NFL preseason betting action is the perfect setting to try new things. For example, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has said he might allow defensive coordinator George Edwards call a preseason game. Will it be the preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills? Stay tuned to find out.
- Date: Thursday, 10th August
- Time: 7:00 PM
- Venue: New Era Field
- Offshore sportsbook NFL preseason odds:
Minnesota Vikings PK (-115) 37 (-105)
Buffalo Bills PK (-105) 37 (-115)
Old habits, like calling defense, die hard
Whether as a head coach or as a defensive coordinator, Zimmer has always been in charge of calling defensive plays in every team he has been with in almost 20 years – and in the past three he turned the Vikes’ D from Swiss cheese to nigh impregnable. Defense can only take you so far, though, as the Vikings demonstrated last season. So in order to become a more all-around coach, Zimmer is willing to delegate. “I’ll probably have [Edwards] call one in a preseason game and see how it goes,” he said, per the Star Tribune. “I have not decided yet, no, totally for the season, but I think it’d be good practice in the preseason to see how it goes. See if it helps me help other areas of the game, so I’m kind of thinking that way.” Edwards had a chance to do what he’s paid to do in week 13 of 2016 against the Dallas Cowboys as a result of Zimmer missing the game after undergoing emergency eye surgery the previous night. But other than that the DC positions in the Vikes’ coaching staff has been a sinecure since Zimmer’s arrival. Edwards last called plays full-time in 2011, precisely with the Bills – so he’s familiar with the foe at hand, which should allow Coach Zimmer to relax a little, not worry too much about NFL preseason betting, maybe even take a nap:
Oh, boy, sleep! That’s where I’m a Viking! pic.twitter.com/j4m23a5gOH
— The Simpsons (@Simpsons_tweets) November 28, 2013
Tyred of offensive coordinators?
This will be Tyrod Taylor’s third year as Buffalo Bills starting quarterback and he will have to start all over again with yet another offensive coordinator. New OC Rick Dennison and Taylor coincided in Baltimore, but the latter is still adjusting to the former’s blueprint, which includes getting rid of the ball faster. “He understands what we want done,” Dennison said. “He knows that the ball will get out. He knows where everybody is. Distribution and if his feet are telling him to move on, he’s got to move on. He can’t wait for a route to open up.” Taylor will have an old-new target in veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin, whom the Bills signed a one-year contract on Monday, August 7th.
Boldin had 67 receptions on 95 targets for 584 yards and eight touchdowns with the Detroit Lions in 2016. Taylor and Boldin were teammate in the Baltimore Ravens, with which they won a Super Bowl in 2012. The addition hardly makes the Bills a NFL preseason betting threat, but it will surely bolster Buffalo’s passing offense.