The Jameis Winston phenomenon will continue this Saturday at Ray Jay, but the man who might steal the show in the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Cleveland Browns might end up being Johnny Manziel.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
A Winston minor knee tweak is going to end up being a topic of conversation this week in Tampa, and it is certainly worth remembering in live betting. If Winston is slowed down even by just a split second, the Browns will have a really good opportunity to get after him and beat down the Tampa Bay offense. The situation is worth monitoring as Saturday draws nearer.
However, assuming that Winston is perfectly good to go, we would think he would play into the third quarter in this game. You can't be too careful about the man who is the face of your franchise, but in the end, the Buccaneers have to continue to learn what they have with Winston and put him into a situation where he has to make adjustments in the second half.
Cleveland's QB rotation though, is even more interesting. Josh McCown, who of course was the starter for a good chunk of last season in Tampa Bay, is going to want to prove to his naysayers in the Sunshine State that he indeed can play.
That said, Mike Pettine, without suggesting that he is swaying from the idea that McCown is his starter, has made mention of getting Johnny Football more first-team reps. Could that be a sign that Manziel will play more than McCown? Live bettors should take note for sure, knowing that, for our money, the Browns are more explosive and capable of scoring with Manziel under center instead of McCown.
WHEN TAMPA BAY HAS THE BALL
There just isn't going to be much complicated here. Winston has taken some shots down the field, and one throw in particular to Vincent Jackson which went about 20 yards on a rope was insanely notable. This kid is legit, and you don't need to be an expert to know that.
However, much of what Lovie Smith wants to work on actually has nothing to do with Winston. He's still got a young offensive line he has to invest some time in, and if the ground game can pave as many holes as it did on Monday against the Bengals, you could see a lot of long, time-consuming drives, suggesting that the under might be the best play of all in live betting.
WHEN CLEVELAND HAS THE BALL
There really are two difference offenses which the Browns run. Manziel's edition of the Cleveland offense isn't anywhere near fluid, as there are a lot of broken plays which end in Johnny Football being Johnny Football and running for his life. McCown's edition of the offense though, just flat out hasn't been good.
Last week, the Browns managed 72 yards of offense in the first half against the Bills with McCown on the field the whole time.
It should be noted that the Tampa Bay defense, one in which the play calling has been taken back over by Smith, allowed just 152 total yards of offense last week against the Bengals.
TREND TO TRACK
Rookie quarterbacks tend to have either really good or really bad showings in their third preseason game, and there doesn't seem to be much middle ground. Guys like Sam Bradford, Cam Newton and Andrew Luck were all really good. Ryan Tannehill, Blake Bortles and Matt Ryan? Not so much.
Live bettors should have a pretty good indication relatively early what we're going to see out of Winston. Sure, he's got a knack of bouncing back even from the worst of circumstances, but in general, the rule of thumb with rookie quarterbacks in the dress rehearsal game is what you see out of that first drive is what you're going to get.
BookMaker opened the spread for this Saturday game at -3 in favor of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The NFL odds total surfaced at 41.5. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
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