The NFL Preseason is officially here ! I usually don’t watch NFL pre-season football but one game caught my attention, the Washington Football vs New England Patriots.   As a person who put a futures bet on the Washington Football Team to win the NFC East I had to see what I was getting myself into.

Thank you to all of you that purchased this game over the total of 34 when it was released a few weeks before game day.  This game is one of many reasons I don’t play bad lines in the NFL.  We released this at 34, the closing line was 37 and the game landed on 35.

Below are some observations from this game the Patriots won 22-13.

• It’s only the first preseason game but my futures bet has no chance of winning if Ryan Fitzpatrick gets hurt.  I didn’t like the way the other QB’s played on the Washington Football Team, too many errant passes downfield along with dinking, dunking and dumpoffs.  Steven Montez was 17-24 for 108 yards good for 4.5 YPA which isn’t good.  I’ll reserve further judgement until I see the next game but as of this moment Fitzpatrick needs to be healthy for Washington to have a legitimate chance to with the NFC East.

• The Washington Football Team will go as far as their defensive line takes them. Pressure from their front 4 will go a long way in determining this team’s success.

• Mac Jones is clearly a better pocket passer than Cam Newton and I expect Mac Jones to take over the starting QB job at some point this season. A couple things Mac has to work on: 1) Mac looked uncomfortable sliding in the pocket when pressure came his way, this is because he saw pressure very rarely at Alabama and 2) his receivers won’t be 5 yards ahead of everyone on a regular basis like they were in college so he has to get used to throwing in tighter windows often.

• New England’s defense looks legit especially their run defense. New England isn’t built to win shootouts so the defense will have to step up weekly during the regular season.

• Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins who has been inconsistent in practice missed from 40 and 50 yards, both kicks went wide left. NFL Teams with head coaches that are loyal to veterans have a habit of staying with shaky kickers all season.  Washington should seriously consider bringing in another kicker.

• It’s either now or never for N’Keal Harry. Sometimes a player comes to a crossroad in their career where they have to either put up or shut up.  Harry has been on the Patriots for 2 seasons and he has a total of 45 catches 414 yards 4 TD’s in his career.  If he doesn’t produce this season I don’t see the point of New England keeping him on the roster next season.