air moves.
“We’ve made by far the best biggest power ratings adjustment on the Eagles out of all the teams in preseason,” said SuperBook assistant manager Jeff Sherman.
“We’ve cut their future prices and made an adjustment in their opener at Atlanta to (Eagles) minus-3 even.”
In mid-July, the Eagles were a pick ‘em in that game.
The Westgate staff also adjusted their NFL games of the year with the Sept. 20 home date against the Cowboys where Philly is now -3.5 after being -2.5 in July. That’s a big leap over the key number of ‘3’ in a divisional game and is the equivalent of about 2 points.
Current Eagles point-spreads at Westgate Game of the Year Odds:
Sept. 13: Eagles -3 (+100) at Falcons
Sept. 20: Cowboys at Eagles -3.5
Oct. 11: Saints at Eagles -5.5
Oct. 25: Giants at Eagles -6.5
Nov. 8: Eagles at Cowboys -3 (+100)
Nov. 26: Eagles -1 at Lions
Dec. 26: Redskins at Eagles -8.5
Jan. 3: Eagles -3 at Giants
In July, the Eagles season win total at the Westgate was 9.5 UNDER -130, but between OVER wagers and adjusting on air, the Eagles are now 9.5 OVER -150.
“They’re a popular team right now with bettors in future play and individual games,” Sherman said. “They’re a fun team to watch. This fast pace is the style people like.”
Nick Bogdanovich over at William Hill says the small bettors have been hitting the Eagles hard during the preseason with the popular parlay of EAGLES and OVER.
“They’ve been doing very well,” Bogdanovich said of the bettors who have gone 3-0 with a 13-to-5 parlay in the first three preseason games.
Part of the appeal of this Eagles squad, besides blowing teams out, is the no-nonsense approach by head coach Chip Kelly and Sherman says he’s been watching Kelly closely since shaking things up in his first two years with Philly.
“He’s taken a lot of criticism the past two years for doing things his way and getting the people he wants on his team, but I think we’re starting to see the effect of his overall plan now.”
They were going have to a tough time replacing DeSean Jackson. No problem for Chip. They may even regret letting Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles leave, but there is no signs of that regret in preseason so far as it appears everyone is buying into Chip Kelly’s system, even the sports books.
Only the Seahawks (9/2), Packers (6/1), and Colts (7/1) have lower Super Bowl odds than the Eagles at the Westgate. Dallas, who is listed as 11/10 co-favorite with Philadelphia to win the NFC East, is 14/1 to win the Super Bowl.
It’s only preseason, but if the sports books are taking serious notice of the Eagles in these meaningless games, the bettors should as well. And it’s not just the offense that is impressing, it’s their defense as well. Preseason or not, they did a pretty good job against the decent playoff offenses of Indianapolis, Baltimore and Green Bay albiet no Aaron Rodgers.
Whether it’s Bradford staying healthy or Sanchez eventually piloting the ship, you wouldn’t be going out on a limb saying Philly will be at least 10-6 this season which has been their record the past two seasons.
Micah Roberts is a former Las Vegas sports book director that has been covering the sports betting industry for the last 11 years.
August 31, 2015
You never want to get too excited about what happens during the NFL preseason, but it’s hard not to be a little giddy about what’s going on with the Philadelpha Eagles, who have won all three of their games by an average score of 38-17.
Yes, it’s preseason, but the Philly offense is clicking no matter who is throwing the ball, and its been quite impressive. Both Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez have been super stars at quarterback combining for six TDs and no picks. The offense has averaged 429 yards per game, 150 of them on the ground.
While most sports books and oddsmakers don’t adjust their power ratings too rapidly due to what happened in preseason games, the Eagles have become an exception.
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has dropped the Eagles odds to win the Super Bowl from 12/1 last week down to 8/1 on Monday due to a combination of bets taken and air moves.
“We’ve made by far the best biggest power ratings adjustment on the Eagles out of all the teams in preseason,” said SuperBook assistant manager Jeff Sherman.
“We’ve cut their future prices and made an adjustment in their opener at Atlanta to (Eagles) minus-3 even.”
In mid-July, the Eagles were a pick ‘em in that game.
The Westgate staff also adjusted their NFL games of the year with the Sept. 20 home date against the Cowboys where Philly is now -3.5 after being -2.5 in July. That’s a big leap over the key number of ‘3’ in a divisional game and is the equivalent of about 2 points.
Current Eagles point-spreads at Westgate Game of the Year Odds:
Sept. 13: Eagles -3 (+100) at Falcons
Sept. 20: Cowboys at Eagles -3.5
Oct. 11: Saints at Eagles -5.5
Oct. 25: Giants at Eagles -6.5
Nov. 8: Eagles at Cowboys -3 (+100)
Nov. 26: Eagles -1 at Lions
Dec. 26: Redskins at Eagles -8.5
Jan. 3: Eagles -3 at Giants
In July, the Eagles season win total at the Westgate was 9.5 UNDER -130, but between OVER wagers and adjusting on air, the Eagles are now 9.5 OVER -150.
“They’re a popular team right now with bettors in future play and individual games,” Sherman said. “They’re a fun team to watch. This fast pace is the style people like.”
Nick Bogdanovich over at William Hill says the small bettors have been hitting the Eagles hard during the preseason with the popular parlay of EAGLES and OVER.
“They’ve been doing very well,” Bogdanovich said of the bettors who have gone 3-0 with a 13-to-5 parlay in the first three preseason games.
Part of the appeal of this Eagles squad, besides blowing teams out, is the no-nonsense approach by head coach Chip Kelly and Sherman says he’s been watching Kelly closely since shaking things up in his first two years with Philly.
“He’s taken a lot of criticism the past two years for doing things his way and getting the people he wants on his team, but I think we’re starting to see the effect of his overall plan now.”
They were going have to a tough time replacing DeSean Jackson. No problem for Chip. They may even regret letting Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles leave, but there is no signs of that regret in preseason so far as it appears everyone is buying into Chip Kelly’s system, even the sports books.
Only the Seahawks (9/2), Packers (6/1), and Colts (7/1) have lower Super Bowl odds than the Eagles at the Westgate. Dallas, who is listed as 11/10 co-favorite with Philadelphia to win the NFC East, is 14/1 to win the Super Bowl.
It’s only preseason, but if the sports books are taking serious notice of the Eagles in these meaningless games, the bettors should as well. And it’s not just the offense that is impressing, it’s their defense as well. Preseason or not, they did a pretty good job against the decent playoff offenses of Indianapolis, Baltimore and Green Bay albiet no Aaron Rodgers.
Whether it’s Bradford staying healthy or Sanchez eventually piloting the ship, you wouldn’t be going out on a limb saying Philly will be at least 10-6 this season which has been their record the past two seasons.
Micah Roberts is a former Las Vegas sports book director that has been covering the sports betting industry for the last 11 years.
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