Top sportsbooks have released their NFL odds for this week’s football action. Beginning on Thursday, we’re finally at the point where there are a lot of NFL games to bet on.
When we think of NFL betting, though, we inevitably think of betting on the regular season games, which are more exciting because they count for more. Of course, preseason football doesn’t count in the same way that the regular season does. A team’s preseason wins don’t influence its playoff chances.
However, preseason football does count in some respects, accounting for which is crucial to understand how to bet specifically on preseason football.
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1. Who Is Playing?
Preseason football differs from regular season football in that coaches and teams value different things. The players on the field do want to win, but their respective levels of preparation will differ depending on how much (or how little) they have to gain from participating in preseason games. All of this is perhaps nowhere else as true as in Week 1 of preseason action.
Teams, of course, are made up of players. So, you’ll need to know who is going to play and for how long.
While later preseason games may resemble regular season ones more closely in that starters will accrue more playing time, Week 1 tends to favor the less proven and less established players to a stronger extent. This means that one key to profiting from Week 1 preseason action is examining how deep each team is.
Teams that have more quality backups will have more personnel with which to win games while their starters sit entirely or play less.
Training Camp Observers
It might not quickly be clear how to assess the quality of backups. If they don’t have much playing experience during previous regular season games, then one needs to rely on training camp information.
Check out Twitter and other platforms where Training Camp observers share their and notes thoughts.
Besides shining a light on individual player performances and game readiness, these observers will also talk about position battles, which crucially lend insight into players’ level of motivation during preseason action.
2. Beware of Cleveland’s Offense
In line with the whole theme of figuring out which players will see Week 1 preseason action, Cleveland’s offense deserves an extra look.
Recent training camp reports observe the struggles, that Cleveland’s pass attack has suffered. These struggles owe to extent of time that Browns’ wide receivers have had to miss due to injury.
The Quarterbacks
Of course, they are having to operate and gain chemistry with quarterbacks who are new to the team: Deshaun Watson — he is allowed to play in the preseason despite his suspension — Jacoby Brissett, Josh Dobbs, and Josh Rosen are all new to the team.
The Wide Receivers
For the wide receivers, Amari Cooper is a newcomer. While he’s been dinged up, he is relatively fit, although Cleveland won’t want to subject him to much unnecessary risk.
After Cooper, on the depth chart that was just released for Cleveland’s preseason opener in Jacksonville, Anthony Schwartz, Jakeem Grant, Ja’Marcus Bradley, and Derrick Dillon are listed at the position alongside Donovan Peoples-Jones, David Bell, Michael Woods, Javon Wims, and then a few unknowns.
- Due to his foot injury, Bell was placed on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list and missed significant practice time.
- Schwartz missed a lot of time after suffering a knee injury very early into training camp. Instead of showing off his speed, his knee has slowed him down.
- Woods has missed a lot of recent time with his hamstring injury.
- Weston was placed on IR.
Quarterbacks new to the team and an injury-smitten wide receiver group will have particular trouble developing chemistry with each other in their initial, Week 1 action.
3. Unknown Gem Alert
Before teams play their first preseason game, it’s the perfect time to locate the training camp gems.
After these gems take the field, then the secret will be out, everybody will know about them, and the NFL odds for future preseason games will be affected accordingly.
Until these discoveries take place, we get a betting edge by doing our diligent training camp research.
Keep an Eye on Reid Sinnett
One guy worth knowing is Eagles quarterback Reid Sinnett, who looks to solidify his status as Philadelphia’s third-string quarterback behind Jalen Hurts and Gardner Minshew.
His accuracy, chemistry with wide receivers, and overall quarterback play have reportedly been superb throughout training camp.
When he takes the field on Friday against the Jets, he is someone who can make a substantial difference in the outcome of the game. Thus, keep him in mind for your NFL picks.
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