Initial lines are set-- Seahawks favored in every game but 1

[Seahawkfan80]

Looks like there's the home Ram's game missing from that list.

Week 4: Rams Home -56

Week 4 game is our bye. We play them at home on the 17th week again. That is what is missing.

 

[SalishHawkFan]

Looks like there's the home Ram's game missing from that list.

Week 4: Rams Home -56

Week 4 game is our bye. We play them at home on the 17th week again. That is what is missing.

It's not missing. Vegas didn't set the line for any week 17 games.

 

[MidwestHawker]

The "proximity to Vegas" thing would make logical sense, but it isn't a real effect. Online casinos end up basically lined up with Vegas casinos, and obviously there's no proximity advantage with those. The reason that it isn't a real effect is that casual bettors mostly don't bet in amounts that control the line very much; the sharps put down the lion's share of the money, and they largely control the lines. The Super Bowl is one of the rare times where a line can be badly inefficient because casual bettors turn out in droves for that.

The "Vegas trying to get the money on both sides" thing is true, but again the sharp money pushes it to where it's basically an objective measure of where the two teams stand.

 

[Hawks46]

-10.5 for the Cards game? Vegas disrespecting Arizona?

Well, it says in the article that AZ has the toughest sos (most likely because they play us and SF twice), but evidently they have the oldest roster in the league this year, so Vegas is down on them. I'm guessing that Vegas is theorizing that playing very physical divisional rivals 6 times coupled with an older roster is going to equal more injuries, which hurts your chances.

I find it interesting how the macro and micro perspectives work. Vegas has the over/under on the Hawks for the year at 11 wins, yet when they set the lines for each game, they like the Hawks in 14 of 15 games (they didn't used the week 17 game for that model).

11 wins seems reasonable, given our schedule. Then we're favored in all those individual games, and when you look at them, most of the lines seem reasonable as well. 14.5 is a lot to give up to any team, even the Raiders, and I'm not sure I'd bet on the Hawks at -10.5 against the Cards even at home. I'm guessing Vegas thinks the Cards will be beat up at that point of the season, and maybe we'll have a bit of revenge on our minds (although intangible stuff like that doesn't seem to move the lines in Vegas, at least in the pros).

If our OL works itself out, we likely will have a better offense than last year. Our defense looks to be just as good, if not better. Maxwell will likely improve on the defensive side, so it really depends on the younger guys in the rotation. 14 wins is actually reasonable if things fall our way. If not, 11 seems more likely.

 

[rideaducati]

Three games I would not go with the hawks next year
At Carolina
At SF
AT Arizona
Win rest of gams and division and we are guaranteed home field

Eagles, Chiefs, Chargers, and even the Redskins ( as hard as it is to imagine) will be worse than they were this year

Carolina has no wide receivers on their roster that caught a pass for them last season and lost half of their offensive line. Their defense will be okay, but their offense is going to be putting the defense in bad situations. Seattle will roll them this year.

 

[hawknation2014]

Three games I would not go with the hawks next year
At Carolina
At SF
AT Arizona
Win rest of gams and division and we are guaranteed home field

Eagles, Chiefs, Chargers, and even the Redskins ( as hard as it is to imagine) will be worse than they were this year

Carolina has no wide receivers on their roster that caught a pass for them last season and lost half of their offensive line. Their defense will be okay, but their offense is going to be putting the defense in bad situations. Seattle will roll them this year.

I don't think we necessarily roll them unless we're healthy and firing on all cylinders. Their two big losses are Steve Smith and Jordan Gross. Their passing game sucked last year and will probably continue to do so. They did pick up some better third down receivers with Jerricho Cotchery and Jason Avant, but who knows how much those guys have left in the tank, plus rookie Kelvin Benjamin.

But what they lack on offense, they make up for defensively . . . that's a common theme in the NFC. They were the second best defense in the league last year in scoring and total defense. Their front seven is ferocious. They led the league in sacks and were second behind Arizona against the run. Like the Seahawks, they allowed just four rushing TDs all season.