Packers Boast Best Odds To Win Super Bowl 50

The Green Bay Packers now have the best odds to win Super Bowl 50, according to Bovada in Las Vegas

Less than one month ago, the Green Bay Packers trailed only the Seattle Seahawks as the favorite to win Super Bowl 50.  This was according to Bovada in Las Vegas, who typically is one of the most respected oddsmakers in sports.  As of today, the Packers have leapfrogged the defending NFC champion Seahwaks and now boast the best odds at 6/1.  Seattle moved down to 13/2.

While Vegas has been wrong on many occasions, it's not often that they're way off.  After all, it behooves them to set the odds close enough to a realistic expectation that enoug betting takes place.  Money rules and that is a big regulator in ensuring that odds aren't some far-fetched number tossed around.  With that, Packers fans have a bit more reason to be optimistic heading into the 2015 season.

Green Bay reached the conference championship game against Seattle and had the game in hand before giving it away in the final minutes.  With all offensive starters returning and most of the defensive starters from last year back, the Packers should already have been favorites to contend for another conference title.  They added some promising pieces in the draft that should help address some of the defensive needs and appear to be no worse off on that side of the ball.  Special teams is another area of emphasis and the Packers are looking for a vast improvement from that unit.  Vegas appears to think that they'll be fine.

In looking at the last two championship teams, we can see how far the league has come and changed over the years.  In 1996, the Packers were heavy favorites to win it all and left very few questions as to why and how with the roster they had assembled.  That team came out and beat down nearly every opponent they faced enroute to their first title in nearly 30 years.  In 2010, after a late-season injury to Aaron Rodgers and a few losses in December, the Packers needed some help just to get into the postseason.  They did as a sixth-seed and got hot at the perfect time, mowing down the top three seeds on their way to winning Super Bowl XLV.  That team didn't have all of the "perfect pieces" that the '96 team appeared to have, but they got the most out of the guys they had at the best possible time.

In looking at the 2015 team, there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic.  Aaron Rodgers, the offensive line, the wide receivers, Eddie Lacy, Mike Daniels, Clay Matthews and hopefully, some great play from the rookie defensive backs.  Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix seems primed to take a step forward and Morgan Burnett got his act together, giving the Packers a solid safety tandem for the first time in several seasons.  B.J. Raji is back and according to the coaching staff, seems to have found the next gear and is moving around well.  Even with third-year man Datone Jones receiving a one-game suspension (and I realize one game is hardly a blip on the radar), the oddsmakers aren't concerned about a defense that is counting on a lot of young and inexperienced guys to pick up some of the slack from last year.

The question is: do you agree with Bovada and what do you think the odds are for this year's Packers team?  Are they worthy of the hype and what are you most excited about?  What are you most concerned about?  I have said on a few occasions and have been since the Packers loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the 2014 playoffs that I think they'll win it all in 2015.  So I agree with the hype.  I'm most excited about what I think is going to be a very motivated defense that runs around and gets after the ball.  I'm most concerned about the depth on the defensive line and at inside linebacker.  If rookie Jake Ryan doesn't translate onto the field in year one, the Packers become extremely thin on the inside.  If defensive linemen Josh Boyd, Jones, Mike Pennel and rookie Christian Ringo don't take steps forward in their development and maturity within the defense, it could make this area one of the more challenged on the team.  

And lastly, if the unthinkable should happen and something were to keep Rodgers off the field, not to worry.  Brett Favre made his groundhog-like annual appearance to remind us all that he still thinks he can play in the NFL.  He's back in Green & Gold and on the cover of Sports Illustrated and he'll be in town soon!  Just a little humor to end on and send everyone into what I hope is a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July weekend!

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Jason is a freelance writer on staff since 2012 and also co-hosts Cheesehead TV Live, Pulse of the Pack and Pack A Day podcasts.  You can follow him on Twitter here

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Comments (8)

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Since'61's picture

July 03, 2015 at 04:39 pm

The 2015 Packers need 5 things to happen to make the odds makers correct and the hype accurate:

1. Stay healthy, especially Aaron Rodgers and their OL.
2. Continue improvement by the defense, especially in tackling overall and stopping the run.
3. Significant improvement by Special Teams. At least block effectively for their place kicks and improve their field position on kickoff returns.
4. Eliminate or at least reduce bonehead penalties. With Brad Jones gone bad penalties should be reduced at a minimum.
5. Play 60 minutes of solid football regardless of the opponent or the score.
Go Pack Go! Thanks, Since '61

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Tundraboy's picture

July 03, 2015 at 08:13 pm

Great way to sum it up!

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Since'61's picture

July 03, 2015 at 08:56 pm

Thanks Tundra! Since '61

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PortlandMark's picture

July 03, 2015 at 05:53 pm

The defense needs to improve and the offense has to play better on the road. If they could've scored another TD in either Detroit or Buffalo they would've had home field advantage for the title game. If they could've punched in another TD in Seattle....
In 2010 the defense was so good that they could win a game when the offense struggled. Not so since then. Remember in the 2010 title game, the offense only scored 14 points. The defense stopped the Bears and contributed a TD.

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Bearmeat's picture

July 03, 2015 at 08:01 pm

GB has the strongest 1-53 roster in the league this year. So yes, they should be favored to win it all.

That said, the DL and ILB are question marks. OLB replaces ILB as a question if CM3 plays inside primarily. TE is a question too, but less so. Especially since the rest of the offense is so stacked.

Health concerns aside though, GB has the best chance to win it all. I'm calling 14-2. Home field. And SB 50 champs.

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holmesmd's picture

July 04, 2015 at 05:32 am

GB has one of the tougher schedules this year that I can recall. They will have to stay healthy and be much more productive in the red zone if they hope to win it all. I also think that the new conversion rule may cause some unlikely outcomes in games. GP!

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cheesehead1's picture

July 04, 2015 at 09:31 am

I believe we have a great chance. Have to stay reasonably heathy and to me, defense is the key. At times last year our defense was better, but they were still inconsistent. Stopping the run was a major problem. Defense wins championships.

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Tommy Phillips's picture

July 06, 2015 at 09:06 pm

I agree with all the hype. I feel very hopeful about this team and I think that if Rodgers can avoid injury then it should be a Super Bowl 50 win for the Pack!

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