Vegas: Aaron Hernandez Effect?
By Mike Dyce
New England Patriots have released Aaron Hernandez following his arrest earlier this morning. This could cause the New England Patriots to enter the season with their Top 5 receiving targets unavailable. Rob Gronkowski, who is recovering from injury, is the only one of the 5 still on the roster.
And Vegas has taken notes and the Patriots odds to win the Super Bowl have dropped them out of the top two. That is the first time since 2003 that the Patriots haven’t been one of the top two entering the season.
Vegas insider and Pregame.com CEO RJ Bell cites the distraction to the team and thinness at tight end to their drop in the odds. It isn’t a significant drop going from 7/1 to 8/1 but falling out of the top 2 is significant.
Current Super Bowl Favorites:
San Francisco 49ers: 6/1
Denver Broncos: 6/1
Seattle Seahawks: 8/1
New England Patriots: 8/1
Green Bay Packers: 15/1
Atlanta Falcons: 18/1
Houston Texans: 18/1
New Orleans Saints: 20/1
NFL Odds: 49ers 6/1; Den 6/1; Sea 8/1; NE 8/1 (1st time since 2003 #Patriots not one of TOP TWO favorites entering season)
— RJ Bell (@RJinVegas) June 26, 2013
#Patriots Super Bowl odds have dropped modestly, from 7/1 to 8/1. Team distraction + thinness at TE contribute to downgrade.
— RJ Bell (@RJinVegas) June 26, 2013