Carolina Panthers still poised to win NFC Championship

The teams that oddsmakers favor most to win the NFC Championship aren't necessarily more impressive than the Carolina Panthers, who as of November 13 were listed with 9 to 1 odds at VIP.com (see website here).

"There is great value in NFC Championship future betting," commented Sports911.com Senior Sports Handicapper, Tyrone Black.  "It's essentially any team's to take with the exception of those that are so far out of reach."

Sure the Chicago Bears are the standout but they also showed vulnerability against the lowliest of teams. 

And even the .500 teams have a shot and in theory a team like the Green Bay Packers could ultimately win the NFC Championship.  They had odds of 75 to 1 at press time.

The Chicago Bears remained the favorite with odds of 8 to 5 or $8 paid out for every $5 bet.  The New York Giants came in at 5 to 1 odds or a $500 payout for every $100 bet.  Seattle came in third with 11 to 2 odds or roughly a payout of $550 for every $100 bet.  Dallas had odds of 8 to 1.  New Orleans had odds of 10 to 1 while Carolina came in with odds of 9 to 1.

With the Panthers hosting Tampa Bay Monday night, they have the best shot of walking off with a winning record (5-4).  A loss might all but guarantee the end to their post season hopes if not for the fact that most of the other teams in Carolina's conference (with the exception of Chicago) are far from superior.

The remainder of Carolina's schedule features three teams that are deemed better than the Panthers - at least on paper, though Carolina has shown they can beat some of the more competitive teams already this season (i.e. New Orleans and Baltimore).

Odds to win the 2007 NFC Championship listed below courtesy of VIP.com (see website here)

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Don Shapiro, www.sports911.com

Originally published November 13, 2006 1:33 pm ET