Teasing manipulates a spread or total by six, 6.5 or seven points. Their cost has eked up because of their popularity.
After the Broncos rallied from a 19-0 fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Giants 33-32 on Sunday in Denver, I was eager to chat with Jay Kornegay.
The veteran sportsbook director and Westgate SuperBook executive consultant calls Colorado his home. He went 5-0 two weeks ago in a Las Vegas Review-Journal NFL pick ’em competition that he’s leading.
Moreover, he and wife Pam are going to Denver this weekend to see the Broncos host the Cowboys, their first Broncos home game in 40 years.
The Broncos had been favored over the Giants by around seven points. Kornegay had teased the Broncos to -1.5.
“Toward the end, I thought my team will win but I’ll lose my teaser,” he said. “That’s exactly what happened.”
That someone so experienced about how NFL spreads are cooked toys around with teasers reassured me since, as regular readers know, that’s how I operate with pro football.
Teasing manipulates a spread or total by six, 6.5 or seven points. Their cost has eked up because of their popularity.
“Because there’s a lot of value,” Kornegay said. “The spreads are so good, so tight, that getting extra points is very valuable. The books, to counter how good these [teased figures] are, had to make them more expensive.
“I don’t do them all the time. I thought the Giants looked pretty good. For some reason, they always give us a hard time, so no way I’m laying seven.”
Kornegay — and many other Broncos fans, he said — wish Broncos coach Sean Payton would open his offensive schemes and not keep quarterback Bo Nix “in the pocket like Drew Brees.”
Against the Cowboys, Kornegay hopes the Broncos’ defense, led by Nik Bonitto and Jonathan Cooper, can pressure Dak Prescott.
“I respect the Cowboys,” Kornegay said. “They’re an above-average team right now and seem to be getting better. If the Broncos can open it up a bit, their offense will look a lot better. The line is appropriate.”
How would Kornegay bet it? A tease, he said, but he’d boost the Cowboys +3 to +10. He envisions a tight game, so that covers a close win either way.
Receiver CeeDee Lamb has returned for the Cowboys, but we see running back Javonte Williams, the former Bronco who’s second in the NFL with 592 rushing yards, keeping it close.
I’ve long said soccer’s three-way betting (including the draw) and NFL point spreads are diabolical concoctions out of the devil’s workshop, and Kornegay didn’t disagree.
“It really is,” he said. “It’s really tough. If you look to being a consistent winner, or a little bit more of a consistent winner, yes, you probably shouldn’t be betting the NFL.
