This is a 5* play on BAL

So the Ravens have won 24 of their last 25 pre-season games, and if not for a late drive from an inexperienced 3rd string quarterback and a 50 yard field goal it would have been 25-0. So we have to ask ourselves what happens now? Does Harbaugh throw in the towel, rest his starters and play to lose, or does he want to go into the regular season off a "W". Josh Johnson and Anthony Brown combined to throw for 4 TDs on 16-of-22 passing last week. I am willing to bet that Harbaugh is dying to get the filthy taste of an "L" out of his mouth. Todd Bowles is 8-13 career in pre-season games, so don't expect him to be taking things seriously in the second half.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 4* play on the Raiders.

So Josh McDaniels is 5-0 in the pre-season since arriving in Las Vegas. He faces a Rams team that that is 7-12 under Sean McVay. It comes as no surprise that McVay has already announced he will NOT be playing his starters. The local Las Vegas media is suggesting that Brian Hoyer might be in danger of falling behind Aidan O'Connell on the depth chart. We could see a battle between the backups, giving the Raiders more motivation here.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 10* play on the JETS.

Robert Saleh appears to take the pre-season more seriously than most head coaches. His Jets won 27-0 versus Carolina last week, and he's 6-1 in the pre-season in his career. The one loss came against Cleveland in the Hall of Fame game, and they blew a big lead late in that game. Todd Bowles does not have a reputation for taking the pre-season seriously, with a career record of 7-13. When it comes to QB depth, the Jets appear to have an edge with Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle. I'll trust Saleh to field a competitive team here as he looks to establish a culture of winning.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 4* play on NYG.

The Panthers were on the wrong end of the biggest blowout in Week 1, losing 27-0 to the Jets. I am not optimistic that things are going to change significantly in Week 2. I wasn't high on Bryce Young coming into the season, and his performance last week didn't change my mind. The Panthers are highly invested in him, so they are going to have to give him time here against the Giants. Andy Dalton has a bad back, leaving their QB depth pretty thin. Matt Corral struggled last week, and Jake Luton didn't play. These guys matching up against the likes of Tyrod Taylor and Daniel Jones should give the Giants a significant advantage. Brian Daboll is in just his second year as a HC, but last year in Week 2 he played his starters for the majority of the 1st half.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 4* play on NYJ.

After back to back undefeated pre-seasons, the Jets opened up a double digit lead in the first half of the Hall of Fame Game. DTR rallied Cleveland for the win, and Chris Streveler did not look good after a dominant performance in pre-season action last year. The Jets will be an underdog here in their second game versus Carolina, and I think people might be a little over optimistic about the Panthers rookie QB. The experience of having already played one game, along with the experience of Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle should bode well for the Jets.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 10* play on Over.

We wrap up the pre-season on Sunday with the Giants vs Jets. Two undefeated teams, each with solid depth at the QB position. Mike White and Chris Streveler have been great for the Jets, while Tyrod Taylor and Davis Webb have been solid for the GMEN. Last season the Jets final pre-season game was a 31-31 tie, and the Giants also played their highest scoring pre-season game in Week 3. The Giants have averaged 24 points per game in the first two weeks, while the Jets have scored exactly 24 points in both of their games so far. The total here should likely be a few points higher.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 10* play on the J E T S .. JETS! JETS! JETS!

Robert Saleh can't make up his mind if he's going to play his starters, but I am not bothered either way. Mike White got the majority of the snaps in the Jets win over Philly, and if it's him and Chris Streveler at QB that's plenty good enough in a home game with a head coach who has never lost a pre-season game. All Streveler did is toss a pair of TD passes on 6-of-9 passing for 69 yards against the Eagles. Oh, by the way he's Grey Cup champion, which puts him in good company with the likes of Doug Flutie, Jeff Garcia and Warren Moon. Desmond Ridder and Feleipe Franks have never experienced a real NFL game. I am gonna take the points.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 2* play on Philly.

So Kevin Stefanski has never lost a game in the pre-season, and Nick Sirianni has never won a game in the pre-season. The Browns host the Eagles on Sunday, and given the head coach pre-season records you would expect Cleveland to be a big favorite. It's actually the Eagles that are favored, and a lot of that has to do with the different situations these teams find themselves in. This is a game that Philly should look at to give their starters a good look, and then when the backups come in they still look solid with Gardiner Minshew at quarterback. The Browns have lost a couple of off centers already this pre-season, and they will want to be cautious moving forward. I like Philly to take an early lead and finally get a pre-season win for Sirianni.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 2* play on the Patriots.

Bill Belichick, A.K.A "The Hoodie" doesn't like losing! Not even in the pre-season. You know what else he doesn't like? He doesn't like answering stupid questions from the media. He's sharp enough to know that if the Patriots go 0-3 in the pre-season, he will have to answer more stupid questions that usual. Matt Rhule on the other hand already has a win under his belt this year, tying his total in last year's pre-season. The Panthers have already named Baker Mayfield as the starter, so they might be looking to get out of New England without suffering any injury setbacks. I'll ride with "The Hoodie" at home.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 2* play on the Raiders.

We have no data for Minnesota's new head coach Kevin O'Connell, and Josh McDaniels has a losing record as a head coach in the pre-season. That said, the Raiders have the advantage of already playing in the Hall of Fame Game. Derek Carr didn't play, but Jarrett Stidham and Nick Mullens both played well. The quarterback depth should be a huge advantage for the Raiders. Kirk Cousins is out with Covid and I am not a big fan of Kellen Mond or Sean Mannion.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 2* play on the Steelers.

Both Pete Carroll and Mike Tomlin have a reputation for winning games in the pre-season, but recent history paints a different picture. The Seahawks are just 4-7 over the last three seasons under Pete Carroll, while Mike Tomlin has gone 12-4 (four consecutive 3-1 finishes) in the pre-season over the last four seasons. We should see plenty of Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph tonight, and that should bode well for Pittsburgh.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 2* play on Cleveland.

Kevin Stefanski is 3-0 straight up in pre-season games, while Doug Pederson is 2-7 straight up in his last nine pre-season games. The Browns have to sort out their quarterback situation, with Deshaun Watson expected to miss the first half of the season. In order to give Jacoby Brissett a chance to get comfortable in the offense, he's going to have to play with the starters. We expect Cleveland to play their first team for a lot longer here.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 2* play on DET.

Neither Dan Campbell or Arthur Smith won a game in the pre-season last year. I like Campbell's chances here in this game against Atlanta in Week 1 of the 2022 pre-season. Backup quarterbacks will carry the offense for both teams, and that should be an adavtage for the Lions. David Blough and Tim Boyle are both experienced, each playing in the regular season over the last two years. The same can not be said for Atlanta's Desmond Ridder and Phillipe Franks. The Lions are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games overall.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 2* play on Baltimore.

John Harbaugh is a legend in the pre-season, with a career record of 40-12. He's even better in the first game of the pre-season, going 13-1 in Week 1. With a career record of 4-7 it's fair to say that Mike Vrabel doesn't put a lot of emphasis in winning pre-season games. We expect both teams to rest the starters, but looking at the Ravens backup quarterbacks, and Tyler Huntley and Brett Hundley have plenty of experience. Logan Woodside has some experience playing in pre-season games for the Titans, but Malik Willis is completely green. It's hard not to like a Ravens team that is 20-0 straight up in pre-season games over the last five years.

GL.

Jesse Schule

This is a 1* play on the Jags.

The purpose of this small bet on the HOF Game is simply to get our feet wet. These games are typically meaningless low scoring games with neither team trying all that hard to win. We lean toward the Jags here simply because they have a lot more to prove. This team needs to get it's fan base excited enough to put buts in seats this season. Doug Pederson has a career pre-season record of 8-8, but he was 4-0 in his first year with the Eagles. Josh McDaniels has a career pre-season record of 2-6. This will be a pizza money type of bet.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 5* play on the Chiefs.

Both these teams are expected to play their starters in the first half, and that would suggest that the Chiefs have the early advantage. The backups will clean up in the second half, and I believe that might be even more favorable for Kansas City. Kellen Mond and Jake Browning haven't looked good at all so far, and neither of these guys are considered to be the "quarterback of the future" for the Vikings. Mike Zimmer has little motivation to leave starters in for the benefit of either Mond or Browning. The Chiefs second and third string QBs combined to throw for 197 yards and a pair of TDs on 15-of-19 passing last week.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 5* play on Minnesota.

Few head coaches take the pre-season as seriously as the Vikings Mike Zimmer, as evidenced by his amazing 20-6 career record. This made it all the more surprising when he chose to sit all his starters last week, suffering an embarrassing 33-6 loss to the Broncos. We expect him to let the starters loose here this week against the Colts, who won't have Carson Wentz. The Colts backups threw for 310 yards on 25-of-35 passing for no TDs and an INT against the Panthers last week. They might have a tough time here against the Minnesota starting defense.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 5* play on Washington.

The Bengals won as the biggest underdog in Week 1 of the pre-season, but that was despite their QBs combining for 185 yards and two INTs on 19-of-29 passing. That was against the Tampa Bucs backups, and this week they will be facing the Washington starters. We should see plenty of veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick here in this game, as he is looking to solidify his position as the starter. Joe Burrow is not expected to see any action, leaving Brandon Allen and Kyle Shurmur to work against the NFL's #2 ranked pass defense (last season).

GL,

Jesse Schule

5*

This is a 5* play on Arizona.

The Cardinals lost three of four games last season in their first year under head coach Kliff Kingsbury, but we should expect them to be better here in 2021. They have an experienced backup with 34 year old Colt McCoy, and a CFL champion in third stringer Chris Streveler. The Cowboys lost in the Hall of Fame Game to Pittsburgh, and their backup QBs combined to throw for just 238 yards on 24-of-43 passing with an INT and four sacks. In a battle of the backups I think Arizona has more talent to work with.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 5* play on Under 37.5.

The first week of pre-season usually produces a lot of low scoring games, and we expect that to be the case here when the Pats host the Washington Football team tonight. Both these teams ranked near the bottom of the league in passing last year, and when they met in 2019 Washington scored just seven points. I expect a conservative approach here with both teams running a vanilla game plan just looking to get out of here without any serious injuries.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 10* play on OAK@SEA over 33.

The Seahawks will host Oakland in the final game of the pre-season, and the bookmakers have set the total at just 33. There is plenty of history between these teams, as they have faced each other in the final week of the pre-season every year since 2006. Last year the Raiders won 30-19 at Seattle, and it was the fifth time in the last six years that these teams combined to score 40+ points in the final week of the pre-season. Most coaches have already packed it in by Week 4, but the numbers say that Gruden and Carroll both likely want to win this game. Gruden is an incredible 7-1 lifetime in the final week of the pre-season, while Carroll is 6-3. Oakland has a pair of QBs with starting experience in Nathan Peterman and Mike Glennon, and both Geno Smith and Paxton Lynch have put up solid numbers for Seattle.

Take Over.

GL,

Jesse Schule

5*

This is a 10* play on the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints have looked pretty good so far this pre-season. They are 1-1 heading into Week 3 at New York, but Teddy Bridgewater had a big game in Week 1 and Taysom Hill impressed in Week 2. Sean Payton takes the pre-season more seriously than most, but that is epsecially true in Week 3. The Saints have a record of 10-3 in the third week of the pre-season under Sean Payton. The Jets are focused more on staying healthy, and Adam Gase has expressed remorse after Avery Williamson was lost for the season due to injury. Expect Gase to be very conservative with his starters for the remainder of the pre-season.

Take NO.

GL,

Jesse Schule

Jesse Schule