Legal betting sites favor the Oakland Raiders by 2 points to beat the Denver Broncos in NFL Week 1 action. The Raiders finished 2018 with a 4-12 record in head coach Jon Gruden’s first season back. Oakland also went 6-10 ATS, according to the best online sportsbooks. Instead of returning Gruden to hibernation, the Raiders decided to hire a GM who’s a perfect complement for their coach. Namely, Mike Mayock.
I learn from Wikipedia Mayock is a “former NFL Network draft guru and former NBC’s Notre Dame Football color commentator.” Now just what in tarnation is a “draft guru?” Not like it matters, though; guru is just another word for fraudster. At least Gruden used to be a coach once upon a time. He has experience in the position, even if it was back when helmets were still made out of leather. But this is, at the ripe old age of 60, Mayock’s first turn as general manager. This is like electing a businessman and television personality as President of the United States of America. Oh, right.
Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders NFL Week 1 Betting Info
- Date: Monday September 9
- Time: 7:20 pm PT
- Venue: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Odds from Intertops.eu:
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | -1 (-110) | 43½ (-110) | -117 |  |
| Raiders | +1 (-110) | 43½ (-110) | -103 | |
|
||||
Betting Denver Broncos
The Broncos’ Super Bowl hangover is of such magnitude it could be the third sequel in the movie franchise. Denver went 6-10 SU (6-9-1 ATS per legal betting sites) last season. Not enough to return to the postseason for the first time since 2015. Which also the season where they won Super Bowl 50. At least now the Broncos have a Super Bowl-winning QB in ‘Skinny’ Joe Flacco. Joe Cool went from starter to Lamar Jackson’s back-up at around the mid-season point last year. Think Tony Romo and Dak Prescott a couple of seasons ago. Only instead of going gently into that good night like Romo, Flacco went to Denver. That reminds me of an Andy García starrer called Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead. Nonetheless, Flacco is the best QB the Broncos have had since – all together now – their 2015 Super Bowl-winning season.
Denver has a new head coach as well. Vic Fangio has been a man of many hats, though this is his first time donning the head coach cap. At least the Broncos didn’t make him general manager. Moreover, Fangio does have 40 years of coaching experience – 32 in the NFL – in one capacity or another. Fangio is a defense specialist. And he may well have to reintroduce the concept of defense. Which has been alien to the Broncos for a few years now.
Betting Oakland Raiders
Mayock is hardly the only new arrival. In March, the Raiders acquired Antonio Brown from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pitt received a third and a fifth-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft in the transaction. However, it was Oakland that got the shit end of that deal. Worry not, though. The Raiders are not going to let one bad apple spoil the whole damn bunch. Because they have not one but two bad apples. In addition to Brown, Oakland signed Vontaze Burfict in May. The linebacker has missed 37 games since 2014, but I don’t think he’s ever been injured. He has injured quite a few bodies, though.
Broncos vs. Raiders NFL Week 1 Prediction
It’s fitting they changed the name of the Oakland Coliseum to RingCentral Coliseum. See, because circuses have rings. And a circus is what the Raiders are running. Come on, Vontaze Burfict? Bitch please! He’s nothing but an ersatz, low-rent, bargain basement, poor man’s Von Miller. I haven’t the foggiest why legal betting sites are laying the chalk on Oakland. Me, I’ll just take the free points with the better – or less bad, if you will – team.
