NFL Odds – Dynamic Changes with Vikings-Giants Move to Detroit

If you watch the NFL betting lines, you have been keeping a close eye on the Monday night game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Giants, because the dynamic may have shifted slightly due to recent developments.

For one thing, as of Saturday night this game was slated for the Metrodome in Minneapolis, and by Sunday morning plans had changed to move it to Detroit, where it will be played at Ford Field (artificial turf) with kickoff scheduled at 7:20 PM ET. In the NFL odds on this game, the Giants are a four-point favorite, with the total posted at 43 points.

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The game will be televised in the Minneapolis and New York markets on Fix affiliates.

NFL Odds

New York Giants (8-4 SU, 6-6 ATS) vs. Minnesota Vikings (5-7 SU & ATS)

Live at Ford Field

Detroit, MI

Monday, December 13 — 7:20 PM ET

TV: FOX (Minneapolis and New York markets)

NFL Odds

N.Y. Giants -4

Minnesota +4

Total 43

Over the last day or so, the line has moved, with the Giants laying at least one extra point due tot he fact that the game will be played at a "neutral" field. It is kind of hard to gauge who might have an edge at this venue, for purposes of analyzing the NFL odds. On the one hand, it is closer to Minneapolis, but on the other, if the weather is so bad up there, it’s not going to allow many people to travel to see their home team. In fact, considering that the Packers are an enemy team in the NFC betting North, you’d have to wonder whether some rather hostile Lions fans will show up for this one.

The Giants have gone through something of an ordeal in their travel schedule, and you know, some people would certainly look at that as a factor in the NFL odds. The team’s flight left on Saturday morning as they tried to move ahead of the blizzard that was forecast for that day, but the airport got closed, and the team was marooned in Kansas City as the plane was diverted. The original plan was for them to come in on Sunday morning for the 1 PM ET kickoff. But obviously that was scrapped, and in the meantime the Giants were not going through any physical workouts.

I don’t know that Detroit was such a wise choice as the new venue, considering that the weather isn’t great there either. The Giants’ ownership wanted to move the game to the Meadowlands, but that didn’t meet with a lot of favor, and neither did the University of Minnesota’s stadium. My choice might have been Los Angeles, which some people think might be the future home of the Vikings anyway, but ultimately the Fox TV crew and equipment was in Detroit, so it became a matter of convenience for the television dollars. And so it is a neutral field, making the Vikes a bit more of an underdog in the NFL odds.

The way it is working is this: fans who have tickets to the game as it was originally scheduled will get preference when it comes to seating, but there will be an awful lot of general admission tickets that are given away. On such short notice, many people wonder whether there will be that big a crowd, especially since this may be the first game in the last, oh, 298 or so, that Brett Favre won’t be starting for his team.

That’s something that might be playing havoc with the NFL odds, at least to an extent. As of the early afternoon, it is unclear as to whether Favre is going to play, although what is known is that he has been having trouble throwing a football. Generally that would keep a quarterback out of a game, but there is this matter of Favre wanting to get to 300 consecutive starts, and I wonder if there is going to be a ceremonial snap or two, which would allow to keep his streak going. There has been a lot of talk about whether having the extra day and a half would give Brett Favre a better chance of playing. I know what he’s been telling people, but I don’t think Favre is the type who would take himself out, because the vanity factor has simply gotten too big. I get the sense that Leslie Frazier, just three games into his head coaching career, doesn’t want to be the guy who put an end to the "ironman" streak. It’s not that I am not an admirer of Favre, but I think at some point enough is enough.

If there was going to be any Monday night prop in the NFL odds, it should be whether Favre will in fact play. That’s because we have seen some close calls in the past, when ultimately Favre has shown up taking snaps from center. That’s because when any coach talks about how Tarvaris Jackson gives the Vikings the best chance to win – or in fact gives ANY team the best chance to win – he is lying through his teeth.

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