LAS VEGAS — Big Super Bowl bets began trickling in at sportsbooks Friday, including a $1 million wager on the underdog Atlanta Falcons.
The New England Patriots remain consensus 3-point favorites in Super Bowl LI and were attracting the majority of the money at most shops. But overall the action was generally balanced, leaving the sportsbooks in a comfortable position heading into the weekend.
Sportsbook operator CG Technology, which took the $1 million bet on the Falcons +3 on Friday, had slightly more money on Atlanta, even with 61 percent of the point spread bets being on the Patriots. A $200,000 bet on New England, also placed on Friday, helped even out the action, according to CG Technology vice president of risk Jason Simbal.
The million-dollar bettor, an account-based customer at CG Technology, risked $1.1 million to win $1 million on the Falcons covering the three points.
MGM’s sportsbook took a $485,000 bet on the Patriots on Friday, after taking some wagers on the Falcons in the “$200,000 to $300,000” range on Thursday. MGM vice president of race and sports Jay Rood told ESPN on Friday that about 60 percent of the money was on the Patriots at his book.
The Westgate SuperBook was a little more lopsided on the Patriots, with 69 percent of the money on New England as of Saturday morning. But the point spread had not moved off of the Patriots -3, where it opened two weeks ago.
Some shops had increased the juice to New England -3 (-115), meaning bettors would need to risk $115 to win $100 on the Patriots.
“It’s going to take a lot of money to move off of 3,” Frank Kunovic, sportsbook director at Caesars Palace, said.
A lot of money is on the way. Last year, 69 percent of all bets on the Super Bowl at William Hill’s Nevada sportsbook were placed on Saturday and Sunday.
The over/under total was sitting at 59 — the highest ever for a Super Bowl — at most sportsbooks. Like the betting on the point spread, the action was also balanced on the total. Fifty-three percent of the money was on the under at Westgate.
The action was so evenly distributed that several books said the worst-case scenario would be New England winning 31-28, which would cause the spread and the total to result in a push.
“If that’s the score, we will be refunding tickets until 4 a.m.,” Simbal said.
Action also was pouring in on the proposition wagers available, including the coin flip. Kunovic said roughly $100,000 is normally bet on the Super Bowl coin flip each year. As of Saturday morning, 60 percent of the money was on heads.
New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo went full-on Bill Belichick when his future after Sunday’s Super Bowl was brought up during interviews leading up to the game.
“Well, to be honest, I really haven’t thought about it much,” said Garoppolo on Wednesday. “It’s kind of … not even in the back of my mind. We’re focused on the Falcons this week. It’s a big week for us, biggest of the year, so that’s kind of where my mind is.”
Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had impressive numbers in his two starts early this season, completing 42-of-59 passes for 496 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
When asked earlier in the week about a possible trade during the offseason, Garoppolo merely said, “I haven’t even thought about it to be honest. Sorry.”
There’s nothing to be sorry about, of course.? But Garoppolo might want to start thinking about his future.
The Patriots drafted Garoppolo in the second round in 2014. He signed a four-year deal, meaning he is under contract next season, but only for $820,000. This means the Patriots could easily afford to keep him one more season as Tom Brady’s backup.
The problem for New England would be what happens after the 2017 season. Garoppolo could then become a free agent. With Brady showing no signs of slowing down, Garoppolo would probably want to go to a team where he could play, meaning New England would lose him with no compensation.
Given the Patriots drafted Jacoby Brissett in 2016, they might prefer to trade Garoppolo this offseason and get something in return rather than wait a year and lose him for nothing.
Enter the Browns, who need a quarterback and have extra draft picks. If the team wanted to bypass a quarterback in the draft, it could package a couple of its picks and bring Garoppolo to Cleveland. Then, the team could use the rest of its draft picks to fortify its roster.
What would the price for Garoppolo be?
Minnesota gave up first- and fourth-round picks for quarterback Sam Bradford. Kansas City gave up two second-round picks for Alex Smith. The price for Garoppolo would seem closer to the one the Chiefs paid for Smith.
There will be competition. Kyle Shanahan favored Garoppolo in 2014, but the Browns drafted Johnny Manziel. Shanahan will be named coach of the 49ers after the Super Bowl. Chicago also needs a quarterback.
Garoppolo started two games this season when Brady was suspended. However, in the second game he hurt his right shoulder and missed the final two games of Brady’s suspension. One injury does not scream injury prone, but it does raise the question of durability.
Garoppolo had impressive numbers in his two starts, completing 42-of-59 passes for 496 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. His 119 rating ranked fourth in the league after two games. And he threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns in the first half of the game when he got hurt.
Garoppolo is thought of well around the league. The thinking on the draft quarterbacks is that none are ready to play right away. Garoppolo would be.
It’s only logical that he would be prominent on the Browns’ list of possibilities.
The NFL hands out its awards on Saturday night in Houston. Safety Landon Collins has a legitimate shot to be named AP Defensive Player of the Year and quarterback Eli Manning is a finalist for the Walter Payton Man of the Year honor.
In this space, we’re going to discuss the merits of Collins, a second-year player who busted out with an All-Pro season. It was a surprising jump from up-and-down rookie to difference-making jack-of-all-trades safety. He was a star for the Giants this season.
“I know he’s playing at a high level for us,” coach Ben McAdoo said during the year, after Collins had five interceptions in a four-game stretch. “He’s still learning, he’s still growing, he’s still a young player. He’s preparing well, and he’s very productive.”
Landon Collins led the Giants in tackles (125) and was second on the team in interceptions (5) and third in sacks (4.0). Rob Carr/Getty Images
Why he deserves DPOY: His stat line speaks for itself – 125 tackles, four sacks, five interceptions, 13 passes defended, one touchdown. He led all safeties with 46 defensive stops, according to Pro Football Focus. That was eight more than any other safety. Nobody in the NFL produced such a diverse stat line. Collins was the only player with at least 100 tackles, three sacks and three interceptions. He helped transform a defense that was among the worst in the league last season to the one of the best in 2016. Collins played every snap and was a consistent performer from start to finish on a defense that allowed the second-fewest points. All in all, he was brilliant in 2016, and likely exceeded even the loftiest of expectations.
Why he doesn’t deserve DPOY: The argument against Collins isn’t really a knock. It’s more a bonus for his competition. Miller, Mack and Donald did their damage through constant double teams. Teams game-planned to stop them. That wasn’t necessarily the case for Collins, especially early in the year when nobody knew he was a top-level player. It likely wasn’t the case later in the year either with much of the attention on trying to contain Damon Harrison in the middle of the Giants’ defensive line.
Collins still played his role brilliantly. He was used mostly near the line of scrimmage as a run-stuffer, blitzer and in coverage mostly in the short and intermediate areas of the field. That was ideal for his skill set. But the Giants didn’t use him often to stop or shadow the league’s better tight ends or help prevent all the big plays they allowed downfield (only one team allowed more passes of 20 or more yards). That’s just not the strength of his game.
Prediction: Von Miller wins Defensive Player of the Year
Collins finishes second or third (possibly behind Mack as well). It’s part name cache and part Miller’s ability to dominate despite intense attention and double teams. Miller finished second in the league with 13.5 sacks, tied for sixth with 24 quarterback hits and had 78 total tackles, the most of any player with double-digit sacks. He was also the leader of a Broncos defense that held up its end of the bargain, finishing fourth in yards and points allowed. Miller is a worthy winner. Collins was a worthy candidate.
HOUSTON — The NFL places great value on the emerging sports market in China.
With the popularity of sports skyrocketing in the world’s most populous nation, the value of building a brand there is obvious, and the league is steadily chipping away at the task. About 1.5 million people watch NFL games each week on digital platforms in China, according to the league, and Super Bowl LI will be broadcast in Mandarin from a crew on site at NRG Stadium.
Blake Muir hasn’t yet reached his goal of playing in an official NFL game, but he’s basking in the glow of the Falcons’ success as a productive member of their practice squad.
The Falcons and Patriots will square off in Houston for Super Bowl LI. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup and how we got here.
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Could the next logical step be staging a game in China? The NFL has enjoyed great success with its NFL International Series games in London, and the league was set to play a 2007 preseason game in Beijing before postponing and ultimately scrapping the idea. The idea gained momentum again last March when commissioner Roger Goodell publicly discussed the idea at an owners meeting.
The idea of an NFL game in China is unique and potentially lucrative, but there isn’t yet a definite timeline for bringing an NFL game to Chinese soil, according to Mark Waller, the league’s executive vice president for international matters. NFL officials are currently examining the feasibility of playing in China but aren’t going to rush the process at the expense of product quality, Waller said.
“China brings some very unique logistical, scheduling, time zone issues which we’ve still not been able to work through entirely,” said Waller, who visited China last year to scout potential game sites. “When would you play that game? What time of day in China? How do you schedule it from a competitive standpoint?”
Beijing is a 13-hour flight from Los Angeles, and the time change is 13 to 16 hours ahead of the U.S. mainland. Teams would be concerned whether travel fatigue would put them at a competitive disadvantage in subsequent games, and a regular-season game would require one team to give up one of its home games that season.
Mark Waller, the NFL’s executive VP for international matters, said there isn’t a timeline in place for staging a game in China. Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports
Current and former NFL players attending this week’s Super Bowl events shared a range of opinions when asked what it would be like to play a game in China.
“I would embrace something like that,” Umenyiora said. “A lot of players have never left America. They’ve never experienced anything other than that. So to be able to go to a place like China and play and be able to experience China, I think that would be great.”
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell said he is interested the idea of playing in China — as long as his team didn’t have to relinquish a date at Heinz Field.
“I think Chinese fans, or any fans, would expect to see the best, and the preseason is less about the competitiveness of the game than about individual athletes and whether they’re going to make rosters and things like that. It’s a different fan experience, and I’m not sure I’d want that to be the first experience a Chinese fan got at one of our games.”
Mark Waller, NFL executive VP for international matters
“That would be fun, as long as they didn’t take away one of our home games,” Bell said. “We would probably have to go over a week early, maybe leave after the game the week before.”
Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson said he is aware the growing appetite for American sports in China and believes the logistics of playing there, while difficult, are feasible if teams get a week off after the game.
“For a young player, I think you would be excited to go to a country you’ve never been before,” Dickerson said. “But when you’ve been in the league for a couple years, you don’t want to go on those long trips.”
True to Dickerson’s words, second-year running back Melvin Gordon of the Los Angeles Chargers said he was intrigued by the possibility of competing in China.
“I think that would be amazing to be able to do that and to be able to give those fans that experience,” Gordon said. “I would definitely be for that. We do it in London, so why not?”
Certainly, not every player would be in favor of traveling so far during the season, even if some might not admit it. Former Giants kicker Raul Allegre, who currently works as an analyst for ESPN’s Spanish-language NFL broadcasts, has spoken with players about the challenges of playing games outside the United States.
“Logistically, I know players would hate it,” Allegre said. “They may say it was a good experience, but deep down, they would hate it. Coaches definitely would not like it, and players even less.”
Playing an NFL game on the other side of the world isn’t without precedent, however. The Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers played a 1999 preseason game in Australia, which necessitated an even longer trip than a game in China would require. The preseason could potentially offer greater scheduling flexibility in order to maximize recovery time. Teams could conceivably be given a week off before and after the game. However, Waller believes it’s important to deliver an authentic product to Chinese fans. That means giving them a regular-season game that counts in the standings — not an exhibition in which star players see limited playing time.
“I think Chinese fans, or any fans, would expect to see the best, and the preseason is less about the competitiveness of the game than about individual athletes and whether they’re going to make rosters and things like that,” Waller said. “It’s a different fan experience, and I’m not sure I’d want that to be the first experience a Chinese fan got at one of our games. You may get a turnout for it, but you may end up with some disappointed fans. It may end up actually being counterproductive.”
In previous decades, the NFL aggressively worked to expand its international reach with the American Bowl series, which featured preseason games in the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Spain, Ireland and Sweden. More recently, the league has planned its international schedule more carefully — focusing on London, Mexico City and Toronto — and makes it a priority to keep promoting the sport in those markets after the game is played.
“For us, one of the key learnings in the last 10 years is that you need to have a plan over time,” Waller said. “What we used to do, going back 15-20 years, was we would play games in markets without a real sense of what happens after you’ve played the game. Now, we’re very focused on if you’re going to play a game, you better make sure you’ve got a plan to make the most of it before, but more importantly, afterward.”
