2013/2014 Superbowl Winner

Not the dirty Hawks anyway

Dallas Cowboys

Tough division but my early shout would be the New Orleans Saints now that Peyton is back. They still have serious weapons on offence

Too wide open to nominate anyone right now. Probably 8 teams or more that have a real chance. That's what makes NFL the most competitive league out there in any sport.

there are lots more than 8 teams imo

will be an important draft

if teams like the Rams draft well they are in it imo

It just goes to show how slim the margins are between success and failure are in the NFL and how you need that slice of luck ( a reason why it's so open and we love it ).......if you look back each team  has at least one SINGLE play which could have knocked them out of their Superbowl run.

Take the last three champions.

Ravens against Broncos.
Giants against Cowboys.
Packers against Eagles.

Long live the NFL....only another seven months to kick off

8/1 the field. It's like a Grand National book

The early market predictable...Patriots yet again favs

I will throw the first team out there...Big Blue

i think the giants time might be over.

expecting their team to disband over the next couple of years

interesting one with the patriots.

brady is coming to the end of his career imo

not sure they have many more years left with him

Unoriginal but surely 49ers got to be in the mix....no real losses in free agency (bar Alex Smith )...Kap looks like hes a a character in Madden at times....
Draft maybe a couple of corners...get Justin Smith healthy again.
Indy at 50 maybe a smidge of value and maybe Rams at 80 -tough division tho (never thort Id say that)

They need to keep the RBs fit,,,they still have the scoring power and the pass rush still top draw.  It will be tough to find a few big price teams pre season that could actually be a threat

the rams have some good draft picks but not a lot of talent in this years draft

they will be a threat imo and were dominant in a tough division this year

The 49ers should be favs imo...they will be right in the mix again. The colts at 50s is a very good price when you look at the texans price...they almost won the division and give a decent account of themselves in baltimore..have them down as the division winners

no guarantee bradshaw returns harry

going to to be tough for sure esp with 7 new coaches in the mix.

seahawks are definitely worth picking up again imo

Actually the packers are probably the team that I would put favs...They have the best QB by a mile and they will improve the roster

Have to see the draft etc first.

Like the look of Seattle, young team going the right way. Hard to overlook SFG. Pats will still be flattered by playing a crap division, ditto Denver. Peyton couldn't throw in the cold, that's gotta hurt their chances, he had nothing on those throws vs Balti. So hard to repeat so I'll probably not be backing the Ravens at a real short price pre-season.

As we know this league is so wide open, who knows?

Indy @ 50's as pointed out earlier is value, and will definitely shorten from there.

i think the colts will have a terrible year this year

luck did ok but he has to step up big time imo to make them competitive

they are also due to lose some defensive stars

^ You said the niners would have a terrible year this year   all in the colts then

i didnt account for kapernick

that D isnt as good as some people think it is.

i picked the ravens though.

Yes that was a good call after the giants game but so did i...You were more confident than i was so that was a good call...I just picked them as they were the only team left that looked huge value at the time.  Good fun looking back through the old superbowl thread

yes,

i should have made a lot more than i did which is frustrating

next year i will be using bookies to put my bets on this market rather than betfair.

its too easy to get trades wrong on this market.

Big ben going down was frustrating...they came right in before he was injured

i was big on the pack

that ridiculous hail mary decision probably cost them a second seed and a home game against the 49ers

Yes same here, talking of the bookies that is where i placed the 49ers bet pre season.  You were keen on the bills at the start of the year...125/1 next season,nice running game next season. spiller looks very impressive.  Packers had to deal with more injuries than most and they still give themselves a chance.  They will win that division again, rodgers is different class.

The Packs D is awful and would have lost against any decent side in any location.

No one like the Saints? I am surprised. They are potentially a better side than the Falcons for me and they don't have the demons the Falcons have

you are mocking the pack D and then you throw the saints out

i dont trust fitzpatrick to get it done.

the bills should go for Vick

not a bad call that. Saints will be a silly short price next season just to win the division...tampa and the panthers improving...that division looks impossible.

Also I can only see Denver getting better after another close season of Manning and the offence working together. THey should have beaten Baltimore in the pay offs. That is fact. They only lost after a Flacco bomb that Bailey lost in flight allowing Smith to walk in to take it to overtime. Also they ended up with their main running backs in that encounter which hindered them.
They will walk their Division. Also they must be a good bet for the number 1 seed again in the AFC.

2013 Denver Broncos Opponents
Home    Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Philadelphia,
Washington, Baltimore
Away    Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego, Houston, Indianapolis, Dallas,
N.Y. Giants, New England

fair to say that the broncos will have no problem with that schedule

Harry - the Saints were in turmoil after Bounty gate. I think they will be a completely different animal next season.
They still showed what they were capable of thou last season in certain games

clay it was jacoby jones TD that got the ravens through and it was against a rookie corner I think who  completely made a mess of it,,instead of going with jones he ball watched and lost it in flight

sack the coach and I would have a few quid on detroit

i would have more than a few quid

that roster has so much talent

if they kept their RBs fit they would be a team to watch

Secondary is shocking considering what they have in the front 7...I like the lions but they frustrate me...some of the games this season they have moved the ball with ease...the bears game at soldier field summed the season up

Epic game last night. I backed Baltimore at 2.86 with view of laying at around 1.80. After Jacoby Jones returned the 2nd half kickoff for a TD, moneyline on Baltimore came in to 1.17 but I still didn't trade! Am I a bad person?

I wouldn't trust the Lions with a pound of my money, until the start performing well consistently.

Not too big on the Packers chances next year,although you always have a chance with Rodgers under centre........just don't like the line play on both sides of the ball at all.


Concerning the Niners D.....maybe it's not as good as people thought but it's nowhere near as bad as what it's looked in the play offs and this is down to Justin Smith....before the first game of the year against the Packers Aaron Rodgers said.... forget Aldon Smith,this WHOLE defence starts with Justin Smith,everything takes there cue from him ......and you can tell it just hasn't been the same since he got injured in that Patriots game he's been playing on one arm ( piece in Peter Kings MMQB today outlining his non effectiveness )

D13phe.....Bradshaw might not be that big a miss if that rookie running back can cure his fumbling problem,he has the look of a star.


Niners would be favourites in my book for next year.

Tough call and rightly wide open.  Obviously going to back Seattle.  They are well under their salary cap and will strengthen the defence further with a couple of top notch pass rushers.  Wilson can only improve with experience.  The second season RB Turbin can take some pressure off Lynch.

My other bet will be Carolina, I am CONVINCED they will make the playoffs next year and then who knows?

49ers for me at this early stage. They will be hurting after last night and will be more determined than any other team to go one step further. Jim Harbaugh has that team so fired up on every play, much more so than other teams. You can feel the intensity in that side on every play. They also have the advantage that 3 of their 4 toughest non-div matches in their schedule are all at home - Texans, Colts, Packers with the Saints being the tough road game. I left the 49ers alone at the start of last season in the assumption that they would start slow but they never got bigger than the 12/1 at the start of the season. I think 8/1 is a good price for a team that I expect to be the NFC No.1 seed next season.

2 others that I think are too big (more for a trade than anything else) are Dallas Cowboys @ 40/1 and Cleveland Browns @ 100/1

Cowboys have a good shot at possibly the most open division in the league next year. Doubts hang over all 4 teams for various reasons so the 40/1 is too big.

Browns had a very good second half of the season last year. After losing the first 5 games, they went 5-6 over the last 11. Given that they were bedding in a new QB (Weeden) and RB (Richardson) I would expect them to show some improvement next season. Their division looks a little weaker than usual too with the Steelers not as strong as normal and the Bengals not a true play-off team. The fact that the Ravens won yesterday will probably help the Browns as the Superbowl winners always fall off the following season. As I said above, I certainly don't expect the Browns to win the Superbowl but I think they will be the surprise team of next season. They are priced at roughly the same level as teams like the Jets, Cardinals, & Bills and it's hard to see any of those making the playoffs. Browns should be around the 50/1 mark IMO.

I agree with Harry that Rogers is the best QB but I would also have to agree with Clay I thought the Packers Defence was shocking against the 49ers so they would have to address that problem quickly for me. In terms of the favs I would agree with the 49ers and the Broncos at 8/1 and 9/1 respectively. Neither side did much wrong last season and have quality QB's, a few few different plays going their way would have arguably resulted in either one winning the superbowl. In terms of the outsiders if Dallas can keep their Defence fit and give the Romo any sort of offensive line then 40/1 looks a good price and I thought the Carolina Panthers finished the season well and 66/1 could look big but their division could be difficult and I don't know their schedule?

The Texans at 12/1 is the worst price i have seen on almost anything for years, they were so outclassed against the Pats, you just can't imagine them finding enough ability to have a chance to win the Superbowl and their QB looked out of his depth against Brady.

swagger:
2013 Carolina Panthers Opponents
Home    Atlanta, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Seattle, New England,
N.Y. Jets, N.Y. Giants
Away    Atlanta, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Arizona, San Francisco, Buffalo, Miami, Minnesota


very tough schedule imo

Packers have little chance imo, poor defence and McCarthy is a clown who will cost them tight games

Yeah massive clown who happens to be a superbowl winning coach ;)

Packers will lose jennings and hopefully finley on the offence. That should free money up to improve the defence. Like others have said seahawks are the value so far

DRAGON DANCER 05 Feb 13 15:22 Joined: 29 May 08 | Topic/replies: 1,092 | Blogger: DRAGON DANCER's blog
Packers have little chance imo, poor defence and McCarthy is a clown who will cost them tight games


How do you come to the McCarthy is a clown conclusion DD?

He was a really good coach like 3 years ago.

Probably still is, sorry for my comment I take it back, just time after time done the wrong thing with regards to 4th down decisions, no risk too often when it was needed from the opponents ~40 yard line, loves a punt or too long a field goal which isn't shrewd when you've had a woefully out of form Crosby, many bad clock management decisions I can remember, inept with timeouts, and his play calls involve too many run plays at the wrong time, in fact they run way too many run plays, some games they ran the ball more than they passed, Packers aren't impressive running the ball, you've got Rodgers! Let him do damage.

Example, season on the line v 49ers, 10 minutes left down 2 TDs, ball in midfield, 4th and 4... punts. Gotta go for it with Rodgers there! Odds were SF would get the ball and kill the game after that decision imo. Punting not gonna win you the game... ended up getting the ball back with around 3 minutes left down 3 TDs and the season was over. I'm not being results orientated, gotta take the chance there, was screaming at the TV at the time.

Also remember him trying to challenge an auto review play against the Vikings, McCarthy didn't know the rule throwing the flag but he was too slow or something so got away with it, I'd expect him to know the rule especially after what happened on Thanksgiving Day. Rodgers wasn't impressed.

Can just see/imagine Rodgers getting mad sometimes at his decisions.

I'm being way too harsh probably, Packers are one of my fav teams (because of Rodgers) and watch most of their games, just ended up seething at the end of too many Pack games, none more so than the Seattle game, but that wasn't McCarthy's fault

Super bowl winning coach so fair play I was in Australia/Thailand that year and didn't see much NFL that season, so missed his awesomeness that year!

ffs mcCarthy has become a clown now...the year he took them to the superbowl he was a genius..now a clown

I know megatron is the king of wide receivers but he cant play right across the field   They better draft some quality WRs having got rid of broyles and young.

Packers will be contenders.no doubt about that.....Cowboys seem to be a popular choice on here at 40s..trouble will be getting out of the most competitive division as the eagles cant be as bad as this season.

Houston texans price is not too bad...double the price of last season at least...not a chance they would have won the south without watt...the secondary was giving up so many big plays... cushing to come back and they are in rubbish division...foster condition seems a little suspicious..similar to mardi fish condition

Any of you lot seen 4th and down film (documentary)?

Would be rude to swardean if I had no mention of the hawks   Best defence in the league..lets see if they can go a whole season without losing a game by less than 7pts again

Dragon Dancer....everyone is entitled to their opinion but as you say you're definitely being too harsh.

Regarding running way too many run plays.....you can't just keep throwing the ball all the time, that just gives the opposition D the opportunity to tee off on the quarterback with no threat of being hurt with the run and especially with the Packers below average O line they'll get Rodgers killed.....the Packers consistantly say it's not all about the yards with them but its all about the ATTEMPTS..... which is true and was borne out in an excellent article i read some where ( think it was Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ).

There was a stat that implied if the Packers attempted to run the ball so many times each game that they were something like 27-3 over the last few seasons but if they were under that number of attempts they were something like 18-16......

I can't remember the exact figures but you can get the gist of it......so long as they attempt to run the ball the Packers invariably win.


re....the 49ers game......i think everyone was shocked that he punted the ball back to them on fourth down......he has since come out and said he made a mistake and if he had his time over again he would have went for it.

re...the automatic review.....he made a stupid mistake......most coaches make them sometime in their career.

I remember on NBC they said that some of the play calling in the Packers defeat to the Vikings in the last regular game of the season, which cost them home field advantage and a bye week in the play offs, to be nothing short of "bizarre"

Harry ...didn't realise they got rid of Broyles, thought he was only injured.....Young is a right headcase and i wouldn't go near him,players like him rarely learn their lesson.

You gotta laugh at the Lions attempts to draft recievers.....in six out of the last ten drafts they've picked a wideout with one of their first two picks ........early in the century in FOUR outta FIVE years they picked one with their FIRST pick ( although they had arguably the worst GM of all time doing the picking ) 


This documentary you're on about....do you know where i can watch it?

I think the documentary/film is called 4th-and-goal. Haven't seen it myself but looks like it might be decent enough.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1697797/

Grayhawk both are out...Lions better hope calvin has more than 5 tds he managed this year if they are going to make a noise.

I like the browns pick db...big fan of this team and the improvement they have made..they should have a better record than they ended up with....cowboys giants and baltimore away games were all games they were in...giants mounted a big comeback..they were very competitive in baltimore and they blew the dallas game..again a tough division

4th and goal...Nothing special.fell asleep watching in last night so that says a lot. 4.5 mark on imdb...if you have sky you can watch it anytime

Its one of these espn classic films

Cheers Harry....Lions down to CJ and Burleson then......so we can safely say it's defensive backs and wideouts all the way come draft day

I'll check that documentary out sometime.

Pretty sure Broyles hasn't been released, he has tore his ACL though.

ryan broyles and titus young both released.

ahmad bradshaw also released..

vanden bosche also released..chris canty released.

rob ryan saints defensive co ordinator looks on the cards

Wheres the Broyles source? Cant find it anywhere! Bradshaw comes as a bit of a surprise. Can discount the saints if they employ that muppet.

schefter posted it...they should go for jennings

Reading this don't think Broyles is released, "AdamSchefter: And so with the Lions releasing Titus Young and Ryan Broyles coming off knee injury, Detroit is, amazingly, back to needing another WR."

Should be an interesting free agency and draft period.

You are perhaps right...either way the lions need help at WR and in the secondary..no outstanding corner imo

that discounts the giants next year

they were twice the team when bradshaw played

d13phe...that back the Giants drafted last year could be one of the best in the league...gotta sort his fumbling problems mind.

he is ok but he cant block and bradshaw was a beast

he will improve any team that picks him up.

Think the Giants will be rebuilding next year, although will still be in the mix in the East.

Still no mention of the Saints with all their weapons on Offence?? If they can sort out their D and I have confidence they can do that then they are a huge player next season

While the Saints price does look big at first glance that division is gonna be brutal next year and imo they have MASSIVE probs on defense.
Also have a slight feeling that Brees might just be starting to slide a tiny bit as even the greats eventually do.

Bengals, (hold 3 seconds  for jeers and whistles) have a staggering 50 million usd of cap room, could be worth a few quid

Eagles resign Vick

thats them done for the next year

Not so fast my friend.......Remember the season the packers won it....vick with the eagles last drive...receiver slipped in the endzone and the packers tramon williams with the easy pick...could have been a different story that year..He did have a good season...I know he isnt the ideal QB but the season they went out to the packers he did have an O line....no wonder he took a beating this year,they lost 3 of the starters...The new coach may be what they needed and what mike needs....Nobody in the draft better.

Michael Pick