NFL: Betting on the Ravens
We are racing towards the midpoint of the NFL regular season and seven weeks into the sprint/marathon the public is getting an education on the players and the teams that are good and the players and the teams that are less than good.
Time for Stock Up! Stock Down! with the boys from Bet the EDGE.
Baltimore Ravens
Count Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) among the converted.
“I bet against the Ravens a number of times already this season on the back of how injured they were. And oh by the way, now they’re healthy and Lamar Jackson (+700 MVP) is playing at an especially high level. I think the fact that you have an offense that is still growing under Todd Monken and the result is we have not yet seen the ceiling for this team. That should scare people in the AFC.”
Jay Croucher agrees.
“This is the best context that Lamar has had certainly since 2019…and that’s the best he’s played since 2019. I think that’s pretty scary. So I think that they have kind of separated themselves.”
Lamar Jackson is shooting up the odds board at DraftKings. The Ravens’ signal-caller is healthy with weapons at his disposal and an offensive coordinator who is tapping into the strengths of all. Couple that with Roquan Smith (+10000 DPOY) leading the defense and you can see why Baltimore may be the top threat to Kansas City’s title defense in the AFC.
Bet the Edge is your source for the day in sports betting. Get all of Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick’s insight Tuesday through Saturday at 6AM ETright here or wherever you get your podcasts.
Buffalo Bills
The boys differ on just how good this team can be.
Drew still believes the Bills can be a factor in the division and conference.
“But I think that putting them in the upper tier of the AFC is foolish considering who they are trotting out defensively. This is now a team that needs to change their identity from balanced offense and defense are both excellent to a team that needs to find ways to play from ahead...I think you need to find ways to sustain drives in order to keep their defensive unit off the field because right now their defense as rostered can only really rush the passer. They can’t cover well, they can’t stop the run especially well, and in particular, they can be picked on like there are clearly places that you can scheme to matriculate drives down the field against them...but if they realize that potential and Josh Allen is playing at a Top 3 QB level, they can upset teams in the playoffs. Absolutely, yes, they can get into the playoffs. They can get into the wildcard and they could still win the AFC East.”
Jay is less optimistic for Bills Mafia.
“I think that they may have just reached the point of no return well, now that they’ve lost basically for the season: number one cornerback Tre White, maybe the best linebacker in the NFL in Matt Milano, and DaQuan Jones who is your best interior defensive lineman by margin…I would be higher on the Bills if not for the fact they still have these games on their schedule - at Cincinnati in a couple of weeks on Sunday Night Football, home to the Jets who they always struggle against offensively, at Philly, at Kansas City, home for Dallas, at Justin Herbert (LA Chargers), and at Miami. That is an absolute gauntlet.”
Life in the NFL changes on a dime. That happens when every play contains such speed, power, and violence. For now, the Buffalo Bills are on the wrong side of the equation and Josh Allen (+1500 MVP) will need to be at his career best the rest of the way just to get the Bills into the postseason let alone lead Buffalo on a deep run.
