Team Season Win Lines

It's that time of the year again. Most of the free agents have been signed and the NFL draft is in the past and the sportsbooks start to put out their future lines. The one that we find to best betting value is the NFL season win bets.

If you're not familiar with this type of wager it's quite simple. You have to place a bet on whether a team will win more games or fewer total games than the bookmaker has posted.

Here's what we like for 2009 NFL season win wagers.

Every year, the sports books in Las Vegas post win totals for all 32 teams in the NFL. Some reach double digits while others hover in the 4-5 range. Many include a 1/2 point so there won't be any pushes on that team. We'll take a look at three teams we feel are worth a play.

Tennessee Titans
Total - 8.5

Tennessee finished 13-3 last season before stumbling out of the playoffs in the Divisional Round. An injury to dynamic rookie RB Chris Johnson hurt their cause and the passing game couldn't make up for it. The Titans lost DT Albert Haynesworth to FA but this is still a strong defense. Three members of the secondary went to the Pro Bowl and OLB Keith Bulluck remains a force. People may not know DT Tony Brown but he's a comer and plays beside high-energy DE Kyle Vanden Bosch. The defense ranked 7th in '09 and we don't see them dropping too far if at all. The offense added receivers via the draft (Kenny Britt, Jared Cook) and FA (Nate Washington) and Johnson is now the No.1 tailback. QB Kerry Collins is accused of being nothing more than a game manager but his numbers will improve with better receivers. Tennessee faces the NFC West and AFC East, two divisions with several winnable games and they have gone 4-2 in their division the last three years. We definitely see at least nine wins here and maybe more.

Minnesota Vikings
Total - 8 .5

Poor QB play doomed Minnesota in '09. They ranked 5th in rushing and 1st in run defense but were no match for Philadelphia in the Wild Card Round. The Vikings added playmaker WR Percy Harvin in the draft and also selected Phil Loadholt to stabilize the RT position. After being unsatisfied with holdover QB Tarvaris Jackson and QB Sage Rosenfels (via trade), the Vikes added QB Brett Favre. They hope they are getting the Favre from the first half of '08 and not the second half. Minnesota has the 2nd-easiest schedule in the league this season but that is skewed because of two games vs winless Detroit. Still, they play only five '08 playoff teams and they won't need Favre to win many games for them. They'll rely on the ground game and stopping the run. Plus, their talented duo at DT (Kevin and Pat Williams) may not serve their league-imposed 4-game suspensions this season. The Vikings face the AFC North and NFC West and should have a winning record vs. those opponents. They are also the class of the division. We see them reaching at least nine wins this year.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Total - 8

Jacksonville lost both starting guards in the first half of their first game last season and the O-line never recovered. The defense missed DT Marcus Stroud more than team brass thought they would and dissension was rife in the locker room. These factors all contributed to a 5-11 mark. The Jaguars were fairly quiet in FA adding aging veterans LT Tra Thomas and WR Torry Holt. They used the draft to upgrade the O-line, drafting OT's with their first two picks. Jacksonville is 2-4 within their division in each of the last three seasons and may not reach that mark in '09. They have six games vs. '08 playoff teams and also have to visit the Seahawks, Jets, 49ers and Patriots. They get the Cardinals and Dolphins at home. For a team that jettisoned several veterans and didn't replace them, eight wins seems like a lot. RB Maurice Jones-Drew is the lead dog now but is 5'7" and doesn't have a capable backup. We don't see Jacksonville reaching eight wins even if they get a lot of break

Below we have listed the odds available at press time. Please check Sportsbook.com for the current NFL football season win lines.

Team Line
Arizona 9
Atlanta 8
Baltimore 8.5
Buffalo 7.5
Carolina 8.5
Chicago 8
Cincinnati 5.5
Cleveland 6.5
Dallas 9.5
Denver 7.5
Detroit 5
Green Bay 8.5
Houston 8
Indianapolis 10.5
Jacksonville 8
Kansas City 5.5
Miami 8
Minnesota 8.5
New England 12
New Orleans 8.5
NY Giants 10.5
NY Jets 8
Oakland 5.5
Philadelphia 9
Pittsburgh 11
San Diego 10.5
San Francisco 7
Seattle 7.5
St Louis 5
Tampa Bay 6.5
Tennessee 8.5
Washington 8