I never advise to bet on pre-season NFL games. I don’t care how long the offseason has been an dhow fed up your are with missing your 10 leg MLB parlays by 1 leg every night. It’s not a good idea to bet on pre-season NFL football because it’s even harder to predict what’s going to happen when you don’t know what players will play and how long they will play. But just because I personally don’t believe in betting the pre-season doesn’t mean anything for you and if you are reading this, you’re probably one of the guys who bets on pre-season NFL. Am I right? So here’s the deal, I will run through two versions of my prediction below. The first one is kind of like training camp for me where I will do a write up and pick on this game as if it were a regular season game and then secondly I will do a write up of the reality of this game as is, the Hall of Fame Game, and the best bet for it.
NFL Picks
Simulated Write Up IF THIS WERE A REGULAR SEASON GAME
Both of these teams are coming off of stinker 7-10 seasons but have optimism coming into this season Of course the biggest story in this game is the offseason addition of Aaron Rodgers for the Jets. There’s a storyline for the QB on the other side too, Deshaun Watson will be playing his first full season since 2020 due to things he does to women off the field. Surely all of the focus will be on Aaron Rodgers and what he is going to do for this Jets offense. We’ve all seen the videos on social media of perfectly placed throws and catches throughout the first couple weeks of training camp but it remains to be seen how that translates on the field. I think the Jets have good potential on offense but it will take time to get there. Starting RB Breece Hall is still recovering from injury so Michael Carter Jr will start at RB. This Browns defense ranked towards the bottom of the league in rush defesen last year but I think the Jets will look to attack through the air with Rodgers. The X Factor and edge in this game that I feel like a lot of people aren’t talking about is how good this Jets defense is. They finished the last season ranked #2 overall in points allowed per game at 18.6. They did lose a couple of run stuffers up front from last year but they should be pretty solid again this year as long as they stay healthy. Garrett Wilson had 102 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Browns last season with Joe Flacco throwing to him so he should be able to have more success against this Browns defense tonight. The Jets won that game 31-30. There are different pieces in place most notably the QBs but I’ll take the Jets on the moneyline at -130.
Hall of Fame Game Pick 2023
REAL WRITE UP FOR TONIGHT’S ACTUAL HALL OF FAME GAME
Let’s start with the over under on snaps taken by Aaron Rodgers in this game tonight. 3.5? Seems like a pretty good line. But let’s look at the backup QBs because that’s who we are going to see influencing this game tonight. Zach Wilson for the Jets is the best back up in the game so if he plays most of the first half, I think he could lead the Jets offense to some early points. Second half is a crap shoot with Tim Boyle and Chris Streveler for the Jets and youngsters Kellen Mond and DTR for the Browns. I think it will be fun to see DTR get some action in but I’m not placing a bet that relies on his playing time tonight. The Hall of Fame Games have historically been low scoring and the average point total over the last 5 Hall of Fame Games is 30.4. I think the under is going to be a popular play but we are in the age of legal sportsbetting and that’s probably going to have the most money on it so I’ll stay away. There’s no telling on the playing time but I guess I’ll put my money on the Jets first half moneyline at -132 for a couple reasons - 1. Zach Wilson is better than the backup QBs for the Browns 2. I’d rather hit my bet by halftime so I don’t have to watch and rely on 4th stringers fighting for practice squad spots in the second half to settle my bet. Bet on the pre-season at your own risk. Since I took the time to actually write this and there will be over 100 people reading and betting it, I will actually bet on the pre-season tonight. Jets First Half Moneyline. Who am I!? HERE WE GO BOYS!! FOOTBALL IS BACK!!
Jets First Half Moneyline (-132)
