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The 0-3 blues

RJ Bell runs down what Vegas thinks about the remaining winless and undefeated teams R.J. Bell

Bookmark and Share Print This Send This October 03, 2009, 07:34 PM EST
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Using the odds on each NFL game played this season, my team at Pregame.com was able to determine the likelihood of each 3-0 team being undefeated, and the likelihood of each 0-3 team being winless.

APVegas didn't think Mark Sanchez and the Jets would be 3-0.

3-0 Teams (odds against being undefeated, listed from least to most likely)

New York Jets: 9% chance (10.5 to 1 against)

Denver Broncos: 12% chance (7 to 1 against)

Indianapolis Colts: 17% chance (4.8 to 1 against)

New York Giants: 20% chance (4 to 1 against)

Baltimore Ravens: 33% chance (2 to 1 against)

Minnesota Vikings: 36% chance (1.8 to 1 against)

Clearly not all 3-0 teams are created equal. Specifically, the Vikings were four times as likely to be undefeated right now than the Jets. Considering the aura of Peyton Manning and the seeming inevitability of the Colts winning each week, it's noteworthy that Indy was the third most unlikely team to be unblemished. The Sainsts were 22-1 longshots to win the Super Bowl as recently as six weeks ago, but New Orleans has quickly become the darling of bettors and was surprisingly the second-most likely undefeated team.

APVegas is disappointed by Todd Haley and the Chiefs.

0-3 Teams (odds against being winless, listed from least to most likely)

Tennessee Titans: 11% chance (8-1 odds against)

Kansas City Chiefs: 22% chance (3.5-1 against)

Miami Dolphins: 23% chance (3.4-1 against)

Carolina Panthers: 30% chance (2.4-1 against)

Tampa Bay Bucs: 30% chance (2.4-1 against)

Cleveland Browns: 31% chance (2.2-1 against)

St. Louis Rams: 41% chance (1.4-1 against)

Everyone is shocked at Tennessee's start, but scanning up the page, you'll notice its winless streak was actually more likely than the Jets' string of victories. Kansas City may be getting patience due to injuries and a new coach, but Vegas says they are the second most disapointing team in football. And look at the Rams--they had nearly a 50% chance of being winless, and they've down to expectations.

Write it down for next year

We all know three NFL teams fired their offensive coordinators before the season (Bills, Chiefs and Bucs). The consensus at the time was that such disruption was a bad sign for those teams. Vegas, though, is supposed to account for such bad signs in the odds. These three teams have played seven games when not playing each other, and are 0-7 against the spread in those games. The odds against such a result are 128-1. Clearly firing your offensive coordinator is even a worse sign than we thought.

RJ Bell is the founder of Pregame.com, the largest sports betting website compliant with U.S. law. 

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