Jets’ Chances of Winning Season Drop in Vegas With No Touchdowns

[BleedGreen314]

Jets’ Chances of Winning Season Drop in Vegas With No Touchdowns
By Erik Matuszewski
Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The New York Jets are the first National Football League team in 35 years without a touchdown through their first three preseason games, and oddsmakers said their chances of having a winning season are dropping.
The Jets, who made headlines in the offseason by signing Tim Tebow as a backup to starting quarterback Mark Sanchez, have gone 35 drives and 174 plays in the preseason without putting the ball in the end zone.
With the Jets struggling on offense, the odds at Las Vegas sports books suggest that coach Rex Ryan’s squad now has a 42 percent chance to go 9-7 or better, down from 59 percent earlier this offseason, according to RJ Bell, the founder of Las Vegas- handicapping information website Pregame.com.
“There’s more questions there than there are answers in terms of their offensive line, in terms of their group of receivers,” former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, an NFL analyst for CBS Corp., said in an interview. “How patient is Rex going to be in terms of assessing does he need to make a change at the quarterback position if they get off to a slow start? That patience can also be magnified by the chants that start to come out from the fans.”
The Jets fell to 0-3 in the preseason with a 17-12 loss to the Carolina Panthers two days ago.
“The way I see it, we’re saving all of our good stuff for the regular season,” said Sanchez, who’s completed 24-of-35 passes for 203 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions during the preseason. Tebow has connected on 13-of-36 passes for 151 yards and has also been intercepted twice while rushing for 84 yards on 11 carries.
‘Making Strides’
The Jets, who are coming off an 8-8 season following consecutive trips to the American Football Conference championship game under Ryan, open their 2012 regular-season schedule on Sept. 9 against the Buffalo Bills. Ryan said the offense is “making strides” as the opener approaches.
“By the time we get going, we will be a confident group,” Ryan said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt. Have we had our entire offensive package out there in the preseason? No. Do we feel comfortable with our offense? I would say yes.”
The last team that failed to score a touchdown in its first three preseason games was the 1977 Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons went on to have a 7-7 record that season and missed the playoffs while ranking 25th out of 28 NFL teams in points scored. Their defense allowed the fewest points in the league.
Before the preseason, oddsmakers listed the Jets’ projected number of wins at 8.5, with bettors expecting nine wins or more having to wager $145 to win $100. While the team’s over/under for wins is still 8.5, bettors now can wager $100 to make a $140 profit on the Jets to go 9-7 or better.
Winning Record?
Those odds indicate the Jets’ chances of having a winning season have moved to 42 percent from 59 percent, Bell said.
While disappointed about the inability to score against the Panthers, Tebow said the Jets realize it’s still the preseason and the records don’t count yet.
“You have to work on what you did bad and how you can get better and make sure that when the regular season gets here and we’re playing Buffalo, we can put the ball in the end zone, because that’s what matters,” said Tebow, whom the Jets acquired in a March trade with the Denver Broncos.
After the Jets landed Tebow, their odds of winning the Super Bowl were 25-1, according to the Las Vegas Hotel’s Super Book. They’ve now moved to 35-1, “a reflection of their lack of positive production” in the preseason, said LVH assistant sports book manager Jeff Sherman. Of the NFL’s other 31 teams, 15 have better odds to win the Super Bowl than the Jets.
While oddsmakers, analysts and fans question the Jets, Sanchez said morale is high as the regular season approaches.
“We’ve got to score touchdowns instead of field goals to win. We understand that,” Sanchez said. “We’re steadily improving and, hopefully, we’ll make a big jump for that first game.”
For Related News and Information: Top Sports Stories: USPO <GO>
--Editors: Dex McLuskey, Rob Gloster
To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at +1-212-617-8797 or matuszewski@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at +1-212-617-1262 or msillup@bloomberg.net

[McGinley]

Didn't vegas have NE winning the SB? Right.

[BleedGreen314]

Originally Posted by McGinley

Didn't vegas have NE winning the SB? Right.

So they were very accurate is what you're saying?

[McGinley]

Originally Posted by BleedGreen314

So they were very accurate is what you're saying?

Actually quite the opposite. If you didn't hear, NE lost the SB to the Giants. True story.

And before you continue, there's a difference between GOING to the Superbowl and WINNING the Superbowl.

[BleedGreen314]

Originally Posted by McGinley

Actually quite the opposite. If you didn't hear, NE lost the SB to the Giants. True story.

And before you continue, there's a difference between GOING to the Superbowl and WINNING the Superbowl.

Did you mean to write EDIT before you cleared that up ???

EDIT!!!! Besides...what does Bill Cowher know....you were pretty quick on the draw there, I'm sure you read the article

[adpz]

Well, odds are a little like actuarial tables in all fairness. It's not just being a hater to say that the Jets offense looks very weak at the moment - and that's what the odds are reflecting.

The Jets clearly haven't shown all they are going to - probably more than most teams. But it would be hard to disagree at this point that the Jets will struggle to have a league-average offense at this point. Wether the D can make up the difference is legit question.

[McGinley]

Originally Posted by BleedGreen314

Did you mean to write EDIT before you cleared that up ???

EDIT!!!! Besides...what does Bill Cowher know....you were pretty quick on the draw there, I'm sure you read the article

Lol, I never bother declaring my edits as such.

[BleedGreen314]

Originally Posted by adpz

Well, odds are a little like actuarial tables in all fairness. It's not just being a hater to say that the Jets offense looks very weak at the moment - and that's what the odds are reflecting.

The Jets clearly haven't shown all they are going to - probably more than most teams. But it would be hard to disagree at this point that the Jets will struggle to have a league-average offense at this point. Wether the D can make up the difference is legit question.

I agree- don't think D can do it though....they're going to be gassed....Sanchez looked sharper the other night, but that was the anomoly...he doesn't have consistency

[BleedGreen314]

Originally Posted by McGinley

Lol, I never bother declaring my edits as such.

Learn to admit you made a mistake, and you'll be on your way to being less of a jackass

[McGinley]

Originally Posted by BleedGreen314

Learn to admit you made a mistake, and you'll be on your way to being less of a jackass

Considering I wasn't trying to hide anything, that makes no sense.

It's not my fault that your grasp of the English language is so weak that you couldn't understand the difference between, "going to the Superbowl", and, "winning the Superbowl".

[BleedGreen314]

The Falcons went on to have a 7-7 record that season and missed the playoffs while ranking 25th out of 28 NFL teams in points scored. Their defense allowed the fewest points in the league.
This