At this point last year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were coming off a hugely disappointing 7-9 season and didn't know who their 2020 quarterback would be with former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston set for free agency. William Hill Sportsbook had the Bucs priced at +6000 exactly one year ago to win Super Bowl 55. Of course, the Bucs were able to lure a guy named Tom Brady in free agency, which dropped their futures odds dramatically, and would win the Super Bowl. There are currently four teams priced +6000 at William Hill to win Super Bowl 56 next February in Los Angeles: Carolina, Atlanta, Denver and Washington.
Do any of those clubs have a realistic shot in 2021? The Panthers, Broncos and Washington probably don't with their current quarterback situation. Carolina's starter is Teddy Bridgewater, Denver's is Drew Lock and Washington has Taylor Heinicke and Alex Smith under contract, but Smith is likely to retire or be released.
That said, all three clubs were rumored to have chased Detroit's Matthew Stafford before he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams, and all three appear poised to try and upgrade at the quarterback position either through the draft or trade. The Broncos and Washington have defenses potentially good enough to contend for a Super Bowl. The Panthers have work to do on that side of the ball.
Atlanta has former NFL MVP Matt Ryan at quarterback, and he's still a very good player. He was fourth in the NFL during the regular season in passing yards with 4,581 and 12th in TD passes with 26. Ryan still has two very good receivers in Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley, but not much of a running game and a porous defense.
The Falcons are the lone team of this quartet with a new head coach, hiring former Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Atlanta also has the best first-round draft slot of these four teams in picking fourth. It's the franchise's first top-five pick since drafting Ryan at No. 3 in 2008. The team could look for immediate help for one last run with Ryan/Jones or perhaps take Ryan's long-term replacement.
In early betting trends at William Hill for Super Bowl 56, none of these four teams rank among the Top 10 in tickets sold on that prop or in money wagered. The Bucs are first in tickets sold at 13 percent, while the Chiefs are first in dollars wagered at 18 percent.
Only six teams have Super Bowl 56 odds longer than +6000: Jacksonville (+7500), NY Giants (+7500), Cincinnati (+8000), Detroit (+10000), NY Jets (+10000) and Houston (+10000).
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times, and it returned over $5,000 in profit on its top-rated NBA picks last season. The model is also up more than $8,300 on top-rated NBA picks over the past two-plus seasons. Dating back to last season, it enters Week 8 of the 2020-21 NBA schedule on a stunning 79-46 roll on top-rated NBA picks against the spread. Anybody who has followed it has seen HUGE returns.
