Seahawks, Ravens Odds Improve Following NFL Draft
The Seattle Seahawks odds to win the 2011 Super Bowl were at +8000, paying $8000 for every $100 bet. The Baltimore Ravens odds to win the 2011 Super Bowl were at +1800, paying $1800 for every $100 bet.
Following the 2010 NFL Draft, the Seahawks may find themselves over .500 while the Ravens have a legitimate shot at heading to the 2011 Super Bowl.
The verdict from ESPN.com's Mel Kiper, Jr. is that both teams made out best in last week's NFL Draft.
Pete Carroll and the new Seahawks regime came out of the gates with a bang. Impact players early, value later, and some trades thrown in. And they were patient! Russell Okung lands in their laps at No. 6, Earl Thomas is there at No. 14. Golden Tate is still there at No. 60. All three can help the team not in a few years, but immediately. A swap netted the team LenDale White, who isn't remarkable, but it cost them nothing. Then, Seattle parlayed a fifth-rounder into Leon Washington. No team outside of possibly Detroit added impact players the way Seattle has.
Essentially, this means that the Seahawks could win their respective division and the odds may have value once released. San Francisco is expected to show improvement while Arizona, by default, should have short enough odds even without Kurt Warner. The Cards got John Skelton in the Draft as a possible replacement for Warner. Otherwise they'll have to go with either Matt Leinart or Derek Anderson, neither of which will help Arizona much. The Cardinals odds are a bit shorter than Seattle's to win the 2011 Super Bowl. Hence the reason why Gambling911.com believes the Seahawks have some very early value winning their division. Of course we will be paying close attention to San Francisco with the new NFL season a few months away.
The Ravens are in a much better spot to take home a championship following this past week's Draft.
For top grades, it's a contrast in styles. Seattle had high picks and got great fits, then waited and got Golden Tate. Baltimore traded down and still loaded up on talent all over the place. In Round 2, they got both Sergio Kindle and Terrence Cody, a pair of guys who could have landed in the first round. They get a pair of fantastic tight end prospects in Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta, continuing a promise to both buy and draft options for Joe Flacco. Love the Arthur Jones pick, a one-time Big Board guy who fell to the fifth round, mostly because of health issues. Even in the sixth, the Ravens got Ramon Harewood, a small-college tackle prospect who has a chance to develop. And we can't forget that Anquan Boldin is, in some respects, a part of this class as well.
Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
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