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Denver Broncos vs. Washington Redskins 8:00 PM ET
Denver Broncos +1.5 (2 Units)
For these early preseason games, motivation plays a big part since both teams will play mostly reserves this early on in the exhibition season. One of the goals for the game, Washington coach Joe Gibbs said, was to make sure there were few fundamental errors, such as penalties and turnovers. Gibbs has been concerned about the sluggish play of the offense during the first week of camp. “Kind of rough,” Gibbs said. “I've been describing it that way every day, but that's how it feels. We'll see.” He pointed out that QB’s Mark Brunell and Patrick Ramsey have yet to run the offense at full-speed or face a full-contact defense aside from a handful of plays so far. Ramsey has taken to the new offense more so than Brunell after working through it the whole offseason. It is Brunell however who will get the start Monday with Tim Hasselbeck and Gibran Hamdan getting most of the snaps. Ramsey will work more in the Redskins next game against Carolina. Denver reported three days earlier to camp than Washington did and with a returning system already in place, that extra time is huge. The defense has been shining throughout camp according to reports so they should have the upper hand against the new system of the Redskins. The Broncos will use Matt Mauck at QB for a long look and he has been super impressive at camp. He isn’t playing like a rookie thus far.
One preseason trend you often hear about is how first year coaches tend to go out and look for that first win in their first game of the season. That may be the case and while this is Gibbs’ first game in 12 years, it certainly isn’t his first year on the sidelines. A win would be nice for him, but he is more concerned with looking at personnel and getting the Redskins heading in the right direction after a few years of instability. Getting a winning attitude in the preseason would help but it won’t go far if there isn’t enough preparation during camp time. Motivation for winning will be on the other sidelines, as Mike Shanahan is known for coming out and getting those wins during the preseason. Why else would the Broncos be the favorites (both home, away and neutral) in 19 of their last 20 preseason games? Since Shanahan came to Denver in 1995, the Broncos are 9-0 SU and 8-1 ATS in their first preseason game of the year and that includes a 27-3 pounding of Chicago in their only role as a dog in the last 5 years. And it’s not like that blowout was an aberration. Denver has won their first preseason game under Shanahan by an average score of 23-11, scoring in the 20’s on every occasion. The trend goes back even further however as Denver has always had a knack for getting the job done early in the preseason as they are 20-3 ATS their last 23 either during the early week or week 1.
Denver Broncos +1.5 (2 Units)
For these early preseason games, motivation plays a big part since both teams will play mostly reserves this early on in the exhibition season. One of the goals for the game, Washington coach Joe Gibbs said, was to make sure there were few fundamental errors, such as penalties and turnovers. Gibbs has been concerned about the sluggish play of the offense during the first week of camp. “Kind of rough,” Gibbs said. “I've been describing it that way every day, but that's how it feels. We'll see.” He pointed out that QB’s Mark Brunell and Patrick Ramsey have yet to run the offense at full-speed or face a full-contact defense aside from a handful of plays so far. Ramsey has taken to the new offense more so than Brunell after working through it the whole offseason. It is Brunell however who will get the start Monday with Tim Hasselbeck and Gibran Hamdan getting most of the snaps. Ramsey will work more in the Redskins next game against Carolina. Denver reported three days earlier to camp than Washington did and with a returning system already in place, that extra time is huge. The defense has been shining throughout camp according to reports so they should have the upper hand against the new system of the Redskins. The Broncos will use Matt Mauck at QB for a long look and he has been super impressive at camp. He isn’t playing like a rookie thus far.
One preseason trend you often hear about is how first year coaches tend to go out and look for that first win in their first game of the season. That may be the case and while this is Gibbs’ first game in 12 years, it certainly isn’t his first year on the sidelines. A win would be nice for him, but he is more concerned with looking at personnel and getting the Redskins heading in the right direction after a few years of instability. Getting a winning attitude in the preseason would help but it won’t go far if there isn’t enough preparation during camp time. Motivation for winning will be on the other sidelines, as Mike Shanahan is known for coming out and getting those wins during the preseason. Why else would the Broncos be the favorites (both home, away and neutral) in 19 of their last 20 preseason games? Since Shanahan came to Denver in 1995, the Broncos are 9-0 SU and 8-1 ATS in their first preseason game of the year and that includes a 27-3 pounding of Chicago in their only role as a dog in the last 5 years. And it’s not like that blowout was an aberration. Denver has won their first preseason game under Shanahan by an average score of 23-11, scoring in the 20’s on every occasion. The trend goes back even further however as Denver has always had a knack for getting the job done early in the preseason as they are 20-3 ATS their last 23 either during the early week or week 1.
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