8-18-14

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HARRY BONDI

NFL Preseason Free Pick
WASHINGTON (-2.5) over Cleveland
8 p.m. ET

The hype around Johnny Manziel allows us to get one of the best pre-season bets at home at less then a field goal! Washington is 8-2 ATS as a home favorite their last 10 pre-season games. New Redshins Head Coach Jay Gruden was extremely conservative in game one of the pre-season allowing RG III to throw the ball just 3 times but will give his QB plenty of snaps tonight and have a much more aggressive offensive approach against Cleveland. Browns QB battle between Manziel and Brian Hoyer has gotten all the ink but Washington is a much deeper team and that will be the difference as the Skins will be able to maintain the lead even after RG III heads to the sidelines. Take the Redskins.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Kelso

50 KC
25 Balt
25 Browns

[Can'tPickAWinner]

WUNDERDOG SPORTS FREE PICK

NFLX Game: Cleveland Browns @ Washington Redskins
Time: Monday 08/18 8:00 PM Eastern
Pick: Cleveland Browns+2.5 (+105)

A pair of first-year head coaches meet in this one, and new coaches want to look good in front of the home fans. That’s what Washington did last week in blasting the Patriots, so there is less to show this week. They face a deep and talented Cleveland defense, and the Browns have a new head coach in Mike Pettine who also has plenty to prove. There is tremendous competition in the Browns camp regarding the starting QB job between Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel. Manziel tightened the race with his impressive showing in Detroit. The Cleveland start is crucial because it’s presumably the last game before Pettine names his starter for the opener Sept. 7 in Pittsburgh. He said this week that he’d still like to name his man by the third preseason game Aug. 23. Pettine indicated that a continuation of the Detroit game, where Manziel ran and threw well, barked out the plays, and got the right men in motion, will go a long way toward getting the nod on Aug. 18. The Browns defense was brilliant last week, holding the high-flying Lions to 219 passing yards and forcing two turnovers, so grab the dog. Take the Browns in this one.