If their joint practice is any indication, the NFL preseason betting game pitting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Jacksonville Jaguars will be a hard-hitting affair.
Former #Buc Arrelius Benn getting into it with #Bucs LB Ardarius Glanton. Teams had to be separated. Third scuffle of the day. pic.twitter.com/wMhHilU37C
— PewterReport (@PewterReport) August 15, 2017
- Date: Thursday, 17th August
- Time: 8:05 PM
- Venue: EverBank Field
- Online sportsbook NFL preseason odds:
Buccaneers -1 (-105) 40½ (-110)
Jaguars +1 (-115) 40½ (-110)
Koetter welcomes back starters
The Bucs lost their preseason-opener 12-23 to the Bengals on Friday, which may have prompted head coach Dirk Koetter to decide to play his starters for a half this Thursday as opposed to just one quarter. “We’ll play more, the ones will be closer to a full half,” Koetter said per Bucs Wire. “We went a little bit longer with the offense last game; the defense didn’t play much. We’ll take those guys [deeper into the game]. I’d like Jameis Winston if we have the ball, to get into a two-minute situation at the end of the second quarter, if we could.” Speaking of Winston, the young quarterback looks ready to take on a bigger role. Whether that role is that of locker-room leader or as Nordberg in a Naked Gun remake has yet to be seen. Winston could be seen scolding offensive linemen James Stone and Jarvis Harrison for having a Roman holiday over backup QB Ryan Griffin’s shoulder injury on HBO’s hard knocks. “I’m happy y’all are having fun,” Winston sarcastically tells them. “But Ryan just hurt his shoulder. So keep having fun.” Speaking of sarcasm, there’s no way that was scripted. Winston went 5 of 6 against the Bengals but was unable to connect with receiver Mike Evans two times in the red zone – an area at which the tandem succeeds more often than not.
Allen Robinson would like to hit the Bortle
What are the NFL preseason betting odds of Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles completing a pass? Bortles said that his “arm is fine” even though head coach Doug Marrone opted to rest him over the weekend because it looked tired. However, wide receiver Allen Robinson has a different assessment of Bortles’s arm. As probably does the fan Robinson couldn’t help knocking down.
Cheer up, Blake; we are not going to criticize you. The line’s too long. Despite the widespread anti-Bortles sentiment, it seems as if nothing short of a coup d’etat would unseat him from the starting QB spot as the Jags have yet to bring in anything in the way of competition. It’s safe to say receiver Marqise Lee will not be missing a lot for however long his is sidelined, including Thursday’s game. Lee sustained a leg injury on Sunday’s practice. “I know they were touching around in the lower part of him,” Marrone said at the time, and that probably didn’t come out the way he intended. “But you’re really not going to get anything until the doctor sees him.” Now we know he suffered a high-ankle sprain and may miss the rest of the preseason. Rookie running back Leonard Fournette will also not play against the Bucs, which is another hit to the Jags’ NFL preseason betting chances.