Super Bowl 51 Could Surprise Most Bettors
The teams for the 2017 Super Bowl are the New England Patriots, the AFC champions, and the Atlanta Falcons, the NFC champions. While the Patriots were the favorite to reach another Super Bowl this year, the Falcons were not expected to get this far. Atlanta has a great roster and impressed everybody with their playoff run to a Super Bowl berth.The Vegas oddsmakers see this as a close game on paper.
They have posted New England as a three-point favorite on the early opening line.
The Super Bowl is the most bet single event of the year. The oddsmakers are under a lot of pressure to get it right. There will be more recreational bettors and non bettors wagering than during the NFL regular season and playoffs. Vegas books feel more at ease with large numbers of these amateur bettors which will spread out any perceived risk from the five figure whale bettors. This is one reason Vegas has won money on 24 out of 26 Super Bowls since 1991. Considering the numerous prop bets and other ways to bet on a Super Bowl, there is a good chance Super Bowl 51 will be profitable with a 10 to 15 percent hold rate for the books.
However, Super Bowl 51 could be a big surprise to most bettors.
The biggest surprise in Super Bowl history was just a few short years ago. Super Bowl 48 in 2014 between the number one offense Denver Broncos with Peyton Manning and the number one defense Seattle Seahawks was a shocker and major blowout. Denver was favored by 2 to 3 points and was glamorized by the press with their legendary quarterback Peyton Manning and their scoring machine.
The resulting 43 to 8 lop-sided victory by Seattle was a tremendous effort by a defense that Manning and the Broncos had never seen before. They knew Seattle had a very good defense but not one of the greatest defenses ever to play. Denver had no chance as the game was over by half-time. The surprise look on most people`s faces was a complete jaw dropping one of disgust. All the parties were over with no hope of a climatic comeback to salvage the festive activities and keep the party going. A real dud, a real let-down.
Is there a surprise outcome lurking behind Super Bowl 51? Most people love an upset, except for serious bettors who follow the stats and charts to place their money on an educated investment. They do not like serendipity for all their effort and money but a football takes a funny bounce sometimes and players make dumb mistakes. The twists and turns either go against you or for you and there is nothing you can do about it — so grin and bear it.
Tom Brady is the poster boy and the Patriots are the glamour team in this glorious battle for the prestigious ring. The general betting public will be swayed by the media and others to place their trust and money on the glamour team in Brady and the famous Patriots. Even the name Patriots symbolizes the fight and spirit of the American birth.
The Patriots deserve the hype and Brady is a great quarterback. The whole New England organization reeks of success in a long run of putting trophies on their shelf.
However, the Falcons will not be in awe as they strive to get their first ring. This is where a very big surprise could hit the Patriots defense trying to stop a lighting quick offense led by a new top tier quarterback in Matt Ryan and his receiving arsenal. They can move the ball almost at will against any team defense no matter how well a defense is playing.
The Patriots are well aware of this on tape but to see it on the field in another story. These Falcons are still under the radar just like the Seahawks defense was in 2014. Unless the Patriots can run the ball and score on 8 minute drives to control the clock, they will be very surprised by the Falcon offense and how to stop it. They could be down 14 to 0 quickly with no answers.
Big surprises are rare but hidden gems can sparkle and shine when you least expect it. So is the plight of the Atlanta Falcons to soar above all teams in their way, just ask Seattle and the Packers. They were all left in the dust !!
