The good news: Oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com are so sure the Oakland Raiders are going to win more than 6 games during the 2008 regular NFL season, they have made the OVER 6 wins a -145 favorite. The bad news is this doesn't mean they will necessarily go .500 on the season.
The Raiders would pay out $800 for every $100 bet if they were to win the AFC West Division. Here, the San Diego Chargers are a huge -500 favorite to win the division whereas the Denver Broncos would pay out $400 for every $100 bet. The Raiders are not the biggest of the underdogs as Kansas City has odds that would pay $1800 for every $100 bet.
Last year around this time, nobody gave the New York Giants a chance in Hell to win the 2008 Super Bowl. This year at this same time nobody is giving the Oakland Raiders a chance of winning the 2009 Super Bowl. In fact, even Raiders fans are probably laughing at the idea that we are even writing this. It's no surprise that the odds makers have made them a +7500 underdog to win the 2009 Super Bowl. That translates into a $7500 payout on every $100 bet should they do so.
The runningbacks, linebackers and secondary are good. The quarterback situation is bleak once again and coaching is not something to write home about.
This organization is as dysfunctional as ever.
James Alder of About.com sees the Raiders improving but probably not making a Playoffs run this season:
The Raiders scored just 17 points per game in 2007 while giving up more than 24, which means they must improve on both sides of the ball. So many things have to go right for this team, however, just to compete for the playoffs. And while it might not all come together this season and they may not yet be among the league's better teams, they should be more competitive.
Meanwhile, the San Diego Chargers are ranked among the teams most likely to win a Super Bowl championship according to odds makers. It's hard to see the Raiders winning this division. Second best is possible but there are no odds on this.
The best value bet would be the Raiders winning fewer than 6 games since the OVER requires $145 bet to win $100 (and get the original $145 bet back if you win). Oakland pays $115 for every $100 bet if they win under 6 regular season games at Sportsbook.com.
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Mary Montgomery, Gambling911.com
