This week in sports: What were they thinking?

If you couldn’t tell – our focus on BettingPlanet is on providing expert analysis, predictions and strategy for our readers, but we also like to take a lighter approach once in awhile and analyze sports news trending on social media.

This week’s column is titled “What were they thinking?” – a question everyone has asked about athletes lately.

We have some funny and not so funny stories to share this week, including some that will affect the betting markets.

Titans WR Justin Hunter charged with assault

Does a week go by without an active or retired NFL player being arrested? Let’s just say it’s rare.

On Monday (July 20th) – Justin Hunter — a 24-year old WR with the Tennessee Titans — was charged with assault in his hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Details are sparse, but we have some tidbits from the police report.

Audra Martin was one of the first reporters to break the story on Twitter.

#Titans wide receiver Justin Hunter arrested in Virginia Beach. Jail report says charges are “Malicious intent, stabbing, cutting, wounding”

— Audra Martin (@Audra_Martin) July 20, 2015

Hunter was allegedly in an altercation earlier in the month on July 3rd 2015 at a bar on Atlantic Avenue.

He was allegedly “stabbing, cutting and wounding” his victim with “malicious intent” according to the police report. This isn’t a simple assault charge – the victim is in serious condition after suffering broken bones in bar brawl.

The Titans have only stated that they’re aware of the situation and gathering more facts.

Instead of breaking defenders on the field – Hunter is too busy playing Scarface in the clubs. This season was supposed to be the “make or break” year for Hunter. After this news – the Titans should “cut” Hunter and move on.

Get players on the field that want to improve and play the game. The Titans made some noise by signing Marcus Mariota in the NFL draft and they’re 14/1 to win the AFC South at Bovada, but if Hunter is gone those odds will drift further.

Tennessee haven’t made the NFL playoffs since 2008, which is also the last time they won the AFC South.

You may remember last month when news broke that Ken Whisenhunt told Hunter he had to show he “gets it” or he won’t be playing in the NFL much longer. Clearly, Hunter didn’t take the advice to heart or he wouldn’t be brawling.

In other NFL crime news – Justin Cox was just arrested on Monday too. The Chiefs CB was signed as an undrafted FA in May, but the Chiefs released him yesterday after news broke about the arrest. Terrible news for the 22-year old.

Madden 16 rookie ratings – Phillip Dorsett a 95 OVR?

The EA Sports Madden 16 rookie ratings are out and fans have been talking about the ratings since release.

I love how EA makes the release big news every year by getting rookies to not only guess their rating, but then react to the actual rating they received. Now, the video production could improve, as there’s one major problem.

When the rookies react to their rating – the rating isn’t displayed anywhere on the video – leaving the fans guessing.

EA has released the top ten rookies in Madden 16 this week, but the other player ratings are unknown, so we have no idea how far off some of the predictions were. However, I’d like to know what’s in Dorsett’s water?

A 95! No rookie would ever come close to that rating, but he predicted the rating with such confidence. Unfortunately for Dorsett and Colts fans – he didn’t crack the top ten. Cooper is the highest rated Madden 16 rookie.

Here are the top ten Madden 16 rookie ratings:

Amari Cooper – 82 Overall
Jameis Winston – 81 Overall
Todd Gurley – 80 Overall
Leonard Williams – 80 Overall
Brandon Sherff – 80 Overall
Dante Fowler – 79 Overall
Melvin Gordon – 78 Overall
Kevin White – 78 Overall
Marcus Mariota – 78 Overall
Vic Beasley – 77 Overall

Rookies rarely turn a losing team into a winning team in one season, but this year’s crop has a lot of promise, including two potential franchise QB’s. Get the latest 2015-16 NFL futures betting lines at Bovada.lv – the #1 bookie for sports bettors in the USA.