Preseason Notebook

With the preseason games getting into full swing tonight, I thought I would put up a thread to note what players are and hot and which players are not so much going into the season. You can't read too much into preseason results but there are still plenty of starting places up for grabs.

Last week saw the Vikings beat the Steelers 14-3 in the Hall of Fame game. The Steelers kept most of their starters on the bench. Teddy Bridgewater did ok in his one drive. Mike Wallace not so much dropping his only target. Rookies MyCole Pruitt and Eric Kendricks made the biggest impact for the Vikings while Adrian Peterson appeared in full kit on the touchline but didn't get a run out.

Plenty of intrigue tonight with Jimmy Garoppolo getting a run out for the Patriots against the Packers. It should be good seeing what Johnny Manziel has to other for the Browns and RG3 will be looking to cement his starting place. Devonta Freeman vs Tevin Coleman could be an interesting battle for starting running back in Atlanta.

Tom Brady is in his uniform and has taken to the field for the warm-up.

Tom Brady started the game for the Patriots and went 1-4 for 10 yards. Ameer Abdullah has had a decent 1st quarter having 7 carries for 67 yards. Josh McCown has had a decent game too going 5-5 for 33 yards and a TD. That might put a bit of pressure on Johnny Manziel.

Marcus Mariota amde an auspiscious start at QB for the Titans throwing and interception on his opening drive before fumbling the ball for a returned TD on his second drive. He imporved a little bit after that. Zach Mettenberger played a bit better going 8-11 for 129 yards and a TD. David Cobb out performed Bishop Sankey at RB and that battle could be one to watch.

The Bills may have three QB but their rushing game looked pretty solid last night with 206 rushing yards and 2 TDs.

Nothing like preseason for meaningless knee jerk reactions.

Really excited by our front 7 this season - potentially great

And now NFL.com are grading players (after 1 pre-season game).

Lets not forget the 0-16 2008 Lions went 4-0 in pre-season...

Nelson Agholor looked good for the Eagles even if Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley didn't look that great. Tim Tebow is still Tim Tebow.

RG3 left the Redskins vs Lions game injured. That leaves Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy as the two Redskins QB options. Of the two Colt McCoy looked the better.

The gap between McCown and Manziel got closer this week. Manziel probably has more upside than McCown so it will be interesting to see which way the Browns go.

Bryce Petty impressed again and maybe would a look as a starter in week 3 or 4 of preseason Chris Ivory and Brandon Marshall both had good run outs for the Jets.

Tyler Lockett and Jimmy Graham looked to have instantly made the Seahawks passing game much better.

mikeygnfl wrote:Bryce Petty impressed again and maybe would a look as a starter in week 3 or 4 of preseason Chris Ivory and Brandon Marshall both had good run outs for the Jets.

Petty was good. Would like to see him getting some time against the 1's but that's not very practical and won't happen. When Fitzpatrick is in, we don't throw the ball more than 10 yards down the field and it is a concern.

Terrell Suggs is in midseason cheap shotting form

The Saints-Patriots condensed game pass footage literally shows none of the plays and all the pre and post play milling about

Anyways Bradford looked very tentative to me

Olly wrote:The Saints-Patriots condensed game pass footage literally shows none of the plays and all the pre and post play milling about

Anyways Bradford looked very tentative to me

Agree about Bradford but good for the Eagles to give him and DeMarco Murray a run out. Nelson Agholor looked good for the Eagles again and could turn out to be one of the better draft picks. Joe Flacco and Eli Manning looked woeful. Still not sure what is going to go on with the Texans at QB? With Arian Foster out they will need to rely heavily on defence again this year.

JJ Nelson could be an exciting player for the Cardinals and Amari Cooper must be one of the favourites for Rookie of the Year. Both showed their pace last night. Allen Robinson looks to have picked up where he left off for the Jaguars. Melvin Ingram had a good game on defence for the Chargers.

Ben Heeney has a second impressive week for the Raiders and could be one to watch this season alongside Khalil Mack and Sio Moore at LB.

@RapSheet: The initial diagnosis on #Packers WR Jordy Nelson is a torn ACL, source said. Horrible news. Awaiting MRI results to confirm.

mikeygnfl wrote:
JJ Nelson could be an exciting player for the Cardinals and Amari Cooper must be one of the favourites for Rookie of the Year. Both showed their pace last night. Allen Robinson looks to have picked up where he left off for the Jaguars. Melvin Ingram had a good game on defence for the Chargers.

Saw JJ Nelson for the first time at the combine and I was impressed with his performance in the catching drills as much as his speed. The big questions will always be his weight though (156lbs) and whether he can hold up in the NFL.

mikeygnfl wrote:RG3 left the Redskins vs Lions game injured. That leaves Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy as the two Redskins QB options. Of the two Colt McCoy looked the better.

RG3 will be fine for the Baltimore game by the look of it. He's back in training again. Cousins has had quite an impressive training camp apparently and is clearly ahead of McCoy in the battle to be back-up by all accounts.... but the looking good when the action is meaningless is what Kirk does.

Not that any of this matters though... Griffin will likely look like a startled rabbit again before getting injured, leaving the door open for Kirk who will come and throw interceptions for fun before we have to endure Colt McCoy again. All 3 will be let go next offseason as McCloughan cleans house and drafts a QB.

BamBam wrote:@RapSheet: The initial diagnosis on #Packers WR Jordy Nelson is a torn ACL, source said. Horrible news. Awaiting MRI results to confirm.

Tom Brady threw two interceptions against the Panthers but he has another five/ six weeks to get ready for this season. Jimmy Garoppolo continues to improve throughout the preseason. Greg Olsen picked up the receiving mantle for the Panthers in the absence of Kelvin Benjamin. Scott Chandler had a good run out for the Patriots and it will be interesting to see if he gets much playing time in the regular season?

Matt Stafford and Golden Tate looked good for the Lions. TJ Yeldon made his debut for the Jaguars rushing for 10 yards from his 8 attempts and got a touchdown.

The Chiefs continued to look good in preseason, particularly Alex Smith who went 16/18, 171 yards and 2 TDs. Aaron Murray also have a good run out at QB for the Chiefs. Marcus Mariota wasn't spectacular but looked better than Zach Mettenberger. Bishop Sankey only managed 17 yards from his 8 attempts. His rival for the RB starting position, David Cobb, was out with a calf injury and didn't go to Kansas City.

Chandler will get plenty of time on the field this season - excited by the prospect of him and Gronk

Number-25 wrote:

mikeygnfl wrote:RG3 left the Redskins vs Lions game injured. That leaves Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy as the two Redskins QB options. Of the two Colt McCoy looked the better.

RG3 will be fine for the Baltimore game by the look of it. He's back in training again. Cousins has had quite an impressive training camp apparently and is clearly ahead of McCoy in the battle to be back-up by all accounts.... but the looking good when the action is meaningless is what Kirk does.

Not that any of this matters though... Griffin will likely look like a startled rabbit again before getting injured, leaving the door open for Kirk who will come and throw interceptions for fun before we have to endure Colt McCoy again. All 3 will be let go next offseason as McCloughan cleans house and drafts a QB.

Maybe. With RG3 out of last nights action (thank you for the confusion NFL consultant), Cousins threw a dumb INT to Suggs (clue Kirk, he's the big guy in purple), then recovered for a better performance until McCoy came in. McCoy looks great with 3rd stringers in, not sure I'd trust either with the franchise at this stage. Methinks RGF3 will get an unusual amount of playing time (for a starter) in the last PS game.

Whenever I've seen them play, Kirk cousins looks much the better QB than RF3

Well I've been proven wrong, as it looks like RG3 may never see the field for the Skins again. Pity, as I love the guys raw talent and desire, but it seems his inability to stay healthy and to improve as an NFL QB means he's destined to play elsewhere, if not this season, maybe next year, or just fade into obscurity.

He can't play QB anymore - hasn't got a clue how to read NFL defences and now his legs won't get him out of trouble

Olly wrote:Whenever I've seen them play, Kirk cousins looks much the better QB than RF3

You must have seen a very limited amount of Cousins' game tape then Olly

Truth is, he's no better and no worse than Griffin. They both suck.

The problem with Cousins is that he is fool's gold. He looks the part when it doesn't matter but then unravels in the regular season when games really matter.

Stupid decision by a stupid coach.

He's the best of the three QB's, the sensible decision really. Cousins at leasts avoids getting sacked 10 times a game cos he can actually read a defence. 

Griffin will join Tebow in the glorified third stringer at training camps role - he's done. Finished.

Griffin probably is finished but Cousins is no better.

Where Griffin gets sacked, Cousins throws interceptions.

Cousins certainly throws with confidence but all too often it's misplaced confidence

Number-25 wrote:Griffin probably is finished but Cousins is no better.

Where Griffin gets sacked, Cousins throws interceptions.

Cousins certainly throws with confidence but all too often it's misplaced confidence

See gruden probably thinks he can work with that - (he can't cos he's an awful coach but you know he'll think it while he eats burger king)

Kirk Cousins is a garbage QB who folds under the slightest hint of pressure.

The Redskins are a joke. The GM and HC would've released Griffin this offseason if Snyder didn't think we'd sign him. Then he gets the extra year which makes him untradable because if he gets hurt he gets 16m and the Skins will have to release him anyway. The HC is more interested in proving a point to the owner than trying to work with the QB.

I feel for Griffin, nobody's succeeding on that clown show

The four Buffalo Bills QBs went 30/33 and 3 TDs against the Steelers. Tyrod Taylor also got TD on the ground and has been named the starter for week 1. Fred Jackson ran for 48 yards and TD and has now been released by the Bills. Martavis Bryant continues to impress in preseason but faces a four game ban at the start of the season for violating the NFL 'substance abuse policy'.

Zac Stacy had a good outing for the Jets but still looks behind the likes of Ivory and Powell in the RB pecking order. Jameis Winston didn't exactly look that good under pressure against the Browns.

Sam Bradford and the Eagles offence continues to impress. Bradford was 10/10, 121 yards and 3 TDs for his three drives. The Packers had a scare when Randall Cobb left the game early with a shoulder injury.

Brian Hoyer was named as starter in Houston which Ryan Mallet didn't seem too happy about.

The Raiders have cut Trent Richardson.

Id say its the end of the line, but at his pace it may take him a few months to get there.

mikeygnfl wrote:Martavis Bryant continues to impress in preseason but faces a four game ban at the start of the season for violating the NFL 'substance abuse policy'.

Which would seem to mean he was already in stage two of the intervention program.

Looks like Richardson and Griffin will have a lot of time to kill in the foreseeable future. I'd say they could get together and reminisce about the glory days but that would only fill like about a minute.

Re Cousins and the miserable Redskins... I agree with our resident Eagles fan's every word up there.

Id say there's hope fella, but sadly (or not) it all starts with Snyder. He may have hired a competent GM on paper but no doubt he'll get bored and start interfering again soon

Poor old Trent. In truth we didn't block all that well all pre-season so his lack of burst was even more obvious. And he couldn't break past that first contact at all.

Michael Dyer is a better option right now, I suspect he's the second back behind Murray, with Helu a specialist receiver from the backfield.

sodhat wrote:Poor old Trent. In truth we didn't block all that well all pre-season so his lack of burst was even more obvious. And he couldn't break past that first contact at all.

Michael Dyer is a better option right now, I suspect he's the second back behind Murray, with Helu a specialist receiver from the backfield.

Marcel Reece continues to be under used in Oakland. Would take him at the Jets in a heartbeat to play either RB/FB.