Preseason NFL Primer

It's a great time of the year for bettors for sure. Olympic betting is ready to take off. Political pundits are checkout out the betting line for Vice President, where Mitt Romney leads the Republican candidates and Evan Bayh and Tim Kaine the top Democratic probables.

But football is the kingpin of betting and the first full week of NFL preseason betting is about to kick off.  

Here are some news and notes for Thursday's preseason NFL games. Key info will be updated until kickoff and as it comes in at OffshoreInsiders.com  

NFL

Ravens-Patriots

For those who love to bet on teams with quarterback competitions, the Ravens are your team. Middling veteran Kyle Boller gets the nod to start and is expected to play most of the first half. He will be followed by Troy Smith and rookie Joe Flacco.

John Harbaugh makes his debut as Ravens head coach.  Baltimore will be without several key players on offense: running back Willis McGahee, tight end Todd Heap and OTs Adam Terry and Jared Gather. Rookie Ray Rice from Rutgers gets the opportunity as starting running back.

New England has only 11 offensive linemen. The top NFL betting experts are at GodsTips as they are already 2-0 with Washington and over in the Hall of Fame game. They have their first two Wise Guy plays of the season both of them are Thursday sides. Click now to purchase

Chiefs-Bears

Rookie DT Glenn Dorsey is out. Chicago has numerous injuries on the offensive line with only two starters available. Kyle Orton gets the start at QB for the Bears.

Saints-Cardinals

Saints running back Deuce McAllister and tight end Jeremy Shockey are out as are wide receiver Devery Henderson and CBs Mike McKenzie and Tracy Porter. Arizona will be without starting WR Anquan Boldin.

Giants-Lions

The Giants have been slowed by a long series of nagging injuries, with WR being among the hardest hit. Eli Manning will start at quarterback from Big Blue but will quickly yield to Anthony Wright. Wide receivers Plaxico Burress and David Tyree not surprisingly out for the G Men. Amani Toomer is expected to get limited playing time.

The Lions starters on each side of the ball are expected to play about 10 snaps each. The unit will finish their drive and not simply be pulled out after 10 plays. They are expected to give their draft picks significant playing time.

Jets-Browns

Cleveland will start Brady Quinn at quarterback and he may play the entire first half. Normal starter Derek Anderson will follow but because the Browns have only three signal callers on the roster, expect to see plenty of front liner playing time behind center. Ken Dorsey is their No. 3 starter.

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