NFL Football Futures - Lions vs. Broncos Head-to-Head

At BetUS Sportsbook, those who like to wager on pro football will enjoy propositions where the regular season win total of one NFL team is compared with another. You can find all this under the section "Football-Futures."

Today we're going to look at a matchup between teams who finished in a flat-footed tie in the wins category last year - the Denver Broncos and the Detroit Lions - both of whom finished the 2007 campaign with 7-9 records.

First, let's present the BetUS odds on who will have more wins at the regular season's end:

BetUS NFL Football Futures Odds

Most Regular Season Wins

DENVER BRONCOS -1 win (-190)

DETROIT LIONS +1 win (+150)

On the surface, one would certainly hold the impression that the Broncos are the better team. After all, Mike Shanahan's team is the one that has won a couple of Super Bowls, and been to the playoffs several times in recent years, while Detroit has been the product of a completely losing culture in recent seasons.

Rod Marinelli looked like he was turning this franchise around last season, as he led them to a 6-2 start, before the team faded badly in the second half of the year en route to 7-9 season. This season the Lions are changing their offensive approach, trying to run the ball more as a way of using clock. Part of it is "grounded" in the philosophy that if the defense is spending less time on the field, it will be fresher over the course of a game (it ranked 32nd overall last season)

That may work, if rookie Kevin Smith, who ran for over 2000 yards at Central Florida last year. continues to show promise. And if Jon Kitna can cut down on his interceptions, that will give the passing game, with receivers like Calvin Johnson, Roy Williams and Mike Furrey, a chance to work.

Both of these teams play in relatively weak divisions, as far as NFL standards are concerned. It would not be inconceivable for both of these teams to have improved and finish with 3-3 or 4-2 records in their division.

Maybe the differences in these teams are subtle, but the slight edge might have to go to Denver, because Jay Cutler has more upside than Kitna, and Selvin Young gives the running game a chance to work. But Denver has holes. The Broncos gave up almost 143 yards a game on the ground, and only two teams surrendered more than that.

For purposes of this prop, though, I think Denver's slight edge is not enough to lay one win and lay -190 at the same time. For example, if these teams wound up with the same record, Detroit brings a very good payoff. Cutler may be well-improved, but I don't know that he can make up for the deficiencies that exist throughout the rest of the team. Detroit is something of an unknown quantity because we don't know how well Marinelli's game plan is going to work, but there is some value on their side in this special BetUS NFL football betting prop.

JAY'S PLAY: DETROIT LIONS +1 win (+150)

(Charles Jay of www.ebookies.com is a member of the NFL too - that is, "not for long" if you don't get results. He is now a regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room)