Quote:It's just as well as the Jaguars have been playing, and as porous as the Ravens secondary has been, I presumed the spread would be something like Ravens by 2 1/2 where it's virtually even after accounting for home field with the jaguars pushing the line slightly their way. Are they giving the Ravens an extra 3 points because of Myers?
It's hard to say. The betting world and Vegas is all about odds and numbers.
My guess is that they factor in games played, scoring margins, injuries for not only this game but past games, etc. If you look at the games played, the Jaguars' loss to New England had a pretty big margin (lost by 34), so that could factor into how they determine a favorite. The Ravens haven't lost by that big of a point spread with their worst loss being by only 8 points. The 2 games that both teams won were by 3 points. I don't know that it's a fact, it's purely speculation on my part, but that's probably at least partially how they figure this out.
Quote:From what I'm seeing, it opened at 6 1/2 but has dropped to 5 1/2 pretty much everywhere with just a few places still at 6.
I don't see why the Ravens should have opened so high.
Remember, the line is established with the public perception factored into the equation. It's all about getting 50% of the betting population to wager on one team while the other 50% wager on the other. Baltimore still have a more favorable perception on a national level so they throw in a couple points to even out the betting population. The fact that it went down a point indicates more people were betting on the Jags.
Vegas has to make the line really tempting to get people to bet on the Jaguars. It seems to be working.
Quote:A lot of times Vegas will use fractions (usually halves) to prevent what is called a "push" or in other words, a tie. Think of it this way. If the line is -3.5 for a team and they win by 3 then they don't cover the spread. A bet for the opposing team would cover that spread and be the winning bet.
Same with Over/Under. If the Over/Under for a game is 42.5 and there are 42 total points scored, then the Under bet wins and the Over bet loses.
I should've used the sarcasm font...
Quote:I should've used the sarcasm font...
lol, maybe someone else has JWitis.
I happen to be in Vegas right now and put a few bucks on the Jags to cover.
Not much for traditional gambling, but the books are fun.
Quote:I should've used the sarcasm font...
Considering you're a decent poster, I thought it was evident.