In a game that saw the highest NFL preseason television rating in the past six years we saw the first glimpse of the Ochocinco/T.O show. It should come as no surprise that people were eager to tune into the game that featured T.O against his former team the Dallas Cowboys. We can probably expect this trend to continue as NFL fans can’t wait to see the hijinks on the field when TO and Ocho hook up.
Sportsbooks really should be soaking all of this up and capitalizing on the buzz around the Bengals this year. Prop bets in particular should flourish. For instance, between TO and Ocho, Who will be the first to be fined by the NFL? Who will be fined the most? Who will catch more touchdowns? Who will catch the first touchdown pass between the two? The list of appealing props for the Bengals is only limited by a sportsbook’s creativity. Sportsbooks can bet that interest in the Bengals will be there all season.
While there wasn’t much to talk about on the field, there was plenty of talk off the field, as should be expected. In the short period of time the stars were on the field, Ocho was non-existent and Carson Palmer was looking to get some chemistry going with Owens. He was able to connect on a couple of passes but it’s clear the two are still working on their timing.
As for T.O, he was making more plays off the field with his mouth. Owens, never one to hold back his feelings, expressed to the media that he felt he probably should still be a Dallas Cowboy. Read more.
If Owens wanted to still be a Cowboy, he probably should have kept his mouth shut while he was there, no doubt the team thought they could be better without him, even if he was willing to cry with trembling lips, “That’s my quarterback”.
Just how much value Owens will add to the Bengals remains to be seen. Sportsbooks will certainly benefit from future wages on Owen’s production as many bettors and fans may just be feeling like Owens’ best years are far behind him. Perhaps the biggest impact he will make is freeing up Chad Ochocinco to catch more touchdowns. There’s certainly some value in offering over/under odds on Ochocinco’s statistics versus last year.
It shouldn’t be forgotten, the Bengals were one of the surprise teams last year and their running game was very solid. With two legitimate receiving threats for Carson Palmer to work with, the running game should be even more difficult for defenses to contain.
