2011 Week 1 Monday Night Football Games Betting Odds
2011 Week 1 Monday Night Football double header games betting odds were available at Sportsbook.com. These included the New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS at MIAMI DOLPHINS
Sportsbook.com Line: New England -7.5 & 46
Opening Line & Total: NE -5 & 45
Miami is looking to put last year’s late-season collapse in the rearview mirror, but it won’t be easy when New England comes to town on Monday Night Football.
The Pats destroyed the Dolphins twice last season, beating them by a combined score of 79-21. With a season-ending 38-7 drubbing in Miami, the Dolphins finished the year with three straight losses, SU and ATS. With the Patriots’ explosive offense and immeasurable advantage at quarterback, there’s no reason they shouldn’t win this one easily on the road.
There is only one significant injury to each team. Patriots rookie RB Stevan Ridley and Miami S Chris Clemons are both questionable for undisclosed reasons.
The Dolphins did their best to plug some holes over the offseason. They added ex-Saint RB Reggie Bush to complement bruising second-round pick Daniel Thomas in their backfield. They also drafted G Mike Pouncey to upgrade the interior line. ILB Kevin Burnett, an underrated ‘backer for the Chargers, fills in for recently-retired Channing Crowder alongside Karlos Dansby. They do have an elite pass rusher in OLB Cameron Wake, but Tom Brady has made a living staying a beat ahead of 3-4, blitz-heavy defenses.
But quarterback remains a glaring weakness on this team. QB Chad Henne was erratic and inaccurate all last season, and he showed little improvement during the preseason. Matt Moore, who had his moments in Carolina, could eventually overtake Henne for the starting job. Either way, quarterback is going to be a problem spot again for Miami.
The Patriots made headlines by bringing in a couple of high-profile headaches: WR Chad Ochocinco and DT Albert Haynesworth. The impact of the signings is likely to be minimal though; this team was already among the elite because of Brady.
While Ochocinco provides depth on the receiving corps (his skills were tailing off at the end of his Cincinnati run), the bigger improvement to the passing game will come from slot man Wes Welker, whose knee should be 100% healthy. He was a half-step slow a year ago while coming off a torn ACL.
The New England defense slid into mediocrity last year, but they made some changes. They’ll give more of a 4-3 look rather than the 3-4 they’ve played during the Bill Belichick era. Whether they can generate a pass rush is the big question, and they’re banking on either Haynesworth or DE Andre Carter (another former Redskin) to have a bounce-back year. The secondary had its problems last year, but second-year CB Devin McCourty would have won defensive rookie of the year honors if he wasn’t breaking into the league with Lions stud DT Ndamukong Suh. They’re also looking to replace inconsistent S Brandon Meriweather, who took a big step back in 2010 and was cut from the team in early September.
OAKLAND RAIDERS at DENVER BRONCOS
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Denver -3 & 40.5
Opening Line & Total: Den -1 & 41
Old rivals will be unveiling new looks when the Raiders and Broncos open the season on Monday Night Football in Denver.
A year ago, the Raiders hammered the Broncos twice, winning 59-14 in Denver and 39-23 in Oakland, while going 6-0 SU and ATS against AFC West opponents. The Raiders have won five straight ATS and three in a row SU in Denver.
The Raiders’ biggest offseason loss was obviously All-Pro CB Nnamdi Asomugha. They also dismissed head coach Tom Cable despite a surprise 8-8 season a year ago, promoting offensive coordinator Hue Jackson to take his place. Owner Al Davis has long wanted to scrap Cable’s zone-blocking system (despite its success) with a power running scheme, and this year he’ll get his wish. Oakland has a revamped offensive line—second-year man Jared Veldheer moves to left tackle, and rookie Stefen Wisniewski will likely be at one of the interior spots—and still has a talented one-two running back punch with Darren McFadden and Michael Bush.
But immediate success could be a reach. Jackson did a nice job making calls for the passing game last year, using Jason Campbell on a lot of play-action. But while the Raiders have speed in their young receiving corps, Campbell’s security blanket—TE Zach Miller—signed with Seattle. Former Giants TE Kevin Boss is an immense downgrade, and he’s out Monday night because of an injured MCL.
The Broncos hired long-time Carolina head coach John Fox to try and right their ship. Despite whispers of Tim Tebow stepping in under center this year, the second-year QB is still a major project. Kyle Orton, coming off his best statistical season, will be their starter in Week 1 and probably for the vast majority of the 2011 campaign.
But while Orton showed he could put up numbers and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy was retained, Fox’s influence will make this more of a run-heavy offense. Denver added power runner Willis McGahee to provide some depth behind starter Knowshon Moreno.
Defensively is where the Broncos are likely to struggle for a second straight year. They’re converting back to a 4-3 after playing a 3-4 under McDaniels, and while they added some speed (drafting OLB Von Miller second overall, and getting DE Elvis Dumervil back from injury), stopping the run could be an issue. This is especially true with tackling machine D.J. Williams who is out 3-to-4 weeks with an elbow injury. Denver added DTs Ty Warren and Marcus Thomas to play the interior line, but Warren is out until at least December with a torn triceps, and Thomas seems unlikely to play Week 1 because of a chest injury.
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- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
