NFL Preseason Preview: Baltimore Ravens vs. Washington Redskins

If you like betting on NFL preseason games, then you will like betting on this game between the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Redskins. This will be a game between two good teams that have made some good offseason moves, and all either team is trying to do is solidify their depth. When you have teams with set starting line-ups and quality players fighting for jobs, you get a good preseason football game. Betting on NFL preseason games is not always easy, but at least this one will be fun.

In the days when he was a factor in college football betting, quarterback Joe Flacco was a steady hand and a solid presence in the pocket. When he was a rookie in the NFL, Flacco looked a little overwhelmed at times at the speed of the pro game. Now that he has a few years under his belt, and all-pro wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Michael Clayton to throw to, Flacco has settled into a groove. In Baltimore’s first preseason game of the year against the Carolina Panthers, that groove meant 120 completion yards and one touchdown in a single quarter of play.

The Ravens’ Super Bowl odds improved significantly when the team added wide receivers Donte Stallworth and Anquan Boldin in the offseason, but Flacco was still a question mark. Now that Flacco has settled in to his job, the Ravens can concentrate on repairing their damaged defense. All-pro defensive back Ed Reed is gone for the season, but the Ravens had a couple of players step up in the Carolina game that makes the team believe they can compete with the defense they have.

The Washington Redskins rolled over the Buffalo Bills in their first preseason game, and they exerted little effort while doing it. Donovan McNabb looked sharp in his first game as the Redskins starter, and running back Clinton Portis looks ready to keep his job as the starting running back. The Redskins defense, in all aspects, was impressive. The defensive line looked a little weak without Albert Haynesworth, but linebackers such as London Fletcher are more than capable of putting pressure on the quarterback.

Both of these teams had an easy time of it in their first preseason games. The Carolina Panthers are a team in transition. They are adjusting to life on defense without defensive end Julius Peppers, and they are trying to get rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen ready for the regular season. It could be a long year in Carolina, and the Ravens were more than ready to exploit that.

The Buffalo Bills are just awful. Head coach Chan Gailey got the job because he is the only person that would take it. The Bills were publicly rebuffed by head coaching legend Bill Cowher, and a long list of college coaches declined to even interview for the job. So the Redskins ran into a team that was not ready to play and does not have the quality personnel to be a test to any team right now.

This game will be a good test for both teams. The Redskins need to test out their new high-powered offense against a defense like the Ravens, and the Ravens defense needs to play against a quarterback like Donovan McNabb to figure out which players they want to start, and which ones they want to sit. This will be a very good preseason football game from start to finish.

Pick: Washington Redskins 14-10