NFL Thursday Preseason: What Bettors Need to Know
By Marc Lawrence
Carolina Panthers at Cincinnati Bengals (-2.5, 34)
Starter Report
Panthers: As expected, QB Cam Newton and the rest of Carolina's starters will play three quarters Thursday night against Cincinnati. The Panthers are game-planning for the Bengals as if this is a regular season game.
WR Steve Smith said he plans to play against Cincinnati. Smith hasn't played in the first two exhibition games due to a finger injury.
Meanwhile, QB Cam Newton continues to bone up on the playbook.
"Coming out here each and every day and going home each and every day and going over what we had in with the installations each day, it’s been a slow process,” said Newton. “I'm just trying to keep progressing up that hill.”
Bengals: Coach Marvin Lewis said he expects the same number of reps for the first-team offense versus Carolina, as has been the case during the first two games when they played the entire first half.
New Bengals’ quarterback Andy Dalton, a 2nd round pick in this year’s NFL draft, has been ineffective this exhibition season. In eleven preseason drives led by Dalton, the Bengals first-team offense went without a first down six times. Five times they punted and three times Dalton tossed an interception.
Dalton refuses to use the weather as an excuse for his mediocre play or the team’s two losses. "We cannot make the weather an excuse," he said. "Both teams had to play in (the rain). We just were not quick to start off."
Thing to remember: The 61-10 margin of defeat (34-3 at Detroit, 27-7 at the Jets) through two preseason games is the worst in Cincinnati’s team history. The previous record was 31 points (20-0 at Kansas City, 28-17 at the Jets) in 1986.
Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles (-7, 40)
Starter Report
Browns: Head coach Pat Shurmur said the starters will play at least the first half against the Eagles. Look for them to play well into the third quarter.
Pro Bowl WR/KR Josh Cribs (hamstring) returned to the practice field this week. He is questionable for tonight’s contest.
LG Eric Steinbach (back) and RB Brandon Jackson (toe) are still out.
Left tackle Joe Thomas inked a huge seven-year, $84 million contract extension that will keep him in Cleveland for another decade. Thomas is excited about the extension and the Browns’ direction under Shurmur.
"We're already seeing great strides. We're going to throw the ball and attack defenses. I like having an offensive head coach (in Shurmur). He's another reason I wanted to stay."
Eagles: Coach Andy Reid said QB Michael Vick and the rest of the starters will play the entire first half and at least the first series of the third quarter versus the Browns.
RB Ronnie Brown has just 47 yards on 15 carries in two preseason games, but the former Dolphins first-round pick said it's just a matter of getting adjusted to a new team and a different system. The Eagles are toying with the possibility of having Brown return kickoffs.
Things to remember: The Eagles are 2-9 SU and 1-10 ATS in final preseason home games since 2000. Reid has been a preseason favorite of more than five points three times in his NFL career. Philadelphia is 0-3 ATS in those games.
Washington Redskins at Baltimore Ravens (-5.5, 33.5)
Starter Report
Redskins: Redskins coach Mike Shanahan would not reveal who will start at quarterback against Baltimore, but he said that both Rex Grossman and John Beck will work with the starters.
Grossman says he notices a difference now that he's entering a third year in this offensive system. Being able to start three games in 2010 helped, too.
"You have more ease about everything," he said. "That's what I'm feeling."
Facing an aggressive defense this week should be good for Beck. His longest pass against Indianapolis was only 16 yards in the air as the Colts played a lot of two-deep zone, forcing underneath throws.
Baltimore's aggressive style provides more time for downfield tosses.
Ravens: Coach John Harbaugh said the plan tonight is to play the starters into the third quarter, possibly through three quarters. He added that veterans such as LB Ray Lewis, S Ed Reed, OLB Terrell Suggs and DT Haloti Ngata will not play very long.
DC Chuck Pagano has blitzed and mixed coverages up this preseason, even after he told reporters he’d keep things vanilla.
“We kind of expected it, that’s Chuck’s personality,” OLB Jarret Johnson said. “I can’t believe he said he was going to be vanilla.”
Things to remember: Baltimore is 4-1 SU and ATS the last five meetings in this series during the preseason since 2005. Shanahan has been a preseason dog of more than five points on six different occasions in his NFL career. His teams managed to win all six games straight-up.
Week 3 NFL Preseason Betting Kicks Off Thursday
By: Adam Markowitz
A three-pack of NFL betting duels will take place on Thursday night, the first night of the preseason's third week. Six teams will take to the field in what should amount to their "tune-up" game for the preseason.
The clash between the Washington Redskins (2-0) and the Baltimore Ravens (1-1) is the showcase game of the bunch, televised nationally on ESPN at 5:00 p.m. (PT).
The 'Skins have gotten off to a great start in the exhibition campaign thanks to a stifling defense. The Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers have only combined to score 10 points off of head coach Mike Shanahan's D, by far the best mark in the league. Neither team made it to even 200 total yards against Washington either.
Of course, the big question is whether it'll be "Becks" or "Rex" captaining this offense come Week 1 of the regular season. Rex Grossman has the second most passing yards in the preseason of any quarterback, throwing for 295 yards and a TD against one pick. John Beck didn't play in the opening week of the preseason against the Steelers, but he did go 14-of-17 for 140 yards last week against Indianapolis.
Expect Baltimore to throw a heck of a lot at both of these questionable quarterbacks. The Ravens have only allowed 26 total points in games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, and they are expected to once again put up solid numbers against the Redskins.
Joe Flacco hasn't looked his greatest in the preseason, completing just 50.0 percent of his passes for 184 yards. Flacco though, did hook up with the newly acquired WR Lee Evans three times for 68 yards in his debut last week.
The running game for Baltimore has been stout as well, coming up with over 100 yards in both games in the preseason. Ray Rice ripped off a 26-yard TD run last week against KC, and he ended the day with seven runs for 44 yards.
The Ravens are 5 ½-point favorites on the DonBest odds screen over Washington, while the 'total' for ESPN's Thursday Night Football is set at 33 ½.
Before these two kick it off at M&T Bank Stadium, there will be two other games in NFL preseason betting action.
At Paul Brown Stadium at 4:00 p.m. (PT), the Cincinnati Bengals will be looking for an offensive jolt for the first time this year when they take on the Carolina Panthers.
Cincy has just 10 total points and an average of 204.0 YPG in the preseason under the direction of rookie Andy Dalton and a host of historically underachieving backups. Dalton has been picked off three times in his first two professional games, and he has yet to throw a TD pass.
Meanwhile for Carolina, Cam Newton will get his second career start. He has had slightly more success than his fellow rookie counterpart, accounting for 203 passing yards thus far in the preseason.
Cincy is favored by 2 ½-points, while the 'total' is set at 34.
In the other preseason clash on Thursday, the Philadelphia Eagles are 6 ½-point favorites over the visiting Cleveland Browns.
These two teams are both 1-1 in the preseason, but Cleveland is getting a ton of disrespect in spite of the fact that Colt McCoy has the most TD passes thus far with four. He has also yet to throw a pick and is completing 67.9 percent of his passes.
Mike Kafka has thrown for 292 yards and two scores of his own though, and the hope is that home field advantage and the fact that this newly built defense with DBs Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and Asante Samuel will be able to shut down the Browns.