Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt is no longer the NFL online betting favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. That position has taken over by Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson. Vikings running back Dalvin Cook is, for obvious reasons, out of the race. the Texans are 2-1 straight-up and, more importantly to people who like to bet on NFL games online, 3-0 against the spread since Watson was named the team’s starting signal-caller. The Clemson product has done for Houston what Chicago hopes Mitch Trubisky will do for the Bears; i.e., make the entire team better – even head coach Bill O’Brien.
“Everybody asks me … how does he learn? It’s the same thing for me,” O’ Brien said. “How am I learning about coaching him? How is [quarterbacks coach] Sean Ryan learning about coaching him? That’s the type of guy he is. … [He’s] a very fun guy to coach because there’s a lot of good give-and-take in the meeting room.” Watson has, it pretty much goes without saying, improved the aerial attack, but, as it turns out, he has also had a positive influence on the offensive line as well as the defense, in both cases as a result of his ability to prolong plays. “You don’t have a time clock in your head. You’ve got to block, and obviously he’s going to be making plays [and] expand the play, so you’ve got to keep going,” center Nick Martin said. and while the offense is at it, the defense has a chance to get plenty of rest.
Leaping into #VictoryMonday like pic.twitter.com/nJsn9e6Hoj
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 2, 2017
Perhaps the reason that Hunt has dropped to second place in the OROY NFL online betting sportsbook odds-boards is that he is a second-half star. For example, he had eight yards on five attempts in the first half of the week 2 game against the Eagles, and 73 yards and two touchdowns on eight totes following the break; in week 3, he posted 51 yards in the first half, 121 yards in the second; all things considered, averages 5.7 yards in the first half and 8.3 in the second. And there is nothing wrong with that; quite the contrary – when opposing defenses are worn out, he’s still cool as a cucumber. Hunt would be, if he were a character in a video game, what’s called the Final Boss.
When you are desperate for a Kareem Hunt TD and Alex Smith runs it in .. pic.twitter.com/NlRg5S8rd5
— The 𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭 (@FF_Guesspert) October 3, 2017
“Honestly, I just want to keep doing what I do,” Hunt said. “Just keep helping this team win. That comes from the offensive line and everybody just straining to finish.” In spite, or maybe because, the brunt of his production comes in the second half, the Toledo product leads the league with 502 rushing yards, well ahead of more experienced players such as CJ Anderson and Le’Veon Bell. The question for NFL online betting fans is whether the rookie can keep up his killing pace. Ethan Belshe, of the University Daily Kansan, says yes. Why? Because although “running backs get off to hot starts only to become too worn down to continue playing at that same level … recent history shows that rookies can avoid these downturns.” So there you have it.