70/1 for the Rams to win the Super Bowl. 5/1 to win the NFC West.
Hey, after last season, I'll take those odds. The folks over at Bodog were king enough to share some Rams-related stats with us. Not a betting man, I was oddly interested from the predictive standpoint.
Things to be oddly optimistic about:
- Rams favored to win more than 3.5 games at home, -135. That's a plus. The Rams first home game is against the Super Bowl champion NY Giants, a difficult match for sure, but the Giants are coming in without sack master Osi Umenyiora and Strahan opted to stay retired. Alex Barron's breathing easier. After the Giants the Rams get the Bills, Cowboys, Cardinals, Bears, Dolphins, Seahawks and Niners. The most winnable games on the list are the Dolphins, Niners, and Bears. Mistake free play could bring a win against the Cardinals, esp considering their chronic disarray under center. If the Rams are competitive, a games against the Seahawks are always tight. I'm more optimistic about our chances against the Giants than the Bills.
- The over/under on Bulger's stats are 3325 passing yards and 19.5 TDs. That would be his second best season in the last four years.
- Take the over on Steven Jackson. His over/under for rushing yards is 1300; he topped 1000 yards in 12 games with a terrible offensive line and offense last season. His over/under for receiving yards is 450, far off his 800+ yards in 2006. He should top that this year. For TDs, Jackson's o/u is 12.5, a tougher call than his yardage numbers.
- Precedent weighs heavily in odds making, and Torry Holt is still favored to be a top WR. His over/unders are: 92 rec, 1172 yards, 8.5 TDs. He topped all those, except for TDs (he had 7), with a gimpy knee and a pathetic offense last year.
- Right now, I'd probably take the under on Drew Bennett to rack up 720 receiving yards; his preseason work makes 300 yards look like a stretch.
- I'm not worried about Chris Long emerging as monster on the d-line, but 6.5 sacks this year seems like a long shot after camp/preseason.
Team Odds Odds to win the 2009 Super Bowl XLIII St. Louis Rams 70/1 Odds to win the 2008 NFC Championship St. Louis Rams 30/1 Odds to win the NFC West Division St. Louis Rams 5/1 Win Totals St Louis Rams Regular Season Wins Over 6.5 -130 Under 6.5 Even St Louis Rams Regular Season Home Wins Over 3.5 -135 Under 3.5 +105 St Louis Rams Regular Season Away Wins Over 3 -130 Under 3 Even Miscellaneous Odds Will Scott Linehan be the head coach of the St Louis Rams for the first game of the 2009 NFL season? Yes +120 No -150 Player Performance Odds Marc Bulger Passing Yards Over/Under 3325 Marc Bulger Touchdown Passes Over/Under 19.5 How many sacks will the St Louis Rams allow? Over/Under 31.5 Steven Jackson Rushing Yards Over/Under 1300 Steven Jackson Receiving Yards Over/Under 450 Steven Jackson Total Touchdowns Over/Under 12.5 Torry Holt Receiving Yards Over/Under 1175 Torry Holt Touchdowns Over/Under 8.5 Torry Holt Receptions Over/Under 92 Drew Bennett Receiving Yards Over/Under 720 Drew Bennett Touchdowns Over/Under 3.5 Donnie Avery Receiving Yards Over/Under 350 Randy McMichael Receiving Yards Over/Under 475 Leonard Little Sacks Over/Under 7 Chris Long Sacks Over/Under 6.5 Thanks again to Bodog for the numbers.