NFL Preseason Week 1 – New England vs Washington
The New England Patriots travel south to take on the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field in week 1 preseason action. The Redskins are small favorites at home while the total has been set low.
When: Thursday, Aug 7th 2014 at 7:30pm ET
Where: FedEx Field
TV: Local
Line: -1.5 (Redskins) – O/U 37
For some reason I always see a lot of talk about how Bill Belichick struggles in the preseason. Since taking over as the head coach for the Patriots Belichick has a 31-26 (54.4%) record in the preseason.
Jay Gruden is the new head coach for Washington this year after the team struggled to a 3-13 record last season. Gruden should get the best out of his offense, but that’s only if the offensive line can hold up.
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RG3 should have a much better season with the additions of DeSean Jackson and Andre Roberts. I doubt we’ll see much of RGIII this week, as Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy will likely see most of the snaps.
I definitely give the QB edge in this match-up to Washington, as the Patriots will have Ryan Mallet and Jimmy Garoppolo taking most of the snaps. I like Mallet, but Garoppolo will struggle if he gets much work.
Both teams are strong at RB. The Patriots have Ridley, Vereen, Bolden and White while the Redskins will counter with Morris, Helu and Seastrunk. I expect the Redskins to have an edge in rushing yards as well.
New England allowed 134.1 RYPG (30th) last season and they left that part of their defense in tact this off-season, which will be a big problem. Washington has a poor o-line, but their run defense will be good.
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Washington went out and signed Jason Hatcher and they already have two great OLB that can shutdown the run. The secondary has question marks though after being poor last season.
NE should have a great pass defense after signing Revis and Browner. That has been a huge story this off-season, but I expect the Redskins to game plan around the run to kick-off the preseason.
I’m going with the Redskins to cover the point spread at home against the Patriots in week 1 of the preseason. I feel Gruden will want to set the right tone out of the gate like all new head coaches like to do.
I expect Washington to be a mediocre team this season, but the preseason doesn’t mean anything and often motivation plays a big role and the Redskins should be more motivated at home with a new coach.
Washington has a great run game as long as the o-line isn’t too bad, which I don’t think will be the case. We should see Seastrunk get a lot of carries in this game and his bruising play style will wear down NE.
New England will test the Redskins secondary in this game, but I don’t have much faith in Mallet and Garoppolo. Playing on the road is tough for young QB’s even in meaningless games like this.
I’m not touching the total, but I do feel that it’s a bit low for these two teams. Both defenses have big holes and 37 points is low. It’ll be close, but I lean to the over hitting.
Patriots vs. Redskins Free Pick
Washington Redskins –1.5 (-110)
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