Nevermind that the National Football League is embroiled in a tenuous lockout. Or that when the lockout ever ends, free agency still has to occur, in some cases drastically altering the look of a team. None of this matters to Las Vegas odds makers, though. Despite not even knowing if a season will occur, and how many games might be played, spreads have been set already for the 2011 NFL season. And as Rich Tandler of the blog Real Redskins points out, the sportsbooks have very little faith in the Burgundy and Gold, anointing Washington favorites in just four of their sixteen games:
They are seven-point favorites at home against the Cardinals on Sept. 18, they are road favorites by a point at Carolina on Oct. 23, they give the 49ers two and a half points at home on Nov. 6 and they are two-point favorites at home against the Vikings on Christmas Eve.
Complete schedule and spreads after the jump.
Via ProFootballWeekly.com and Cantor Games (owner of four Nevada sportsbooks), here are the lines for the (tentative) schedule of the 2011 Washington Redskins:
Sunday, Sept. 11–N.Y. Giants (-3) at Washington
Sunday, Sept. 18–Arizona (+7) at Washington
Monday, Sept. 26–Washington (+6) at Dallas
Sunday, Oct. 2–Washington (+3) at St. Louis
Sunday, Oct. 16–Philadelphia (-3.5) at Washington
Sunday, Oct. 23–Washington (-1) at Carolina
Sunday, Oct. 30–Washington (+1.5) at Buffalo (in Toronto)
Sunday, Nov. 6–San Francisco (+2.5) at Washington
Sunday, Nov. 13–Washington (+4.5) at Miami
Sunday, Nov. 20–Dallas (-1.5) at Washington
Sunday, Nov. 27–Washington (+1.5) at Seattle
Sunday, Dec. 4–N.Y. Jets (-4) at Washington
Sunday, Dec. 11–New England (-7.5) at Washington
Sunday, Dec. 18–Washington (+6) at N.Y. Giants
Saturday, Dec. 24–Minnesota (+2) at Washington
Sunday, Jan. 1–Washington (+7) at Philadelphia