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New England Patriots NFL Gambling Odds & 2015 Handicapping Preview

2015 New England Predictions

The reigning Super Bowl champion Patriots have long been the toast of the AFC East. This year should be a little different as both the Bills and Dolphins improved with their offseason acquisitions and the Pats will likely be without Tom Brady for the first four games of the regular season.

NFL Handicapping Insight

***2015 BONUSES***
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NFL Futures

New England Patriots
2014 record: 12-4
Patriots Odds to win 2015 AFC Conference: 9/2
Patriots Odds to win 2015 Super Bowl: 9/1

Despite the prospect of not having their franchise QB under centre for a quarter of the season, the Pats still come into this season with the second best odds to win the AFC and fourth best odds to win yet another Super Bowl.

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The Patriots also parted ways with defensive stalwart Vince Wilfork and Darrelle Revis. On the other hand they should have a healthy Rob Gronkowski back in the fold on offense.

This team has finished 12-4 in its last two seasons, and walked away with the AFC East quite handily. This year will not be such a cake walk for the Pats as 12 wins is probably out of reach, in part because of Brady’s potential absence due to suspension, and also due to a tough schedule when he’s gone.

On offense the Patriots don’t look a whole lot different than the team that knocked off the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Brady is still the man at QB, Gronk will be his number one weapon, and Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell will provide supplementary options.

At running back the Pats are function over form to be sure. LaGarrette Blount and Jonas Gray should split duty in the backfield this year, but I’d look for Gray to get the bulk of the work come mid-season, if he can remember to actually show up to practices on time.

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Bill Belichick won’t be changing too much on offense even in Brady’s absence. Backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo should get every opportunity to run the same offense that Brady has made a living off of for a decade. Whether Jimmy boy can actually run the no-huddle, up tempo, dink and dunk style that Brady does so well is anyone’s guess, but don’t expect the Pats to operate any differently with Brady in the press box for the first four weeks of the season.

Defensively is where this team will have a different look. Patriots fan favourite Vince Wilfork will not be suiting up, and this defense is now Jerod Mayo’s to patrol up the middle. The secondary will have a much different look this year as well without Aquib Talib and Darrelle Revis. Instead Patrick Chung, Devin McCourty and Bradley Fletcher will be in charge of opposition receivers.

That drop off in the secondary will ultimately be a big adjustment for the Pats, who last year could essentially leave Talib and Revis out on islands by themselves and they were very reliable. McCourty is probably the most talented member of this secondary, though Bradley Fletcher was often times the most reliable corner in a very poor Eagles secondary last year.

 

Patriots Betting Outlook:

A very tough schedule to start the season, especially with the potential absence of Brady. This team has also been notorious slow starters of late and they could very well go 1-3 without Brady, with match ups against another longtime AFC powerhouse, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Buffalo Bills, who usually play the Pats very tough, especially early in the season, and a road date with the Dallas Cowboys.

Even when Brady gets back, his first game would be a road contest against the offensive juggernaut that is the Indianapolis Colts. 1-4 is a very possible start to the season for this team and while you can never bet against Brady and Belichick, they will not have an easy time with this schedule.

New England Patriots 2015 Prediction

The AFC East is truly up for grabs this year and I don’t think it’s a homerun that the Pats take it yet again. I would also put a strong wager in that this team will not run off a third consecutive 12-win season as they finally get some tough games on the road instead of seemingly always playing top level opponents in the comfort of Gillette Stadium.

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Road dates with the Colts, Broncos, Cowboys, and the Giants who have been their kryptonite for whatever reason, will make winning at home all the more important as this team looks more destined for six or seven losses than anything else.

If they can hold the fort without Brady for four weeks and manage to go 3-1 then look out, this team could cruise to another AFC East title. I just don’t see them coming out any better than 2-2 and Brady’s first game back could very likely be a loss and it may take him a few weeks to find his game.

Pats win the division by the narrowest of margins, and I think they finish 10-6. Playoffs yes, AFC champs, not this time.

The 2015 NFL futures betting season is right around the corner! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting.

CappersPicks.com has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well.

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By Matt Durnan

A (self-proclaimed) fantasy sports guru since 2004 and a journalist since 2007. He has been offering unsolicited sports gambling advice to his circle of friends for years and has now put himself at the mercy of online readers everywhere. "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how much fun you have"... His hockey coach told him that when he was 7. His team lost every game that year.