Vikings Favored by Two Points Against the Bucs
Joe Johnson
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If there’s anything that oddsmakers hate it’s uncertainty (and getting their thumbs broken) and there really couldn’t be any more uncertainty for this Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers than there is right now. We discussed this in-depth on this week’s purpleJOURNAL Podcast but part of that uncertainty (and the panic it creates among the fans) comes from the way that Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer discusses (or rather doesn’t discuss, at all) the status of his players when they’re injured. While every NFL coach is tight-lipped about injuries and playing statuses (for two reasons, to avoid a team targeting an injured area on a player and also to make the other team work twice as hard to create a defensive or offensive game plan, depending), Zimmer seems to pour gasoline on the fire that is the rumor mill whenever he discusses important injuries to important players. There is no more important player on the Vikings roster than their quarterback, Sam Bradford. At this point, you’re all familiar with the situation that Bradford is dealing with and while I personally wrote that I believe he will start on Sunday, there’s still no confirmation from Zimmer or the Vikings. Because of that the Vikings, at least according to MyBookie.Ag, are only favored by 2 points Sunday in a game that they host the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Typically the home team is spotted 3 points because of the home field advantage, and because (outside of Bradford playing) the Bucs and Vikes are essentially even teams (based on how they played against the Steelers, I mean, in the eyes of the National media/oddsmakers), they’re essentially saying that the game is a toss-up in terms of how people are and will bet. Not every oddsmaker pays attention to the minutiae of every team, and the Vikings still looked objectively bad against a superior Steelers team so any narrative about the Vikings looking playoff bound because of how they performed against the Saints was erased last Sunday (The Saints getting blown out by the Pats didn’t help, either). While I do believe that this team, with Bradford, is in the running for the division title, I also understand that people who don’t follow the team on a daily/hourly basis could think that they’re just a mediocre bunch. That’s clearly reflected in the line/odds and basically my point is that I feel like if you’re the betting type, now would be the time to drop a dime or two on the Vikings either making the playoffs or winning the division. Considering you can bet on ANYTHING online these days (I saw that people were betting on whether Floyd Mayweather would wear a hat/walk out with Lil Wayne before the McGregor fight, for example) I’m sure there’s a way to bet that the Vikings will win the division.
Before the season started I believed that this team would really go as far as both Trae Waynes and MacKenzie Alexander would take them. They were essentially the weak links on an otherwise pretty stacked defense and while Waynes has played terrible (and it pains me, deeply, to say that) the rest of the defense struggled against the Steelers (mainly due to the onslaught of penalties they created). I want to add an addendum to the Waynes/Alexander take, though. On the other side of the ball, I’m really starting to believe that this team will go as far as Nick Easton can bring them. He was out and out exposed against the Steelers and I couldn’t help but think that the fact that the Vikes parted ways with Alex Boone, the only positive on a historically bad offensive line in 2016, will come back to bite them pretty hard this year. I’m sure there’s more to it than them just letting him go (as I know they attempted to cut his salary and perhaps he asked to be released) but the fact that they removed the depth that they had after working so hard to acquire it just boils my blood.
Either way. Easton and company (as well as Trae Waynes, who really, really needs a good game) need to bounce back against a very beatable Bucs team this Sunday. Their QB, Jameis Winston, is turnover prone (to put it mildly) and so this defense needs to show that it can create opportunities for the offense, regardless of whether or not Bradford plays. The fact that they’re favored by only two points should really show them that they need to step it up. Big time. This week will show what kind of team the 2017 Vikings truly are. We’ll be watching.