Yes and no. The Patriots have actually held steady as the third most likely team to win the Superbowl this season. What has changed is the actually odds themselves ( 8-1 drop to 10 -1 ). This drop has also occurred with the Saints and the Colts as well.
What this signifies is that the money has moved towards the longshots and away from the favorites. This is indicative of a season without a clearcut favorite or favorites.
Actually, different casinos and sportsbooks are going to obviously have different odds. It's the same thing as my daily "shopping" around to find the best baseball odds, as they're all going to be slightly different. For example, one sportsbook had the Cubs-140 last night, while another had them at -157. So obviously, the one with the -140 had better odds if you wanted to bet the Cubs, while the other had better odds if you wanted their opponent (WSH).
The 10-1 odds you are referring to was posted on PFT today, but the 7-1/8-1 odds that another poster stated at a Vegas casino are also true.
The odds haven't changed dramatically at all (besides the current money being dropped on the NYJ), they are just relative to different casinos/sportsbooks.
The important point of everything is that the Pats remain tied for 4th best with SD at anywhere between 8-1 and 11-1, depending on the many various sites and casinos who will take your action. The PFT article you are quoting has the Pats and SD both tied for 4th best at 10-1, while Indy leads at 8-1, and New Orl is next at 9-1.
The bottom line is that none of this means crap, as both last year and the year before it was the same old song and dance--yet in both years we failed to win even one playoff game. This trend is based mainly by the 2007 season, as all the attention and money was on us. The farther we get away from 2007, the longer the odds will continue to get. In 2008 we were like 5-1, while last year in 2009 we were around 8-1. This yr we are 10-1. As we get further away (without winning anything significant or going to at least the AFCCG) from 2007's run at perfection, we will get worse and worse odds. Next yr's will only get worse, unless we'd make a decent run in the playoffs, or go on a free agent spending spree--and even then, the odds will likely stay the same as this year (roughly 10-1).
Your point was that our team is in a lot better shape than many have given them credit for, but I'd refrain from guzzling the kool-aid just yet. With many questions at different areas, and a very hard schedule (playing every single AFC playoff team + 2 out of 6 in the NFC), the Pats will indeed remain competitive, yet I'm not sure we're exactly making a SB run either.
As far as your reasoning of there not being a 'clear' favorite, I don't see how it's any different then any other year at all. If anything, the fact that both IND and NO were both 13-0 last year and both played in the SB, should make this year a clearer favorite than even past years.
