With only two weeks in the books, the injury reports have already started to grow andmany teams are starting to feel the effects. How are the NFL odds makers taking injuries into account when setting the lines, and should it effect your picks?
While
there are very few players that can shift the NFL odds with their
absence, several players being injured can surely shift odds from week to week.
We saw several big name players go down last week, and while some injuries look
to be short term, some players might be out for the season already.
Let’s
take a look at some of the players who will not be suiting up next week and
decide if their absence will cause any movements in the Week 3 NFL odds. Will
these holes in the starting lineups give us bettors an advantage?
New
England Patriots
Starting
in New England, where Aaron Hernandez suffered a high ankle sprain over the
weekend. He left Gillette Stadium in a walking boot and crutches, and although
nothing is torn or broken, he is still projected to be out about 4-6 weeks.
This is
big for the Patriots, but don’t expect it to make their odds lines shrink.
Hernandez plays a key role in the Pats’ offense, but Wes Welker and the other
New England pass catchers can gobble his role up while he is out. New England
also signed Kellen Winslow Tuesday, so even though it hurts the Pats and
fantasy owners, it won’t shift the lines.
Washington
Redskins
There are two huge
injuries to the Redskins lineup, however, they may have already affected the lines for their
Week 3 game. All Pro outside linebacker, Brian Orakpo re-tore his pectoral
muscle over the weekend, and he is out for the season. To make matters worse,
defensive end Adam Carriker tore his quad tendon, and he is out for the season.
These
are two huge injuries for the Redskins. Both of these guys are arguably
Washington’s two best defenders, and already we are seeing their Week 3 line
shift. After opening as -4 favorites at home against the Bengals, the Skins
have dropped to -3 ½ favorites.
Read our NFL Week 3 Fades article to find out why we don't want to touch the Skins this week.
Jacksonville
Jaguars
Jacksonville’s
Blaine Gabbert was also hurt in the Jags’ game this past week. Gabbert hurt his
hamstring early in the game against the Texans over the weekend, and after
trying to play through the injury, the game quickly got out of hand, and
Gabbert was pulled.
This is
bad news for the Jags, because Gabbert was actually putting together a solid
start to his sophomore season, after an embarrassing freshman season in the
NFL. Currently, Gabbert is questionable against the Colts, and lines are
holding at -3 Colts.
St.
Louis Rams
St.
Louis running back Steven Jackson was pulled from the game against the
Redskins, and although some have speculated that coach Jeff Fisher benched him
for spiking the ball after a touchdown was called back, he stated it was
because of a groin injury. Who knows which it is, but I sincerely doubt the
injury is serious, if it exists at all.
New York
Giants
The
Giants are facing a wealth of injuries to offensive starters, and they have a
short week as they play Thursday. Ahmad Bradshaw left the game with a neck
injury, while David Diehl left with a knee injury, and Domenik Hixon suffered a
concussion.
This is
really bad news for the Giants, especially if the former two can’t play. This
has stymied the bets coming in on the Giants for Thursday night, and some money
is coming in on the Panthers for this reason. If you are a Giants backer, keep
an eye on all three statuses for Thursday Night Football. Majority however, is
still on the Giants at -1.
Find out who we are picking in the Thursday Night matchup.