{"id":33909,"date":"2014-08-20T13:24:06","date_gmt":"2014-08-20T17:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/?p=33909"},"modified":"2014-08-20T13:24:41","modified_gmt":"2014-08-20T17:24:41","slug":"st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html","title":{"rendered":"St. Louis Rams vs. Cleveland Browns Preseason Predictions and Betting Preview &#8211; August 23, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Time is quickly running out for Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine to pick his Week 1 starter at quarterback. After the first two weeks of preseason, neither Brian Hoyer nor Johnny Manziel has done enough to make their coach&#8217;s choice that much easier.\u00a0Both will get one last shot to make their case when they go up against the St. Louis Rams, who are all set at quarterback\u00a0with the newly-healthy Sam Bradford.<\/p>\n<p>This is about as significant as a preseason game gets, as this quarterback pressure heats up what is already the week of the exhibition schedule that\u00a0most teams trot out their starters with their Week 1 assignments in mind. Check out our preseason previews of the <a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/new-orleans-saints-vs-indianapolis-colts-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html\" target=\"_blank\">Saints vs. Colts<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/san-diego-chargers-vs-san-francisco-49ers-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-24-2014.html\" target=\"_blank\">Chargers vs. 49ers<\/a>, and read on for more on the Browns vs. Rams.<\/p>\n[sc:Football ]\n<h2>Cleveland Browns vs. St. Louis Rams\u00a0Betting Preview and Prediction<\/h2>\n<p>Where:\u00a0FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland<\/p>\n<p>When:\u00a0Saturday, August 23, 8:00 PM ET<\/p>\n<p>Line: St. Louis Rams at Cleveland Browns\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/sportsbook\/nfl\">see all NFL lines<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Why This Game Matters<\/h3>\n<p>[sc:NFL240banner ]For the Rams, this game will be another opportunity for starting quarterback Sam Bradford to shake off any remaining rust from his long injury layoff. Their defensive starters recovering from injuries\u00a0should also get a few snaps in before the season, while Michael Sam continues to fight for a place on the roster.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Browns&#8217; ongoing quarterback controversy has been the story of the NFL preseason. Manziel and Hoyer will get another chance to impress as Pettine forms his final decision about which of the under-performing slingers is the week 1 starter in this one, as they and others in the Browns offense continue to jockey for position on the depth chart.<\/p>\n<h3>Betting on the St. Louis Rams<\/h3>\n<p>Welcome back, Sam Bradford. The Rams\u2019 starting QB made a successful return in his first game back from a ACL injury that ended his season last November. He\u00a0went 9-for-12 for 101 yards and a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers last week, and spoke of feeling 100% healthy. In this one he&#8217;ll a few more snaps to get closer to full game speed before Week 1.<\/p>\n<p>On the defensive end, key starters Jake Long, Michael Brockers, James Laurinaitis and Rodger Saffold are all progressing well from their injuries, and could all return against the Browns. Cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who&#8217;s been bothered by a hamstring injury, also appears to be ready to take part in his first preseason game.<\/p>\n<p>While the starters get healthy, rookie defensive end Michael Sam is hard at work to secure a spot backing them up this season. Sam did his chances of doing so a lot of good by registering his first sack of the preseason against the Packers.<\/p>\n<p>However, Sam\u2019s main rival for one of those final places in the D-line, Ethan Westbrooks, also had a sack and four tackles. Sam will have another chance to prove his case against the Browns and Johnny Manziel, who lost to Sam\u2019s Missouri team in Manziel\u2019s last regular season college football game.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Michael+Sam+St+Louis+Rams.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-33924\" alt=\"Michael+Sam+St+Louis+Rams\" src=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Michael+Sam+St+Louis+Rams.jpg\" width=\"594\" height=\"393\" srcset=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Michael+Sam+St+Louis+Rams.jpg 594w, http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Michael+Sam+St+Louis+Rams-250x165.jpg 250w, http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Michael+Sam+St+Louis+Rams-138x90.jpg 138w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Betting on the Cleveland Browns<\/h3>\n<p>One way or another, Johnny Football always seems to be the subject of all the headlines. Unfortunately for Manziel, he didn\u2019t grab them for his stellar play against the Washington Redskins. Instead, his one finger salute overshadowed the fact that he didn&#8217;t get any closer to convincing head coach Mike Pettine that he should be the starting quarterback.<\/p>\n<p>While Manziel successfully led the Browns on their first touchdown drive of the preseason, he went just 7-for-16 for 65 yards. Brian Hoyer wasn\u2019t any better, as got pulled early after going just 2-for-6 with 16 yards. Week 3 of preseason is usually the time where the starters get their final run out before Week 1, but Pettine\u2019s procrastination in naming a starter may be delaying the Browns\u2019 preparations.<\/p>\n<p>Pettine should also be prepping who his eventual pick at quarterback will throw to. The final verdict on Josh Gordon\u2019s one-year ban still looms, and the uncertainty of his fate has led to lackadaisical play in preseason. Miles Austin is the biggest candidate to be that No. 1 receiver if Gordon does get banned, and he\u2019ll get an extended run against the Rams.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of runs, the running back duo of Terrance West and Ben Tate have gotten their share of playing time. West and Tate have averaged nine and eight carries, respectively, through the first two preseason games. This game should be their final participation in preseason before sitting out next week.<\/p>\n<h3>Writer\u2019s Prediction<\/h3>\n<p>With a starting place on the line, Manziel and Hoyer up their game and lead the Browns against the Rams, who won&#8217;t expend their defensive starters too much. <a title=\"Join Top Bet sportsbook\" href=\"http:\/\/record.tbaffiliate.com\/_y8k7RB3Ll4xutv7iXV6HvmNd7ZgqdRLk\/6\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"broken_link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Create a betting account<\/a> today and follow the exploits of Johnny Football in his rookie season.<\/p>\n[sc:NFL490Banner ]\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"pvc_stats all \" data-element-id=\"33909\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> &nbsp;2,381&nbsp;total views, &nbsp;1&nbsp;views today<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Time is quickly running out for Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine to pick his Week 1 starter at quarterback. After the first two weeks of preseason, neither Brian Hoyer<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"pvc_stats all \" data-element-id=\"33909\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> &nbsp;2,381&nbsp;total views, &nbsp;1&nbsp;views today<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":33922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[393,3],"tags":[27,336,116,2101,730,15],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>St. Louis Rams vs. Cleveland Browns Preseason Predictions and Preview<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Comprehensive betting preview for Week 3 NFL Presason game between the St. Louis Rams vs Cleveland Browns on August 24, 2014, courtesy of TopBet sportsbook.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"St. Louis Rams vs. Cleveland Browns Preseason Predictions and Preview\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Comprehensive betting preview for Week 3 NFL Presason game between the St. Louis Rams vs Cleveland Browns on August 24, 2014, courtesy of TopBet sportsbook.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sports Betting Tips, News, and Analysis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/topbetsports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-08-20T17:24:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-08-20T17:24:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Johnny+Manziel+Brian+Hoyer+Browns.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"594\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"330\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Topbet\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/topbetsports\/\",\"http:\/\/topbetsports\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/topbetsports\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/topbetlogo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/topbetlogo.png\",\"width\":1168,\"height\":330,\"caption\":\"Topbet\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Sports Betting Tips, News, and Analysis\",\"description\":\"Sports Betting Tips, News, and Analysis\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Johnny+Manziel+Brian+Hoyer+Browns.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Johnny+Manziel+Brian+Hoyer+Browns.jpg\",\"width\":594,\"height\":330},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html\",\"name\":\"St. Louis Rams vs. Cleveland Browns Preseason Predictions and Preview\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-20T17:24:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-08-20T17:24:41+00:00\",\"description\":\"Comprehensive betting preview for Week 3 NFL Presason game between the St. Louis Rams vs Cleveland Browns on August 24, 2014, courtesy of TopBet sportsbook.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html#webpage\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6b94716597d16b3483f4cee98f32daa6\"},\"headline\":\"St. Louis Rams vs. Cleveland Browns Preseason Predictions and Betting Preview &#8211; August 23, 2014\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-20T17:24:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-08-20T17:24:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":815,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/st-louis-rams-vs-cleveland-browns-nfl-preseason-betting-preview-and-prediction-august-23-2014.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Johnny+Manziel+Brian+Hoyer+Browns.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Cleveland Browns\",\"Johnny Manziel\",\"NFL Betting\",\"NFL Preseason\",\"Sam Bradford\",\"St. Louis Rams\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Betting Previews\",\"NFL Betting News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6b94716597d16b3483f4cee98f32daa6\",\"name\":\"Brad\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/author\/brad\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33909"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33909"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34036,"href":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33909\/revisions\/34036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}