We’ll get our first taste of 2024 NFL action tonight…
…which will taste better than the crow MyKayla Skinner will be dining on.
NFL Returns To Action
What Happened: It probably snuck up on you, but the NFL indeed takes the field tonight with its Hall of Fame game.
This year’s edition of the preseason’s first contest features last season’s surprise success story, the Houston Texans, facing off against the team now trying to pull off that trick, the Chicago Bears.
Drafting a quarterback with a high draft choice and watching him turn your franchise into an instant contender worked for C.J. Stroud and the Texans; can Caleb Williams emulate that success in the Windy City?
Why It Matters: Maybe Williams can, but that journey won’t start tonight. As has become the popular choice in recent seasons, these two head coaches are taking no chances with their franchise passers — neither Stroud nor Williams will feature in this game.
So…reasons to watch? Well, there are always a handful of breakout stars in preseason games, players that could improve their standing on the depth chart (and maybe get on your fantasy draft radar?) and rookies to watch for as they acclimate to the league.
If you are looking to lay some coin down here, you should know that of the last 11 HOF games, seven of them have hit the under on totals bets. After all, offenses rely on chemistry and playing in rhythm together, and most of these players have in fact not done that. So, it’s easier for a defense to react as the opposition struggles to move the ball.
But hey, football is football and we’re excited to gear up for a full season of props, totals, and sides (more on that below.) So let’s enjoy this opening taste and ease back into the sport we love.
How We’re Feeling Today
Today, we are wondering if that’s how MyKayla Skinner saw this all going.
Quick context: Skinner was on Team USA’s gymnastics squad in 2020 alongside Simone Biles. Recently, Skinner decided it was a good idea to go full “back in my day” on this year’s team, saying that the gymnasts aside from Biles “don’t work as hard”, don’t have “the work ethic”, and “the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be.”
Big mistake. Already driven by her need for redemption after the 2020 Olympics and her battle with the “twisties”, denigrating Biles’ teammates was only going to intensify her efforts to prove the skeptics wrong.
Sure enough, Biles and her teammates Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera will all be coming back from Paris with gold around their necks.
And Skinner? She’s probably wishing she had just shut up.
The Look Ahead
Carson Fulmer STRIKEOUTS – The Angels have decided to try Fulmer as a starter after making 24 appearances as a reliever. In three starts, he’s been…fine. But after striking out seven Mariners, he faced the Athletics back-to-back and got three Ks in each start, so when we see a line of 5.5, we lean under there. Fulmer is still building up arm strength, after all, so even if he is effective, he isn’t hitting 100 pitches. A reduced workload alone should limit his ceiling and ability to rack up the whiffs.
