The Baltimore Ravens vs. New Orleans Saints offshore betting preseason clash will be, to many players – including but not limited to safety Chris Banjo – akin to the audition at the end of Flashdance where Jennifer Beals has to pull out all the stops to wow the Conservatory of Dance and Repertory. What a feeling, indeed. Other players will be trying work miracles on the gridiron in order to be canonized (i.e., be made an official Saint) as well; fail, and they will be cannonized (i.e., fired through a cannon).
- Date: Thursday, 31st August
- Time: 8:05 PM
- Venue: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Ravens +2½ (-110) 37 (-110) +120
Saints -2½ (-110) 37 (-110) -140
B-A-N-J-O and Banjo was his name-o
Banjo had four tackles (three solo and one assisted) against the Chargers on special teams, and while the Saints are pretty deep at safety, Thursday’s game will afford him another chance to show that he can bring something special to the table. Or as he puts it, “shopping wood.”
Additionally, Garrett Grayson and Ryan Nassib will be sharing snaps to try and squeeze themselves into the No. 3 quarterback spot while at the same time attempting to avoid getting stuck on the door a la 3 Stooges and persuade the Saints to go with a two-man QB room. Elsewhere on the roster, linebacker Michael Mauti gained 53 pounds after undergoing surgery to remove his large intestine last year, but tugging at heartstrings can only get one so far; thus, Mauti could use a couple of big plays against the Ravens to make his case. Finally, Adam Bighill would like nothing more than to make the vaunted transition to CFL to NFL; the problem is he looks more like Smallhill compared to fellows linebackers A.J. Klein, Craig Robertson, Alex Anzalone, Manti Te’o, Stephone Anthony, and Nate Stupar.
Getting Away with the Murder*
Thursday’s offshore betting preseason finale could feature a couple of interesting battles at linebacker for the Ravens. Kamalei Correa and Patrick Onwuasor split first-team reps last week, and played into the fourth quarter. Baltimore’s coaches will have to determine if they want one more look at the two in action to choose the starter for the weak-side linebacker spot next to C.J. Mosley. Should Correa and Onwuasor sit out on Thursday, then Bam Bradley and Donald Payne could go one more round in their battle to occupy the roster spot left available by Albert McClellan’s season-ending injury.
Albert McClellan's season-ending knee injury continues run of tough losses for Ravens https://t.co/g6FcwRygAm pic.twitter.com/JLbOpm76Oh
— Ravens Insider (@RavensInsider) August 28, 2017
Meanwhile, the question lingers as to whether cornerback Marlon Humphrey will play against the Saints. The final game of the preseason is rookie day for the Ravens (“We haven’t played our front-line guys in maybe nine years, so we’re not going to do it now,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said), but the first-round pick missed last week’s game with a nagging soft-tissue injury, and the team has yet to make an announcement on his status. Online wagering fans can be certain, though, that his health will outweigh his need for more game reps.
*A murder is a group of crows; genus Corvus, to which ravens belong.