The revolving door at Cleveland Browns headquarters keeps spinning and Hue Jackson is the latest to walk through it. Jackson is the sixth head coach since the Browns last posted a winning record in 2007, and none of the previous four have lasted more than two seasons. As offensive coordinator with the Bengals the past two years, Jackson helped develop Andy Dalton into a premier signal-caller. He now hopes to resurrect the career of RG3.
The Week 1 preseason contest between the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers will take place Friday, August 12, 2016, at 8 p.m. ET at Lambeau Field.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
ODDS ANALYSIS
At the time of this writing the odds hadn’t hit the board. However, given the history of preseason Week 1 spreads, expect the home team Packers to be a field goal chalk with the total in the 37 point range.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
Robert Griffin III has been named the Browns starting quarterback, but we are still unsure of the type of offense Jackson will employ. And that’s what the preseason is for, to work on all aspects of the game ahead of the ones that count. And considering Griffin didn’t play a regular season game last season, he’ll need some snaps against live action to get his groove back.
Last year’s starter Josh McCown is now the primary backup, but reports have him possibly headed to Dallas. We’ll see how that plays out. Austin Davis, who started a few games last year, is also back and should see some reps. Rookie Cody Kessler out of USC is the fourth man on the depth chart.
Aaron Rodgers wasn’t going to take a snap and backup Brett Hundley was nursing a sore ankle, so both wouldn’t have taken the field for the Hall of Fame Game. It didn’t matter since the game was cancelled. But things have changed for the Packers heading into their first preseason contest.
Rodgers directed three series in the opener last preseason and will take some snaps on Friday. If Hundley is able to move, the projected backup should also see significant playing time. McCarthy had planned on starting rookie Joe Callahan on Sunday, now the former Division III Wesley College standout has to wait a few more days before taking his first NFL snap.
COACHING HISTORY
While the outcome of preseason games is essentially meaningless, Jackson views the outings as an important tool to instill the aura of success in the downtrodden franchise. Cleveland was 1-3 last year under Mike Pettine and went on to post the fewest regular season wins since the club also won three games in 2000.
During his only previous season as an NFL head coach, Jackson’s Oakland Raiders went 0-4 SU and ATS in the 2011 preseason. The team went on to win eight games during the regular year, a number that hasn’t been matched since.
McCarthy is a veteran coach and his Packers are a veteran team. So don’t expect the Pack to go balls out in search of a win on Friday. One area that hurt Green Bay last season was depth, and the team paid for it. McCarthy has a 20-20 overall record during the exhibition season. However, Week 1 has been his worst, going 3-7 both SU and ATS.
QUICK PICK
Now that he has the vote of confidence from his coach, Griffin needs to shake off some of the rust in a game setting and prove to Jackson that he made the right decision. Griffin sustained an injury last preseason, lost the starting job in Washington and didn’t play during the regular year.
Jackson and Pep Hamilton will work with RG3 to develop a game plan that better suits his skill set. Griffin isn’t a drop-back passer and the experiment failed in Washington. The injury battles didn’t help. Now that he’s healthy and the starter heading into the season, Griffin has plenty to prove. No better time to do it then on Friday night.
NFL Odds: Browns 24, Packers 18
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