A strange dynamic has played out this summer leading up to the official start of the Eagles’ Super Bowl defense. It seems most people are generally bullish on the Eagles to repeat as NFC East champs and be in the mix for a repeat trip to the Super Bowl, but many of those same people also believe that game one will end in disappointment. How do I know? Forget sports talk radio, take a look at the shrinking point spread that currently has the Eagles as a one-point underdog to the Falcons at FanDuel. Call it the Nick Foles effect. From David Purdum of ESPN:

The betting action has been lopsided on the underdog Faclons—even at the new sportsbooks in New Jersey that are just a few hours’ drive away from Philadelphia. At William Hill sportsbooks in Nevada and New Jersey, 78 percent of the money bet on the game was on Atlanta. FanDuel and DraftKings each reported at their New Jersey sportsbooks Tuesday that more than 80 percent of the money on the game was on the Falcons.

I LOVE IT. While the public zigs, may I suggest a sharp zag. Whenever there is an overwhelming percentage of public money on a high-profile primetime game, I want to be as far away from the masses as possible. Amazingly, the contrarian play is betting ON the defending Super Bowl champs AT HOME with basically even odds. Give me that shit all day. I want to puff out my chest and pull the “no respect” card, but as Kevin wrote earlier today, it’s time to ditch the underdog mentality, even if the lack of interest from the betting public on the Eagles both tonight and to repeat feels a bit disrespectful:

At 14-1, the Eagles have the worst preseason odds for a defending Super Bowl champion since the Baltimore Ravens kicked off their title defense in 2013 at 30-1.

Even at the longer odds, bettors haven’t shown much interest in Philadelphia. As of Tuesday, 10 teams had attracted more bets to win the Super Bowl at the Westgame than the Eagles, including the New York Giants.

Sorry, Kevin. I know you are right, but screw that. The Giants? Please. Let’s bust out the dog masks, circle the wagons, and pound the Eagles. Let’s eat!