Broncos Cowboys Betting – Cowboys Teach Young Broncos A Preseason Lesson
Online betting players following the NFL should watch the first couple weeks of preseason more carefully than usual because of the lockout, and you’re going to see some teams having problems coming together early on. One of those teams is Denver, which will open up their preseason slate in Dallas, and the Broncos have a lot of young players and a new head coach, which will create some early stumbles.
What: NFL Betting
When: Thursday, August 11th, 8:30 PM ET
Where: Cowboys Stadium, Dallas, TX
Pick: Dallas Cowboys
Why Bet On Denver Broncos
John Fox coached in Carolina for eight years, and now he takes over a team that is in flux. There is a new front-office regime led by Denver legend John Elway, and the big question surrounding the Broncos now is, who is the starting quarterback? It appears as though Kyle Orton is safe for now, which means Tim Tebow is the backup and will likely get most of the snaps in this game. Knowshon Moreno reportedly looks the best he ever has at training camp, but the Broncos picked up Willis McGahee to push him, as well as provide a legitimate backup. Brandon Lloyd leads a group of talented, but young, receivers, but it’ll be interesting to see how they fare with the quarterbacks. Defensively, it’ll be exciting to see a healthy Elvis Dumervil on the field opposite rookie Von Miller, and if everything pans out, the Broncos will have one of the best pass rushes in the NFL.
As was mentioned before, Tebow will probably get most of the snaps as the Broncos know what they have in Orton: Tebow is still a work in progress and you may not find a more polarizing player in the league. To some, he needs time. To others, he’ll never be a good NFL quarterback. Tebow will get a lot of attention on Thursday night, so watch out for that. The Broncos also have to work on the fact that they just weren’t very good in 2010. The defense will improve with a healthy Dumervil, but at the back, Rahim Moore is a rookie stepping into the starting spot at free safety, Brian Dawkins adds leadership more than anything at this point in his career, and after Champ Bailey, the cornerbacks aren’t that good, either.
Why Bet On Dallas Cowboys
Jason Garrett is leading his first preseason as the head coach in Dallas after turning the team in the second half of 2010, and the offense sprung to life during that time, even without Tony Romo, who is healthy, but will probably be limited to a couple of series on Thursday night. Stephen McGee will likely get the majority of work under center as Jon Kitna is the backup behind Romo, and McGee will probably be joined by rookie DeMarco Murray, although Felix Jones will get some work to shake the rust off, and Tashard Choice is hurt. It’ll be interesting to see how the receivers stack up behind Miles Austin and Dez Bryant, while Martellus Bennett will get some burn while the Cowboys rest Jason Witten at tight end. Defensively, the Cowboys have a good front seven and they’re incredibly deep at linebacker: watch out for rookie insider ‘backer Bruce Carter, who had a big year at North Carolina last season.
Dallas’ NFL betting odds will depend on the improvement of their secondary, which was burned repeatedly last year and they missed out in the Nmandi Asomugha sweepstakes. They would have loved to have him to compete with Philadelphia, but even worse, Asomugha joined the Eagles and now the Cowboys will have to try and beat him twice a year in the regular season. Also, veteran cornerback Terrence Newman is out with a groin injury, so there is even more attention on the defensive backs. Other than the secondary, the offensive line has to improve over last year, as Romo was hurt as he was hit by a pass rusher, and the Cowboys drafted Tyron Smith with their first-round pick. Smith will be on the right as a rookie, but he’ll eventually move to protect Romo’s blind side.
How It Will Play Out
NFL betting odds have the Cowboys favored by three points at home in their preseason opener, and they have gone 1-2 in their last three games in Dallas against the Broncos, while posting a 1-1-1 ATS mark and all three games have gone over the posted total. This game is more about testing depth, and this is especially important as the lockout has taken away workout time from players.
The edge here goes to the Cowboys as the Broncos have a lot of young players, and they’re still getting used to the way that John Fox does things, which is surely different than how former coach Josh McDaniels ran camp last season. Garrett has been with the Dallas organization since 2007, so the players are familiar with him and the veterans can help the younger players along. Take the Dallas Cowboys in your sports betting picks.
Broncos Cowboys Betting Pick: Dallas Cowboys
