The San Diego Chargers have one less thing worry about heading toward their regular season opener versus the Kansas City Chiefs on September 11th at Arrowhead Stadium. The odds for fans who bet on NFL are as follows:
Chargers +7 (-115) 44½ (-110)
Chiefs -7 (-105) 44½ (-110)
The good news for San Diego Chargers who frequent football betting sites is that third overall pick in the first round of the 2016 draft defensive end Joey Bosa finally – finally! – signed a four year, $25.8 million contract on August 29th. The bad news is that the pressure is now on the rookie to justify such a long courtship without the benefit of training camp and only one preseason game left (in which he’s not likely to play).
Bosa had 148 tackles (101 solo and 47 assisted), 26 sacks, and 51 tackles for loss in three years with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Additionally, he was CFP national champion, Big Ten champion, Big Willis Trophy winner, and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2014, as well as a two-time Consensus All-American and First-team All-Big Ten in 2014-2015. But he ain’t in Kansas no more.
With all the hoopla surrounding Joey Bosa, people who bet on NFL may have overlooked cornerback Jason Verrett. Sure, one might derisively sneer at his scant three interceptions in 2015, but there has to be a reason or three that he was selected for the Pro Bowl other than Darrelle Revis concussing himself. Or rather it was the quality, and not the quantity, of those interceptions. For instance, on December 13th, 2015 Verrett Alex Smith, putting an end to Smith’s streak of no interceptions in 312 attempts. Verret’s only drawback so far is that he appears to be probe to injuries.
Speaking of Alex Smith, the Chiefs starting QB and Kansas offense look just about ready to kick off the regular season, if the warm-up games are anything to go by. As fans who bet on NFL might remember, Smith completed 307 of 470 attempted passes (65.3%) for 3486 yards and 20 TDs and just 7 interceptions in 2015. According to KC head coach Andy Reid, Smith is “highly intelligent and he just gets it.” What does he get? It. While the 32 year old’s arm is not “the strongest,” it is “strong enough to win a championship.”
Now, Colin Cowherd may have called the Chiefs “good, but boring,” but the fact remains that Kansas City ranked 12th in big pass plays and 7th in big run plays. Moreover, the Chiefs had the most defensive touchdowns, second most interceptions, the 4th most sacks. Thus, if making big plays and scoring TDs makes a team boring, then, why, yes, the Chiefs are as entertaining as watching paint dry. All things considered, though, it’s better to be good than to be entertaining – just ask the San Antonio Spurs. Now what’s left for Kansas is to bring home a championship, which is the mission of Reid, Smith, and team owner Clark Hunt.