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Today's Free Football Pick from Dyer's Sportsline
www.footballjunky.com
August 9, 2004
Washington vs. Denver (+2), 8:00 PM EST in Canton, Ohio
Handicapping the NFL Preseason is a completely different animal than regular season games. The most important factors to keep in mind are motivation, team depth, the head coaches history in the Preseason and looking for situations to exploit.
Going into the Hall-of-Game, the Redskins have many more changes to contend with as compared to Denver. Joe Gibbs is back as head coach to revive this struggling franchise. They traded their top defensive player in Champ Bailey to the Broncos for RB Clinton Portis and added QB Mark Brunell through free-agency. The Broncos have the depth advantage, but with Gibbs back, we have to believe that the young players will be fired up and eager to put their best foot forward to impress the legendary coach. Denver has a bunch of quality RB's that they want to evaluate early in the preseason as they search for Portis' replacement. Quentin Griffin is the front-runner, converted fullback Mike Anderson has slimmed down as he competes to carry the ball and Ahmaad Galloway is healthy now and showing off his speed. The team also added Garrison Hearst as insurance. Rookie QB Matt Mauck is splitting scout team reps with Mike Quinn and plans to get an extensive look in tonight's game as reports are that he has looked impressive early in camp.
Denver Broncos - QB Rotation: Jake Plummer, Mike Quinn, Danny Kanell and rookies Bradlee Van Pelt and Matt Mauck (exact amount of playing time still to be determined). _The starters are expected to play just a series with extended playing time to the various WR's and RB's competing for starting jobs and key back-up positions. Offensive Coordinator Gary Kubiak stated "The big thing when you've got an extra preseason game is you've got a great chance to look at all your young guys. I would imagine that's where we are heading Monday night."
Washington Redskins - QB Rotation: Mark Brunell will start, Patrick Ramsey, Tim Hasselbeck, Gibran Hamdan (exact amount of playing time still to be determined). Asked how long the starters would play, Gibbs said: "It's hard to say. It kind of depends on how we're going and how Gregg Williams feels about the defense. We'll play that by ear." _
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This will be Mark Brunell's first game with his new team and under a new offensive system. We expect to see some erratic and sloppy play from the veteran and his teammates as the Skins have not faced a full-speed defense leading up to tonight's game, except for a handful of plays. The Broncos know their system and their defense has been getting solid reviews early in camp. This gives them a slight advantage (even though a majority of the playing time tonight will be doled out to guys new to the team trying to catch on).
The line in this game is based on the respect that Joe Gibbs deserves. Denver reported to camp three days earlier than the Skins. The Broncos are an incredible 20-3 ATS in Early and Week 1 games and Mike Shanahan is 14-6-1 ATS over the last five years of Preseason games. Based on the stability in Denver and this being coach Gibbs first look at his players on a "live" basis, with the extra preseason game to evaluate his team, we like the Broncos and the points to score a victory over the Redskins. Gibbs is likely to be more concerned about getting all of his young players on film rather than concerning himself with the "W". Good Luck!
www.footballjunky.com
August 9, 2004
Washington vs. Denver (+2), 8:00 PM EST in Canton, Ohio
Handicapping the NFL Preseason is a completely different animal than regular season games. The most important factors to keep in mind are motivation, team depth, the head coaches history in the Preseason and looking for situations to exploit.
Going into the Hall-of-Game, the Redskins have many more changes to contend with as compared to Denver. Joe Gibbs is back as head coach to revive this struggling franchise. They traded their top defensive player in Champ Bailey to the Broncos for RB Clinton Portis and added QB Mark Brunell through free-agency. The Broncos have the depth advantage, but with Gibbs back, we have to believe that the young players will be fired up and eager to put their best foot forward to impress the legendary coach. Denver has a bunch of quality RB's that they want to evaluate early in the preseason as they search for Portis' replacement. Quentin Griffin is the front-runner, converted fullback Mike Anderson has slimmed down as he competes to carry the ball and Ahmaad Galloway is healthy now and showing off his speed. The team also added Garrison Hearst as insurance. Rookie QB Matt Mauck is splitting scout team reps with Mike Quinn and plans to get an extensive look in tonight's game as reports are that he has looked impressive early in camp.
Denver Broncos - QB Rotation: Jake Plummer, Mike Quinn, Danny Kanell and rookies Bradlee Van Pelt and Matt Mauck (exact amount of playing time still to be determined). _The starters are expected to play just a series with extended playing time to the various WR's and RB's competing for starting jobs and key back-up positions. Offensive Coordinator Gary Kubiak stated "The big thing when you've got an extra preseason game is you've got a great chance to look at all your young guys. I would imagine that's where we are heading Monday night."
Washington Redskins - QB Rotation: Mark Brunell will start, Patrick Ramsey, Tim Hasselbeck, Gibran Hamdan (exact amount of playing time still to be determined). Asked how long the starters would play, Gibbs said: "It's hard to say. It kind of depends on how we're going and how Gregg Williams feels about the defense. We'll play that by ear." _
_
This will be Mark Brunell's first game with his new team and under a new offensive system. We expect to see some erratic and sloppy play from the veteran and his teammates as the Skins have not faced a full-speed defense leading up to tonight's game, except for a handful of plays. The Broncos know their system and their defense has been getting solid reviews early in camp. This gives them a slight advantage (even though a majority of the playing time tonight will be doled out to guys new to the team trying to catch on).
The line in this game is based on the respect that Joe Gibbs deserves. Denver reported to camp three days earlier than the Skins. The Broncos are an incredible 20-3 ATS in Early and Week 1 games and Mike Shanahan is 14-6-1 ATS over the last five years of Preseason games. Based on the stability in Denver and this being coach Gibbs first look at his players on a "live" basis, with the extra preseason game to evaluate his team, we like the Broncos and the points to score a victory over the Redskins. Gibbs is likely to be more concerned about getting all of his young players on film rather than concerning himself with the "W". Good Luck!