Joe Flacco’s backup Ryan Mallett is projected to start in the Baltimore Raven’s first NFL preseason betting game against the Washington Redskins.
- Date: Thursday, 10th August
- Time: 7:30 PM
- Venue: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Online betting NFL preseason odds:
Redskins +1 (-110) 37½ (-105)
Ravens -1 (-110) 37½ (-115)
If you were a mallet, what kind of Mallett would you be?
Will Ryan be a rubber mallet with a softened blow, or a dead blow mallet with a powerful blow? Or will he just plain blow? He had best be the second option, seeing as how his job might be on the line this Thursday. Joe Cool’s back injury and Mallett’s ghastly beginning of training camp were such a double whammy that the Ravens considered signing former 49ers quarterback and insurgent leader Colin Kaepernick.
However, Mallett has improved since he has been taking first-team reps in lieu of Flacco. “Every day, I’m just trying to get better, trying to get in better sync with my team, better timing,” the Arkansan said. Head coach John Harbaugh said Mallet not only will start but also play “pretty extensively” against the Redskins. “How much that ends up being probably will be determined,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll have a plan, but during the game, I’ll probably have to get a sense of that and how I feel about it. But yes, it’s an opportunity for Ryan to get ready.” An opportunity he better make the most of, or else GM Ozzie Newsome may have no choice but to bring in Kap nonetheless, though Mallett remains unconcerned about that. “I’ve got tunnel vision. I’m not really worried about what’s going on outside of this building,” he said. Maybe he should see an optometrist?
Depth perception
The NFL preseason betting version of the Beltway Series is not likely to feature Kirk Cousins starting under center for the Skins, or at least not for long. That would leave the brunt of the passing game – at which the Redskins excelled in 2016 – in the hands of Colt McCoy and Nate Sudfeld. The latter in particular may be in a similar position as Mallett though more in the long term. Cousins will become a free agent in 2018, and Sudfeld must prove his worth as an in-house replacement should the Michigan State product leave the team. After all, the preseason is all about climbing – or at least holding on to – spots on the depth chart.
#Redskins release first unofficial depth chart of 2017 season.https://t.co/7hcnPQh93k
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) August 6, 2017
For instance, running back Matt Jones started seven games in 2016 but a knee injury cost him his spot, which went to incumbent Robert Kelley. Now Jones is all the way in the back of the line behind Chris Thompson and Samaje Perrine. However, as nose tackle Phil Taylor is living proof of, it is possible to return from injury to a place in the starting lineup. All things considered, “we feel good about our depth,” Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said ahead of the NFL preseason betting kickoff. “We have got to utilize the time out here on the practice fields and in the preseason games, we have to really manage playing time effectively to give these guys opportunities to show what they can do so we pick the right 53.”