St. Louis Rams Super Bowl Betting?

ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike in the Morning had an interesting segment on Wednesday’s show on which teams in the NFL had absolutely no chance of winning the Super Bowl. Mike Greenberg laid down the premise to his co-host, ESPN’s Adnan Virk, on which teams in the NFL he would place an “inordinate amount of money” on that they would not win the Super Bowl. He continued to say that this amount of money had to be an insurmountable amount, meaning betting more money than a person could possibly afford to lose, which ended up including the mortgage on his house and, ultimately, the tuition money for this children to attend college. That is an intriguing concept, especially in the NFL, where there is drastic, surprising turnover ever season. Not only are there several worst-to-first stories each year, but the playoff format within the NFL is perfect for fringe playoff teams to get hot and win the Super Bowl, just ask Eli Manning and his two Super Bowl rings. Here are the team that Adnan Virk was willing to bet his financial life, and the future of his children, on not win the Super Bowl this year

Green indicates a team that was either debatable or disagreed on between Greenberg and Virk

Red indicates a team that both would bet on not winning the Super Bowl

NFC

East

North

South

West

Dallas Cowboys

Chicago Bears

Atlanta Falcons

St. Louis Rams

New York Giants

Green Bay Packers

Carolina Panthers

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Redskins

Detroit Lions

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

Philadelphia Eagles

Minnesota Vikings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Arizona Cardinals

AFC

East

North

South

West

Buffalo Bills

Baltimore Ravens

Houston Texans

Denver Broncos

Miami Dolphins

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

New England Patriots

Pittsburgh Steelers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Oakland Raiders

New York Jets

Cincinnati Bengals

Tennessee Titans

San Diego Chargers

In the end, they officially decide on 12 teams that they could agree, together, to bet on (the 11 teams in red, plus the Buffalo Bills). Greeny did throw the St. Louis Rams a bone, saying that within the NFC West, if they were omitting teams purely based off of quarterbacking, then the Rams might make the cut of possible, to throw the term around loosely, teams to win the Super Bowl.

Overall, the list seems pretty fair, although it is hard to grasp that the Seattle Seahawks ended up off of the list, whereas teams like the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers make the cut. If you are talking about absolutely zero chance, as in your life and your children’s life is essentially over, then how on Earth are you going to bet against teams that are a mere one year removed from making the playoffs? The Buffalo Bills were one of the best teams in the AFC for the first half of the 2011 season before falling apart. The Bucs were 10-6 in 2010, and are now playing in arguably the most open division in the NFL, with the Panthers, Saints, and Falcons all coming in with extreme question marks from last season. Maybe it just me, but any team that can make it into the playoffs has a chance to win a Super Bowl.

Who would I bet my life on to not win the Super Bowl? Typically, I would say no one, but they did thrown in that there was a chance to essentially double my life’s earning with these picks, so… Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars,ad Tennessee Titans. Yes, that is correct, the St. Louis Rams are not on the list. That is because all of these other teams have one thing in common; a lack of consistency at quarterback. Of  my choices, 5 out of 7 did not know who their starting quarterback was 2 months ago, and some still have not decided. The Vikings and Jaguars may think they have their starter, but Ponder and Gabbert are far from secure in their starting role, and have yet to indicate they have the potential to play at a level necessary to take their team into the playoffs. What gives the Rams a chance, even if a small one, is that they have a quarterback who has demonstrated the ability to elevate the play of team around him, a solid running game, and a top tier defensive line and secondary. Regardless, of how bad a team has been in the past, any team with those key areas working their favor have a greater-than-zero chance of winning the Super Bowl in any give year..

Those are my picks, what are yours?