GAMBLING RECAP
Want to bet? Let's play a game of quarterback guess who
Jan 24, 2018, 8:02 am
Case Keenum's season ended in Philadelphia. Twincities.com
Imagine this; You walk into a sportsbook before the games last Sunday and are presented a prop sheet. The objective is to match the quarterback with his performance in the Championship round.
26-of-38 for 290 yards / two touchdowns
23-of-36 for 293 yards / one touchdown
26-of-33 for 352 yards / three touchdowns
28-of-48 for 271 yards / one touchdown/ two interceptions / one fumble
Case Keenum
Tom Brady
Blake Bortles
Nick Foles
Although some would think they can figure this out pretty easily pregame,the inscrutability of Sunday's results made this impracticable to solve.
Who am I?
Behind door #1
In College, I attended Michigan State for a year and was redshirted when I transferred, forcing me to sit out the 2008 season. For my new alma mater, I would go on to throw for over 10,000 yards and 66 touchdowns in three years. I was the 88th overall pick selected in the fourth round in my draft. I would tell you who drafted me, but I've been on a total of three teams since entering the league. On Nov. 3, 2013, I punished the Raiders for seven passing touchdowns, something only seven other quarterbacks have been able to do. I guess you can say I'm pretty special, that same year I made the Pro Bowl and was named the Pro Bowl Offensive MVP (thanks for the GMC Truck). Not to brag, but this isn't my first rendezvous in the postseason where I've thrown five times more touchdowns than interceptions, and I hold a 116.4 passer rating. Sunday, my final stat line was 26-of-33 for 352 yards and three touchdowns. Guess Who?
Behind door #2
I redshirted as a true freshman in 2010, but I would only need three years to tally 56 touchdowns. In 2013, I led my team to a BCS bowl, Tostitos to be exact. In my final game, I was named the Offensive MVP and helped my team win its first major bowl in school history. Although this was my first postseason, I've done fairly well throwing three times more touchdowns than interceptions. Also, I’m a pretty decent runner. This postseason I had 121 yards on 17 carries (7.1). Sunday my final stat line read 23-of-36 for 293 yards and one touchdown. Guess who?
Behind door #3
Im also a journeyman, and I've led the huddle on four different NFL teams. In college, I was a monster. I’m the NCAA's all-time leader in total passing yards, touchdowns, and completions. I was the conference MVP in 2009 and 2011. It would have been three consecutive years but I tore my knee in the third game of the year vs. UCLA. Luckily, I was granted my 6th year of eligibility, and I led my team to a 12-0 season. That year I spanked Penn State in the TicketCity Bowl. My final numbers were 532 yards and three touchdowns passes. In my pro career, it has been a struggle. Starting with my rookie year where I spent all of 2012 on the practice squad. The following year I got my first start in week seven after an injury to the starting quarterback. No big deal but I did go 15 of 25 passes for 271 yards and a touchdown, along with a 110.6 passer rating, the highest by a quarterback on my team that season. Overall, I've thrown for 8,771 yards in 5 years while tossing 46 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. Sunday my final stat line was 28-of-48 for 271 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions, and one fumble. Guess Who?
Behind door #4
I've always loved football, at the age of 4, I attended a game in CandleStick Park in which Dwight Clark had "The Catch." In college, I was the backup my first two years to some guy named Brian Griese. I guess he was pretty good; he led our team to an undefeated season and a national title before I took over. In two years I threw for over 4500 yards while holding a 30-17 touchdown to interception ratio. I was the 199th overall pick, and I would only have to wait until my second season to get my first start. One year, in our teams season opener, I managed to tear my ACL and MCL causing me to miss the entire season. The following year I came out with a vengeance, in the first game I pulled off a miraculous comeback while throwing for 378 yards and two touchdowns. That year I would also set the record with most touchdown passes in a single quarter (5). This postseason I had a 5-0 touchdown to interception ratio. Sunday my final stat line was 26-of-38 for 290 yards and two touchdowns. Guess who?
The Championship round left us with a few surprising box scores. But only two teams could advance. Congratulations to the Patriots and the Eagles.
Play action or Pass went 1-7. Bringing our yearly record to 58-53-3.
For Sportsbooks, it was one of the biggest weekends ever. In the first game, many sharp bettors were on Jacksonville, but the Public was huge on Patriots-7.5 and Jaguars money line +300. This was great for the guys taking the bets, and they were able to cash off both crowds.
In the late game, Joe Public was still suffering from the Minneapolis Miracle. People really wanted to see a team host a Super Bowl but that illusion will have to wait. The Vikings booked 64% of the bets leading into kickoff and again the books feasted.
Sunday was one of the best day for books in years. The only game the books lost was on the Las Vegas Golden Knights route of the Hurricanes.
With the Superbowl on the horizon, we will be getting more into the game the following week. Prop bet extravaganza coming soon......
1)Foles
2)Bortles
3)Keenum
4)Brady
For any questions or comments reach me at @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.