Sports betting

NFL Future Odds, NFL Live Odds, NFL Live Lines, NFL Future Betting Odds

by Kevin Taylor | June 19 2009

Are you willing to bet on the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL Future odds market? Sports betting enthusiasts have been picking their spots when it comes to putting their money down on the NFL Future odds offered at online sportsbooks, as volume continues to flow in.

The usual suspects are getting most of the attention from bettors—New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, etc.

NFL betting obviously starts to really heat up as the pre-season NFL schedule gets closer, but there is still lots of NFL betting options available right now at online sportsbooks, such as SPORTSBETTING.COM.

So back to the Cincinnati Bengals… oh Ochocinco, you might not be known as Chad Johnson any more but you still know how to entertain.

Chad Ochocinco is quoted by ESPN's James Walker as saying the following about his Cincinnati Bengals:

"It's going to be a great year; we're going to the playoffs. We're going… We're making progress. I mean, I see it, and I can come out on a limb and say what we're going to do."

Lindy's 2009 pro football preview isn't quite as enthusiastic, forecasting that Ochocinco and his Cincinnati Bengals will finish in third place in the AFC North and will miss the postseason - Cincy went 4-11-1 straight up last season, 7-9 against the spread and 5-10-1 on the Over/Under.

Is No. 85 just blowing steam or will the Bengals actually be playing in January?

First off, the Bengals rank 22nd in terms of strength of schedule. Their "Season Win Total" odds (Total number of wins is in the season) is 6.5, with Over paying out at -125 and Under at -105.

When you go 4-11-1 SU, you have a low success rate and amongst the teams the Bengals struggled against were AFC North divisional rivals going 9-11 SU and 8-12 ATS in their last 20 division games.

NFL Trends:
In its last 20 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincy is 5-15 SU and 6-13-1 ATS.

Cincinnati has gone 8-12 SU and 9-11 ATS in its last 20 against the Baltimore Ravens but more recently, are 6-3 SU and ATS in their last nine Raven games.

Against the state and division rival Cleveland Browns, the Bengals have actually been successful straight up going 12-8 in their last 20 but are only 10-10 ATS.

Not surprisingly, the Bengals aren't seeing favorable odds in division championship betting as they are +1000 to win the AFC North at SPORTSBETTING.COM.

Do bookies view Cincy as a legitimate threat to win the Lamar Hunt trophy and thus the AFC?

Not so much. The Bengals are listed at +5000 to win the AFC championship this season.

The odds are even steeper for a Super Bowl victory as Cincinnati is a +10,000 longshot to take home the Vince Lombardi trophy this season.

The Bengals open up the season with a home game against the Denver Broncos and it would be nice if they could open up with a win, although not imperative. Cincinnati has been solid ATS against Denver going 6-5 dating back to 1984 but SU has been a different story; in the last 11 meetings against Denver, the Bengals are an abysmal 2-9 SU.

Besides the usual assortment of division and conference rival games on the sked, the Bengals will face teams from the NFC Norris, aka North, this season.

Since 2005, the Cincinnati Bengals are 4-0 straight up and 3-1 ATS against the likes of the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. They are also 1-3 on the Over/Under in that time as well.

Chad Ochocinco is hardly Joe Willie Namath so we are taking his Cincinnati playoff berth prediction with a block of salt but you know what they say about any given Sunday.

Any team can win and likewise, any team can make the playoffs.

Have a good weekend.