The defending champion Eagles are third favorites to repeat. Eagles.com
According to the latest numbers, The San Fransisco 49ers are receiving the top amount of money wagered on futures with 10% of the total dollars. Surprisingly, they also lead the way with the total amount of tickets wagered on them to win the Super Bowl with 8%. Right behind them, you can find the Rams, Packers, Vikings, Patriots, and shockingly, the Gruden led Raiders.
So what do these numbers mean from a bigger picture? When trying to figure out where the public is betting behind and where sharps are sticking their dollars, look into these percentages. If the amount of dollars is higher than that of the total amount of tickets being placed on a particular team, then thats where the professional money is. In other words, the pros money outweighs that of the novice bettors although the volume might indicate differently. When picking not just futures but week by week, keep an eye out on the public money and what it does to the line. Sometimes, that will tell you what you need to know before backing a side. In most cases, you want to find your self on the sharp side and not the public.
2018 Super Bowl odds
New England Patriots 7/1
Minnesota Vikings 10/1
Philadelphia Eagles 10/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1
Los Angeles Rams 12/1
Green Bay Packers 14/1
Atlanta Falcons 16/1
New Orleans Saints 16/1
Houston Texans 20/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 20/1
Los Angeles Chargers 20/1
San Francisco 49ers 20/1
Dallas Cowboys 25/1
Kansas City Chiefs 25/1
New York Giants 25/1
Carolina Panthers 33/1
Denver Broncos 33/1
Oakland Raiders 33/1
Baltimore Ravens 40/1
Detroit Lions 40/1
Tennessee Titans 40/1
Seattle Seahawks 50/1
Cleveland Browns 66/1
Indianapolis Colts 66/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 66/1
Arizona Cardinals 100/1
Buffalo Bills 100/1
Chicago Bears 100/1
Cincinnati Bengals 100/1
Miami Dolphins 100/1
Washington Redskins 100/1
New York Jets 150/1
Odds as of 8/7/2018
MVP race
Finding the MVP in the NFL usually comes with a specific flavor. The taste, is that of the quarterback position, hoisting the award the last 5 years in a row, Even more impressive, they have taken the prize 10 of the previous 11 seasons. It took the monstrous 2,097 yard, 13 total touchdown 2012 performance of Adrian Peterson to put a break in the decade-long trend.
Past winners
2007 Tom Brady New England Patriots Quarterback
2008 Peyton Manning (3) Indianapolis Colts Quarterback
2009 Peyton Manning (4) Indianapolis Colts Quarterback
2010 Tom Brady (2) New England Patriots Quarterback
2011 Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers Quarterback
2012 Adrian Peterson Minnesota Vikings Running back
2013 Peyton Manning (5) Denver Broncos Quarterback
2014 Aaron Rodgers (2) Green Bay Packers Quarterback
2015 Cam Newton Carolina Panthers Quarterback
2016 Matt Ryan Atlanta Falcons Quarterback
2017 Tom Brady (3) New England Patriots Quarterback
2018 NFL MVP ODDS
Aaron Rodgers +550
Tom Brady +800
Carson Wentz +850
Drew Brees +1500
Jimmy Garoppolo +1500
Russell Wilson +2000
Cam Newton +2000
Deshaun Watson +2000
Matt Ryan +2200
Kirk Cousins +2200
Philip Rivers +2500
Ben Roethlisberger +2500
Derek Carr +3000
Andrew Luck +3000
Jared Goff +3000
Matthew Stafford +3300
Dak Prescott +3500
Le'Veon Bell +4000
Marcus Mariota +4000
Todd Gurley +4000
David Johnson +4500
Antonio Brown +5000
Case Keenum +5000
Eli Manning +5000
Ezekiel Elliott +5000
Jameis Winston +5000
Patrick Mahomes +5500
Alex Smith +6000
Kareem Hunt +6000
Leonard Fournette +6000
LeSean McCoy +6000
Saquon Barkley +6000
Alvin Kamara +6600
Blake Bortles +6600
Julio Jones +7000
Joe Flacco +7500
Mitch Trubisky +9000
AJ Green +10000
Andy Dalton +10000
DeAndre Hopkins +10000
Devonta Freeman +10000
JJ Watt +10000
Rob Gronkowski +10000
Sam Bradford +12500
Tyrod Taylor +12500
Nick Foles +12500
Dalvin Cook +12500
Odds as of 8/7/2018
The rookie race
When trying to predict which rookie will be the biggest breakout, certain trends stand out. Some, as in no position other than quarterback, running back, and wide reciever has ever won the offensive award. In other words, omit tight ends from the OROY category, and you have a class dominated by the Running back position winning the award 33 times, the other two positions both 9 times (QB/RB).
In the last 5 years, quarterbacks have only won the award one time, but If you go back a little further, from 2008- 2012, quarterbacks won it 4 out of 5 years.
With Alvin Kamara (RB) winning the award last year, running backs haven't gone back to back since Clinton Portis backdoored the Chicago Bears Anthony Thomas, back in 2002
In the 51 years of existence of the award for the best incoming offensive player, 70.9% have been first-round picks. Even further, 86.2% were drafted in the first two rounds, so those searching for the deep flyer, guess again.
Or, you can tell that to Broncos former running back Mike Anderson, who did so after being selected in the sixth round with the 189th pick of the 2000 draft.
Past winners
2000 Mike Anderson Denver Broncos Running back
2001 Anthony Thomas Chicago Bears Running back
2002 Clinton Portis Denver Broncos Running back
2003 Anquan Boldin Arizona Cardinals Wide receiver
2004 Ben Roethlisberger Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback
2005 Cadillac Williams Tampa Bay Buccaneers Running back
2006 Vince Young Tennessee Titans Quarterback
2007 Adrian Peterson Minnesota Vikings Running back
2008 Matt Ryan Atlanta Falcons Quarterback
2009 Percy Harvin Minnesota Vikings Wide receiver
2010 Sam Bradford St. Louis Rams Quarterback
2011 Cam Newton Carolina Panthers Quarterback
2012 Robert Griffin III Washington Redskins Quarterback
2013 Eddie Lacy Green Bay Packers Running back
2014 Odell Beckham Jr. New York Giants Wide receiver
2015 Todd Gurley St. Louis Rams Running back
2016 Dak Prescott Dallas Cowboys Quarterback
2017 Alvin Kamara New Orleans Saints Running back
2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds
Saquon Barkley +140
Baker Mayfield +400
Josh Allen +900
Josh Rosen +900
Sony Michel +1000
Rashaad Penny +1400
Calvin Ridley +1600
Derrius Guice +1600 * Update: Suffered torn ACL in 1st preseason game.
Sam Darnold +1600
Royce Freeman +1800
Lamar Jackson +2000
Christian Kirk +3300
Courtland Sutton +3300
D.J. Moore +3300
James Washington +3300
Ronald Jones +3300
Odds as of 8/7/2018
For any questions or comments reach me @JerryBoKnowz on Twitter.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.