The Geno Smith era, which could be short lived depending on how quickly Mark Sanchez recovers from a preseason shoulder injury, officially begins today as he leads the New York Jets against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Today's season opening inter-conference clash between the Buccaneers and Jets is scheduled to kickoff at 1:00pm ET at MetLife Stadium (FOX). The latest NFL Week 1 Odds are favoring the visiting Bucs at -4.5 against the spread and -215 on the money line ($215 wins $100). The Over/Under in today's game is set at 39.5 points.
The Jets were one of the worst offensive teams in the league last season, averaging just 299.2 yards and 17.6 points per game. Mark Sanchez, the man leading the disaster, threw for 2883 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions, prompting New York to look for a potential savior in April's draft.
While the jury is still out on whether or not Geno Smith is some sort of football messiah, this much is certain: he is, at the very least, a temporary replacement for Sanchez.
Smith, however, hardly looked like a suitable one in the preseason, completing 22-of-37 passes for 246 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.
Frankly, he did not have the appearance of a starting NFL quarterback, which is a problem in its own right, but one that is compounded when the supporting personnel is inadequate as well.
It was no accident the line in this game moved from 3.5 to 4.5 once it was certain Smith would get the start. The number of 4.5 point home underdogs is limited, especially when the visiting favorite closed out the previous season on a 1-5 run as the Buccaneers did last year.
Tampa Bay had some issues in Greg Schiano's first season on the sidelines, but it did some nice things too, beating division rivals Carolina and Atlanta on the road while also pounding the Vikings, a playoff qualifier, 36-17 in Minneapolis.
Of course, none of that bodes well for the Jets or Smith. Nor does the fact that New York transplant, cornerback Darrelle Revis, has already indicated he split his guts about everything it is the Jets do on defense to Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan.
NFL Week 1 Odds Betting Trend: The Jets are 0-6 straight up and 1-5 against the spread in their last six games as a home dog with a spread between 4 and 7.5 points.
NFL Week 1 Odds Buccaneers vs Jets:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -4.5 (-105), Over 39.5 (-110), -215 (Moneyline)
New York Jets +4.5 (-115), Under 39.5 (-110), +180 (Moneyline)
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