Ian McMillin's Blog

I would like to start this blog by reminding my audience that I pride myself as a man of faith and when I renewed my driver’s license I elected to be an organ donor.

I understand that my previous blog may have ended up ruining people’s viewing experiences and, in some cases, led to irreversible financial ruin. That was not my intent. I intended to make a ton of money and maybe even bankrupt DraftKings, but they unfortunately lived to fight another day. Maybe I need to specialize in curling bets. 

Pick One: Play of the Day: Cooper Kupp Touchdown +250

I got too cocky with the play of the day. In my defense, I wasn’t too far off. Kupp had a good game, and the Patriots were able to limit Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Seahawks were just unable to score a touchdown whenever they got inside the 30 yard line. Kupp had one good target that could have gotten the job done, but Sam Darnold underthrew the ball and it never had a chance. The fact that AJ Barner was the only other white receiver on the field tricked me into thinking Cooper caught the Seahawks’ first touchdown, which was a brutal letdown. The right bet here would have been 50+ receiving yards, which Kupp hit before the fourth quarter. 

Pick Two: Hunter Henry Anytime TD +230

Shame on me for picking a Patriots player to score a TD. I was never going to pick Mack Hollins, and didn’t believe that Rhamondre Stevenson would get many carries in the red zone (I was technically right on that one). Henry had a solid game, but never even got a red zone target aside from a failed two-point conversion. 

Pick Three: Drake Maye Under 223.5 Passing Yards -110

This one was brutal. One of the greatest things about sports is that games and individual performances can turn around on a dime, and can lead to unexpected triumphs, or in this case, tragedies when betting on them. Drake “The Schedule” Maye was trash for three quarters of this game. He improved to serviceable in the fourth quarter, but the Seahawks still picked him off twice. 

So how the hell did this bum manage to break the RECORD for most passing yards in a quarter in the Super Bowl!? Maye had 60 passing yards going into the fourth, and he managed to finish with 295. For those without a calculator handy, that would be 235 fourth quarter passing yards. With two interceptions. Just an unreal break here. 

Of all the bets we missed, I stand by this one the most. We were all over Drake Maye being limited, and the Patriots were a run first team for most of the game. Reviewing the picks, I am haunted by my own words: “…I just don’t see the volume being there, unless the Pats find themselves down by multiple scores in the fourth and are forced to throw the ball and play fast.”

The least The Schedule could have done is give Hunter Henry a TD. 

Pick Four: Andy Borregales to Make a 50+ Yard Field Goal +260

Attempting a 50 yard field goal means that a team needs to be stopped around the opponents’ 35 yard line. Unfortunately for us, the Patriots only crossed the Seahawk’s 40 yard line twice all game, scoring a touchdown both times. Borregales had zero field goal attempts. I expected the Patriots’ offense to struggle, not for them to be abysmal. 

The Why Not Bets

These were all longshots, so I don’t feel the need to devote a full section to each one. Brady Russell never touched the field, which was not entirely unexpected. Cooper Kupp was the leading receiver going into the fourth quarter, but Mack Hollins only needed two plays to overtake him. I still am happy with my Kupp analysis, but couldn’t get the picks down. I also expected the game to be closer, and I had a feeling after the first half that Seattle to win by 1-6 was cooked.

Our only winner was Seattle D/ST Anytime Touchdown, which was an electric bet to cash. The Patriots had enough turnovers to make this a fun bet to root for, and when Seattle finally took one all the way back it was very vindicating. 

Overall, I give this betting performance a C. If one of my non-longshots had cashed I think it would be a solid B-. I had a general idea of how the game would play out, but gave the Patriots too much credit and got too greedy with my Cooper Kupp bets. With that said, perfection is the standard around here, so I apologize for every wrong pick.

We will be back again with some Winter Olympics bets on Wednesday or Thursday, and maybe I’ll even fire off a non-gambling blog to spice things up.