The St Louis Rams will open up NFL Preseason play in 2013 on the road as they face the Cleveland Browns in a pro football game on Thursday night.
Start time from Cleveland is scheduled for 8PM Eastern Time with live television coverage only available in the Cleveland and St Louis markets.
The betting odds from this NFL exhibition game have the home side Cleveland Browns favored by -4 points with an over under line of 35 ½ points. Those who wager on the Cleveland Browns on the money line will have to lay -200 odds with the return on the road squad St Louis Rams at +170 odds to pull off the straight up win without the aid of points on their side.
In the first week of the preseason teams rarely go with first team players for more than three series. St Louis starting quarterback Sam Bradford will see limited play. His backup has NFL starting experience with the New York Jets in eight year man Kellen Clemens out of Oregon. Former Southern Mississippi product Austin Davis and rookie Timothy Jenkins out of small college Fort Lewis will see time.
Steven Davis has left St Louis in free agency. Isaiah Pead heads the current group of young backs as the Rams house seven backs on their roster with no more than two years of playing experience in the league. Rookies Zac Stacy, Benny Cunningham and Eric Stevens will compete for time in the Rams backfield along with second year players Terrance Ganaway and Daryl Richardson. Four of their first five draft picks came on the offensive side of the football. Their top pick wide out Tavon Austin out of West Virginia will make his debut. The Rams are one of the youngest teams in the NFL and sport a very good defense. They allowed just 22 points per game to their opponents and 117 yards rushing per game.
The Cleveland Browns have experience in their quarterback position which is important to look at in the preseason as usually at least three signal callers see action in exhibition games. Starter Brandon Weeden a second year pro will get the start. Those competing for the backup quarterback job for Cleveland will be nine year NFL veteran Jason Campbell and five year pro Brian Hoyer.
The Browns are loaded at their running back postion. Second year pro Trent Richardson is the teams starter with Dion Lewis, Montario Hardesty, Brandon Jackson and Chris Ogbonnaya competing for the backup job. The Browns offense needs to be better than gaining 314 yards per game. The team is in desperate need of playmakers in their receiving corps and I can’t find from their 12 in their camp. The first four draft picks for Cleveland came on defense. The team allowed 245 yards passing a game and did well against the run by improving nearly 30 yards allowed per game rushing.
