Preseason Week 1 Thoughts (1 Viewer)

[Joe Bryant]

Thought we might try to have a master thread each week about what people saw in the preseason games. Doesn't need to be exhaustive.

Just a few thoughts on what you saw that left an impression on you. Good and bad.

From the Mallet thread,

Between Vick reinforcing what I already thought about how great his arm is, Ryan Mallet was the most impressive thing I saw last night. His pocket presence and ability to move looked WAY beyond a rookie. I also could not believe he is 6' 7". Moves like a guy that is 6' 2". Where Peyton Manning looks like a tree back there (but still gets the advantage of his height), Mallet moved way more fluidly and elusively. Really liked what I saw.

Yes, it's preseason. But pocket presence isn't a fluke.

J

 

[eakfootball]

Stevan Ridley and Taylor Price both looked great yesterday.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I also thought Tim Tebow was about exactly what we all expected. Kyle Orton is the clear cut starter.

People want to make some sort of deal about Orton starting over Tebow after we thought Tebow was going to the starter this summer.

Make sure to understand. The only way Tebow was going to be the starter was if Orton was traded. Once that didn't happen, Tebow resumed his (proper) place on the depth chart as the backup and eventual starter in waiting.

Orton looked like Orton in limited play.

Tebow looked just like what you'd expect. Lost at times. Ugly at times. Then makes the nice long throw that is on all the highlight shows. Stats looked great. He did not look great. He also is making more and more worried that his running style just isn't sustainable at this level. He took a few shots that would have put smaller QBs out. At some point, those add up when you keep taking them.

The Tebow hate is as irrational to me as the Tebow love. I truly don't get it. He's a unique QB with upside that was drafted too highly by a guy that isn't there anymore. He's very popular with the fans as he seems to be a great guy with huge college success. But as an NFL QB, he does not appear ready yet to be the starter. I see no reason at all why a Steve McNair type career can't happen for him. But it seems to me that very few people are being rational about him with the extreme love or hate.

J

 

[Joe Bryant]

Stevan Ridley and Taylor Price both looked great yesterday.

Cool. Tell us more what you saw. Especially about Ridley.J

 

[ATC1]

T. Jackson looked like he did in Min. I thought Charlie Whitehurst played better, but if Russell Okung's injury lingers all year it will be a long season for Seattle and frustrated Seattle player owners.

 

[dharmapunk]

T. Jackson looked like he did in Min. I thought Charlie Whitehurst played better, but if Russell Okung's injury lingers all year it will be a long season for Seattle and frustrated Seattle player owners.

I was just going to post this. I know it's been a short offseason, but the Tarvaris Jackson of Seattle looked exactly like the lost, incompetent Tarvaris Jackson of Minnesota. Whitehurst played better, but "better" is a relative term and he did it against a second team defense. Downgrade all Seattle skill players, if you haven't already. Their offense is going to be terrible.

 

[SammyJankis]

Watched the Cards-Raiders game in it's entirety. Thoughts from an AZ perspective:

- Kolb: Looks the part. He was out of sync with the offense and won't have a fantastic box score, but I came away impressed. He's only been in camp for a week and was out of sync. However he has clear chemistry with Fitz. He threw a 40 yard bomb to Fitz where Fitz made a miracle catch on a ball that could have been intercepted. I saw him interviewed afterwards and he said he knew Fitz was blanketed, but it was single coverage and he knew he could beat it. Also Kolb looked surprisingly nimble. On one play he tucked the ball on third down and ran for an easy 15 yard pick up. He had a tipped ball almost picked. Overall I came away with this impression: He looks the part, he's going to get better, he'll look for Fitz a lot.

- Beanie/Williams: My takeaway is that Williams is going to be a stud and is going to supplant Wells. O-line was playing poorly for both players. Beanie got a carry early and then spent a lot of time blocking after that. Finally the Cards went on a long drive and Wells got a lot of carries. His best carry by far was when he took it left, was met by a single defender, gave him the stiff arm and then raced for 15. It was all downhill from there. He got stuffed four times on the goalline on that drive, one in particular where he could have easilly scored if he had made a better choice where to run. Caveat about Williams: He didn't come in until the 3rd quarter. (Well technically he came in on the final play of the 1st half but didn't carry.) He just looked fantastic. Shot out of a cannon. He had very little to work with but was always fighting for yards. Looked powerful and shifty. He only had four carries, but on the Cards message board you see a lot of "he'll be starting by week 3" sentiment. Folks came away very impressed after a few carries.

Other notes:

- Lerod Stephens Howling is a great third down back and always does a lot with his carries.

- Andre Roberts is being touted as the clear #2 but he was invisible and lost a fumble on a punt return.

- Stephen Williams scored twice and looked great, but realistically its hard to imagine him logging a lot of minutes in the regular season.

- Heap looked very good and then got hurt. (natch). Banged his thumb. X-rays negative. He'll be good when healthy.

- Housler caught a score and also looked very good at TE. I can't imagine him doing a lot this year, but he's a great dynasty prospect.

 

[death of the cool]

I was at the Cowboys-Broncos game

I thought Felix Jones looked to be back to his quicker explosive self. I think he could be a good value play for those teams that take WRs early and are looking for RBs after the 4th round.

Tebow can throw deep, but really struggles on NFL throws 10 to 15 yards down field...and you are right, he will be injured quickly if he tries to play in the NFL like he did in the SEC.

The RB Lonaye Miller, that was supposed to take T.Choice's job, looked horrible. No worries there.

McGahee had a nice run for Denver, and it really makes me think that this Denver job is going to be 50-50...but I am not a Moreno fan.

Orton looked like the same solid QB...I think it will help Lloyd stay a solid fantasy WR2 (nowhere near his insane year last year but solid)

Tough to tell much about Romo as they didn't show much that first drive...The talk here in Dallas is the 2 rookies on the line played really well, and that will have to happen if anyone wants big seasons out of Cowboy players for fantasy.

The Cowboy 1st D did not look great, but were missing plenty of pieces. I am not expecting them to be a wavier defense that may be worth owing with Dez returning kicks.

Also I noticed that every kicker is able to hit the endzone now that it has been moved up. Dan Bailey was supposed to be a weak kickoff guy, but he may take Buehler's job because of that, and we may not be seeing too many returns this year in the NFL.

 

[sho nuff]

Thought we might try to have a master thread each week about what people saw in the preseason games. Doesn't need to be exhaustive. Just a few thoughts on what you saw that left an impression on you. Good and bad.From the Mallet thread, Between Vick reinforcing what I already thought about how great his arm is, Ryan Mallet was the most impressive thing I saw last night. His pocket presence and ability to move looked WAY beyond a rookie. I also could not believe he is 6' 7". Moves like a guy that is 6' 2". Where Peyton Manning looks like a tree back there (but still gets the advantage of his height), Mallet moved way more fluidly and elusively. Really liked what I saw.Yes, it's preseason. But pocket presence isn't a fluke. J

Interesting as I would have said the exact opposite about Mallett last year (especially in the bowl game).He looked like a statue and sucked when any pressure was coming at him.

 

[werdnoynek]

dwayne harris looked as good as he did in his youtube highlight videos. the guy is a real deal, beat you anywhere in the open field kind of a guy. i don't see much in his way to the starting slot position in dallas. very excited to see what he can do in the next couple of years... but temper my fantasy expectations due to the amount of mouths to feed.

 

[valhallan]

Gabbert has a rocket arm and doesn't seem intimidated by the big league. He'll need some more time to learn his reads and limit taking risks, but it appears the Jags have found their guy.

 

[werdnoynek]

I was at the Cowboys-Broncos game

I thought Felix Jones looked to be back to his quicker explosive self. I think he could be a good value play for those teams that take WRs early and are looking for RBs after the 4th round.

Tebow can throw deep, but really struggles on NFL throws 10 to 15 yards down field...and you are right, he will be injured quickly if he tries to play in the NFL like he did in the SEC.

The RB Lonaye Miller, that was supposed to take T.Choice's job, looked horrible. No worries there.

McGahee had a nice run for Denver, and it really makes me think that this Denver job is going to be 50-50...but I am not a Moreno fan.

Orton looked like the same solid QB...I think it will help Lloyd stay a solid fantasy WR2 (nowhere near his insane year last year but solid)

Tough to tell much about Romo as they didn't show much that first drive...The talk here in Dallas is the 2 rookies on the line played really well, and that will have to happen if anyone wants big seasons out of Cowboy players for fantasy.

The Cowboy 1st D did not look great, but were missing plenty of pieces. I am not expecting them to be a wavier defense that may be worth owing with Dez returning kicks.

Also I noticed that every kicker is able to hit the endzone now that it has been moved up. Dan Bailey was supposed to be a weak kickoff guy, but he may take Buehler's job because of that, and we may not be seeing too many returns this year in the NFL.

i'd like to argue that the poor statistical performance from Miller was due to the horrible 2nd string OL play of dallas. there was nowhere for him to go at all, he picked up a couple of yards when there were no holes at all. a play maker he is not, but i think he can do a hell of alot more with some better run blocking. also he did do a great job in pass protection from what i saw... he definitely threw some great blocks and had to pick between 3 or 4 people at times given the failures of the OL.

 

[werdnoynek]

i threw this in the official philly thread last night... had to throw in some drunken competative jabs as well

vick = gunslinger in just 1 series tonight, it looked like he was holding onto the ball longer and letting plays develop. a beautiful sight to see for those of us dynasty owners imo. it looks like he's playing smart. it was scary at times when he would just take off last season. we know he can move when he has to, but i think him not running when he doesn't have to could be a very good thing. and really not only for health, but for fantasy numbers, as i have a feeling he'll still get his rushing yards regardless.anyway, as a vick owner in a couple of leagues, i'm excited about what this season brings... PS - as a packer fan, i have no doubt we'll still win the NFC and another lombardi.

 

[JaxBill]

Also the rule change on kickoffs seems to have made a huge difference. A lot of teams starting out on their own 20 or inside it. Heck Janikowski almost made the field goal on the kickoff.

 

[JaxBill]

Gabbert has a rocket arm and doesn't seem intimidated by the big league. He'll need some more time to learn his reads and limit taking risks, but it appears the Jags have found their guy.

I found it encouraging that a couple of times he stepped up in the pocket and found his guy. He was under a bit of pressure with backup RT Guy whimper getting abused last night.

 

[Brides Maids]

Taylor Price had a whale of a game making a confusing WR situation in NE even more confusing. Deion Branch better stay healthy this year!

 

[NeverEnough]

Watched the Cards-Raiders game in it's entirety. Thoughts from an AZ perspective:- Kolb: Looks the part. He was out of sync with the offense and won't have a fantastic box score, but I came away impressed. He's only been in camp for a week and was out of sync. However he has clear chemistry with Fitz. He threw a 40 yard bomb to Fitz where Fitz made a miracle catch on a ball that could have been intercepted. I saw him interviewed afterwards and he said he knew Fitz was blanketed, but it was single coverage and he knew he could beat it. Also Kolb looked surprisingly nimble. On one play he tucked the ball on third down and ran for an easy 15 yard pick up. He had a tipped ball almost picked. Overall I came away with this impression: He looks the part, he's going to get better, he'll look for Fitz a lot.- Beanie/Williams: My takeaway is that Williams is going to be a stud and is going to supplant Wells. O-line was playing poorly for both players. Beanie got a carry early and then spent a lot of time blocking after that. Finally the Cards went on a long drive and Wells got a lot of carries. His best carry by far was when he took it left, was met by a single defender, gave him the stiff arm and then raced for 15. It was all downhill from there. He got stuffed four times on the goalline on that drive, one in particular where he could have easilly scored if he had made a better choice where to run. Caveat about Williams: He didn't come in until the 3rd quarter. (Well technically he came in on the final play of the 1st half but didn't carry.) He just looked fantastic. Shot out of a cannon. He had very little to work with but was always fighting for yards. Looked powerful and shifty. He only had four carries, but on the Cards message board you see a lot of "he'll be starting by week 3" sentiment. Folks came away very impressed after a few carries.Other notes:- Lerod Stephens Howling is a great third down back and always does a lot with his carries.- Andre Roberts is being touted as the clear #2 but he was invisible and lost a fumble on a punt return.- Stephen Williams scored twice and looked great, but realistically its hard to imagine him logging a lot of minutes in the regular season.- Heap looked very good and then got hurt. (natch). Banged his thumb. X-rays negative. He'll be good when healthy.- Housler caught a score and also looked very good at TE. I can't imagine him doing a lot this year, but he's a great dynasty prospect.

Nothing on Doucet?

 

[renesauz]

Had these observations from the Philly-Balt. game:

Philly's skill position depth is crazy good, but the O-line is still not quite what it should be. Probably won't matter as long as VIck or Young are healthy though.

Ronnie Brown WILL dig into McCoy's touches. His stat line sucked, but he turned multiple runs that should have been 3 or 4 yard losses into zero or 1 yard gains. Shady will still be worth a late 1/early 2 in PPR, but he won't challenge for top 5 with Brown in town.

Ray Rice looked great. Most of the rest of Baltimore...didn't. Their O-line was generally manhandled (especially after the 1st string sat down). Baltimore's TOP didn't allow a good look at their skill players other than in the first series (which featured Rice and the TE).

Everyone's guessing at Philly's WR depth chart if Maclin can't play. Don't sleep on the 2nd year man out of FLorida (Riley Cooper). The kid's a huge target and has greatly improved since last camp. That said, Avant looked good and Philly obviously has tremendous depth....could well be a N.O. type situation in the end where the passing #s are there but the WRs are inconsistant week to week.

Philly's revamped D-line will bring a ton of pressure. Top 3 fantasy DST for sure (in leagues that award exclusively on TOs and sacks), but I doubt they end top 3 for yards...the LBs are still the weak spot and some teams will be able to take advantage of the middle if they can keep their QB upright long enough.

 

[zamboni]

Watched the Cards-Raiders game in it's entirety. Thoughts from an AZ perspective:- Kolb: Looks the part. He was out of sync with the offense and won't have a fantastic box score, but I came away impressed. He's only been in camp for a week and was out of sync. However he has clear chemistry with Fitz. He threw a 40 yard bomb to Fitz where Fitz made a miracle catch on a ball that could have been intercepted. I saw him interviewed afterwards and he said he knew Fitz was blanketed, but it was single coverage and he knew he could beat it. Also Kolb looked surprisingly nimble. On one play he tucked the ball on third down and ran for an easy 15 yard pick up. He had a tipped ball almost picked. Overall I came away with this impression: He looks the part, he's going to get better, he'll look for Fitz a lot.- Beanie/Williams: My takeaway is that Williams is going to be a stud and is going to supplant Wells. O-line was playing poorly for both players. Beanie got a carry early and then spent a lot of time blocking after that. Finally the Cards went on a long drive and Wells got a lot of carries. His best carry by far was when he took it left, was met by a single defender, gave him the stiff arm and then raced for 15. It was all downhill from there. He got stuffed four times on the goalline on that drive, one in particular where he could have easilly scored if he had made a better choice where to run. Caveat about Williams: He didn't come in until the 3rd quarter. (Well technically he came in on the final play of the 1st half but didn't carry.) He just looked fantastic. Shot out of a cannon. He had very little to work with but was always fighting for yards. Looked powerful and shifty. He only had four carries, but on the Cards message board you see a lot of "he'll be starting by week 3" sentiment. Folks came away very impressed after a few carries.Other notes:- Lerod Stephens Howling is a great third down back and always does a lot with his carries.- Andre Roberts is being touted as the clear #2 but he was invisible and lost a fumble on a punt return.- Stephen Williams scored twice and looked great, but realistically its hard to imagine him logging a lot of minutes in the regular season.- Heap looked very good and then got hurt. (natch). Banged his thumb. X-rays negative. He'll be good when healthy.- Housler caught a score and also looked very good at TE. I can't imagine him doing a lot this year, but he's a great dynasty prospect.

Nothing on Doucet?

It's early.

 

[Brides Maids]

Watched the Cards-Raiders game in it's entirety. Thoughts from an AZ perspective:- Kolb: Looks the part. He was out of sync with the offense and won't have a fantastic box score, but I came away impressed. He's only been in camp for a week and was out of sync. However he has clear chemistry with Fitz. He threw a 40 yard bomb to Fitz where Fitz made a miracle catch on a ball that could have been intercepted. I saw him interviewed afterwards and he said he knew Fitz was blanketed, but it was single coverage and he knew he could beat it. Also Kolb looked surprisingly nimble. On one play he tucked the ball on third down and ran for an easy 15 yard pick up. He had a tipped ball almost picked. Overall I came away with this impression: He looks the part, he's going to get better, he'll look for Fitz a lot.- Beanie/Williams: My takeaway is that Williams is going to be a stud and is going to supplant Wells. O-line was playing poorly for both players. Beanie got a carry early and then spent a lot of time blocking after that. Finally the Cards went on a long drive and Wells got a lot of carries. His best carry by far was when he took it left, was met by a single defender, gave him the stiff arm and then raced for 15. It was all downhill from there. He got stuffed four times on the goalline on that drive, one in particular where he could have easilly scored if he had made a better choice where to run. Caveat about Williams: He didn't come in until the 3rd quarter. (Well technically he came in on the final play of the 1st half but didn't carry.) He just looked fantastic. Shot out of a cannon. He had very little to work with but was always fighting for yards. Looked powerful and shifty. He only had four carries, but on the Cards message board you see a lot of "he'll be starting by week 3" sentiment. Folks came away very impressed after a few carries.Other notes:- Lerod Stephens Howling is a great third down back and always does a lot with his carries.- Andre Roberts is being touted as the clear #2 but he was invisible and lost a fumble on a punt return.- Stephen Williams scored twice and looked great, but realistically its hard to imagine him logging a lot of minutes in the regular season.- Heap looked very good and then got hurt. (natch). Banged his thumb. X-rays negative. He'll be good when healthy.- Housler caught a score and also looked very good at TE. I can't imagine him doing a lot this year, but he's a great dynasty prospect.

Nothing on Doucet?

It's early.

LUL Puns are the lowest form of humor!

 

[travdogg]

McGahee had a nice run for Denver, and it really makes me think that this Denver job is going to be 50-50...but I am not a Moreno fan.

I thought Moreno looked more impressive than McGahee, and I don't expect McGahee's role to be much different than his role in Baltimore.My takeaway from the 1st quarter of that game is either that Denver's O-line is better at run blocking then we think, or Dallas' front seven is gonna be a major problem in the run game. Both Moreno and McGahee had runs where they didn't really have to do anything until they were already 5 yards past the line of scrimmage.

 

[Stealthycat]

Ridley pass catching surprised me

how badly JAX played surprised me

Gabbert didn't show mobility surprised me

Mallet's performance was 100% what I expected

Tebow played poorly - the stat line doesn't shot how poorly IMO

Rivers might be the best QB in the NFL this year?

Philly and Vick looked impressive with their starting units

 

[BigTex]

I also thought Tim Tebow was about exactly what we all expected. Kyle Orton is the clear cut starter.People want to make some sort of deal about Orton starting over Tebow after we thought Tebow was going to the starter this summer.Make sure to understand. The only way Tebow was going to be the starter was if Orton was traded. Once that didn't happen, Tebow resumed his (proper) place on the depth chart as the backup and eventual starter in waiting.Orton looked like Orton in limited play.Tebow looked just like what you'd expect. Lost at times. Ugly at times. Then makes the nice long throw that is on all the highlight shows. Stats looked great. He did not look great. He also is making more and more worried that his running style just isn't sustainable at this level. He took a few shots that would have put smaller QBs out. At some point, those add up when you keep taking them.The Tebow hate is as irrational to me as the Tebow love. I truly don't get it. He's a unique QB with upside that was drafted too highly by a guy that isn't there anymore. He's very popular with the fans as he seems to be a great guy with huge college success. But as an NFL QB, he does not appear ready yet to be the starter. I see no reason at all why a Steve McNair type career can't happen for him. But it seems to me that very few people are being rational about him with the extreme love or hate.J

The guys on ESPN said that Tebow was CLEARLY the MVP of that game...................LOL!I liked what I saw in McGee, he looked sharp and is growing as a QB.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Also the rule change on kickoffs seems to have made a huge difference. A lot of teams starting out on their own 20 or inside it. Heck Janikowski almost made the field goal on the kickoff.

Yes. Hated this change.Gruden summed it up after a few touchbacks with the "That's exciting..."I wonder how this will go and if teams start taking bigger chances returning kicks caught 6 yards deep in the endzone. Don't like the change.J

 

[Joe Bryant]

T. Jackson looked like he did in Min. I thought Charlie Whitehurst played better, but if Russell Okung's injury lingers all year it will be a long season for Seattle and frustrated Seattle player owners.

Yes. Thought this too.J

 

[Cookiemonster]

Also the rule change on kickoffs seems to have made a huge difference. A lot of teams starting out on their own 20 or inside it. Heck Janikowski almost made the field goal on the kickoff.

Yes. Hated this change.Gruden summed it up after a few touchbacks with the "That's exciting..."I wonder how this will go and if teams start taking bigger chances returning kicks caught 6 yards deep in the endzone. Don't like the change.J

Really going to ding return yardage leagues, but should help overall player health & team depth.

 

[zamboni]

Ridley pass catching surprised me

Agreed - I was very surprised to look at the box score and see 7 catches by a RB not named Faulk or (maybe) Woodhead. Belicheck obviously loves to mix and match his RBs based on situation, but if there is one guy that could be an all-purpose guy that emerges from the pack, it is probably going to be one of Ridley or Vereen. Will be interesting to see how Vereen does as well once he gets healthy.

 

[ATC1]

Ridley pass catching surprised me

Agreed - I was very surprised to look at the box score and see 7 catches by a RB not named Faulk or (maybe) Woodhead. Belicheck obviously loves to mix and match his RBs based on situation, but if there is one guy that could be an all-purpose guy that emerges from the pack, it is probably going to be one of Ridley or Vereen. Will be interesting to see how Vereen does as well once he gets healthy.

He caught 11 receptions all last year for LSU. i was a bit surprised as well.

 

[Scooby1974]

Ridley pass catching surprised me

Agreed - I was very surprised to look at the box score and see 7 catches by a RB not named Faulk or (maybe) Woodhead. Belicheck obviously loves to mix and match his RBs based on situation, but if there is one guy that could be an all-purpose guy that emerges from the pack, it is probably going to be one of Ridley or Vereen. Will be interesting to see how Vereen does as well once he gets healthy.

He caught 11 receptions all last year for LSU. i was a bit surprised as well.

I thought Ridley looked good last night as well. However lets also remember that he had no competition for touches. NE kept him in for every play, rather than their normal switching in and out for different offensive packages. Overall a good night for Ridley.

 

[gianmarco]

Also the rule change on kickoffs seems to have made a huge difference. A lot of teams starting out on their own 20 or inside it. Heck Janikowski almost made the field goal on the kickoff.

Yes. Hated this change.Gruden summed it up after a few touchbacks with the "That's exciting..."I wonder how this will go and if teams start taking bigger chances returning kicks caught 6 yards deep in the endzone. Don't like the change.J

If significantly fewer players get hurt as a result of the new rule (and the reason for it) do you still hate this change?

 

[cdwood]

I watched the Jags-Pats game.

I think I would still hate the rule change even if results in fewer player injuries because I see this rule as drawing away some of the entertainment of the game. Albeit it was just one game, but aside from one great individual performance on a return by Deji Karim, the return game was negligible for both teams. The Jags kick returners would take the ball deep in their endzone and bring it out regardless and would never get to the 20 yardline. I'm sure they did it because they are playing for jobs, but if it had been regular season, they would have been touchbacks and they would start at the 20. With the rule change, I think we are one step closer to having every possession start at the 20 by default unless there is a strong wind or a team has some weak legged kicker.

 

[ATC1]

Also the rule change on kickoffs seems to have made a huge difference. A lot of teams starting out on their own 20 or inside it. Heck Janikowski almost made the field goal on the kickoff.

Yes. Hated this change.Gruden summed it up after a few touchbacks with the "That's exciting..."I wonder how this will go and if teams start taking bigger chances returning kicks caught 6 yards deep in the endzone. Don't like the change.J

If significantly fewer players get hurt as a result of the new rule (and the reason for it) do you still hate this change?

Why not just give the teams the ball at the 20 then? Seems like a waste of time. Teams won't need to practice for kickoff and returns. More depth can be added that don't need to contribute on special teams. Before anyone answers I know the correct response. So, there can be two TV timeouts instead of one after every score.

 

[Sabertooth]

I think Vincent Jackson leads the NFL in receiving touchdowns.

 

[Shutout]

I think Vincent Jackson leads the NFL in receiving touchdowns.

Was just coming on to post about VJAX.He is going to have a great year, no doubt about it.

 

[Cookiemonster]

Also the rule change on kickoffs seems to have made a huge difference. A lot of teams starting out on their own 20 or inside it. Heck Janikowski almost made the field goal on the kickoff.

He DID put it through, BTW. I see it leading to a shift to more accurate PKs, rather than the big legs. I would rather see my team's kicker resemble a .223 with a scope than a .50 cal handgun. Ask Raiders' fans how many games they could have won if SeaBass hadn't missed two FGs that game from 38 yards. A few more roster spaces open on the few teams that carry a KO specialist. With a shift to more accurate/weaker legged kickers, you may see more kick returns in a couple years than you will in this one.

 

[VAColt]

Watched the Cards-Raiders game in it's entirety. Thoughts from an AZ perspective:- Kolb: Looks the part. He was out of sync with the offense and won't have a fantastic box score, but I came away impressed. He's only been in camp for a week and was out of sync. However he has clear chemistry with Fitz. He threw a 40 yard bomb to Fitz where Fitz made a miracle catch on a ball that could have been intercepted. I saw him interviewed afterwards and he said he knew Fitz was blanketed, but it was single coverage and he knew he could beat it. Also Kolb looked surprisingly nimble. On one play he tucked the ball on third down and ran for an easy 15 yard pick up. He had a tipped ball almost picked. Overall I came away with this impression: He looks the part, he's going to get better, he'll look for Fitz a lot.- Beanie/Williams: My takeaway is that Williams is going to be a stud and is going to supplant Wells. O-line was playing poorly for both players. Beanie got a carry early and then spent a lot of time blocking after that. Finally the Cards went on a long drive and Wells got a lot of carries. His best carry by far was when he took it left, was met by a single defender, gave him the stiff arm and then raced for 15. It was all downhill from there. He got stuffed four times on the goalline on that drive, one in particular where he could have easilly scored if he had made a better choice where to run. Caveat about Williams: He didn't come in until the 3rd quarter. (Well technically he came in on the final play of the 1st half but didn't carry.) He just looked fantastic. Shot out of a cannon. He had very little to work with but was always fighting for yards. Looked powerful and shifty. He only had four carries, but on the Cards message board you see a lot of "he'll be starting by week 3" sentiment. Folks came away very impressed after a few carries.Other notes:- Lerod Stephens Howling is a great third down back and always does a lot with his carries.- Andre Roberts is being touted as the clear #2 but he was invisible and lost a fumble on a punt return.- Stephen Williams scored twice and looked great, but realistically its hard to imagine him logging a lot of minutes in the regular season.- Heap looked very good and then got hurt. (natch). Banged his thumb. X-rays negative. He'll be good when healthy.- Housler caught a score and also looked very good at TE. I can't imagine him doing a lot this year, but he's a great dynasty prospect.

Disagree somewhat on the RB stuff. You are right the O-Line will be holding back the the RB's for Az. Beanie had 2 good runs the 15 yd stiff arm then a 6 or 7 yd run up the middle in traffic to the 3 or so yardline. The first run from 3 he should have gone left he missed that but the other 3 runs, he had defenders in the backfield or his O-lineman pushed up and back with no place for him to go and defenders on him as soon as he got to the line. Williams looked OK but I expected better against 3rd stringers and I think LSH played better than Williams. Williams will be a change of pace back once he learns to pass block and pickup the blitz.

 

[CentralPA]

Eagles RBs are going to be much better then people think.

Baltimore O with Lee Evans is going be very tough to beat.

VJax is going to put up crazy numbers this year.

 

[kylechoffman]

Heck Janikowski almost made the field goal on the kickoff.

I still think they should give 1 pt or something for being able to do that. Give the kickoff team a point and the receiving team takes over at the 20. Im sure this will open a can of worms but it makes kickoffs more interesting since they effectively reduced the return %.

 

[Dragon1952]

Also the rule change on kickoffs seems to have made a huge difference. A lot of teams starting out on their own 20 or inside it. Heck Janikowski almost made the field goal on the kickoff.

Yes. Hated this change.Gruden summed it up after a few touchbacks with the "That's exciting..."I wonder how this will go and if teams start taking bigger chances returning kicks caught 6 yards deep in the endzone. Don't like the change.J

If significantly fewer players get hurt as a result of the new rule (and the reason for it) do you still hate this change?

If player health is so important why don't they just give the receiving team the ball at the freakin' 20 yd line and eliminate the kick EDIT: Oops...I see now someone already beat me to the punch

 

[ATC1]

Also the rule change on kickoffs seems to have made a huge difference. A lot of teams starting out on their own 20 or inside it. Heck Janikowski almost made the field goal on the kickoff.

Yes. Hated this change.Gruden summed it up after a few touchbacks with the "That's exciting..."I wonder how this will go and if teams start taking bigger chances returning kicks caught 6 yards deep in the endzone. Don't like the change.J

If significantly fewer players get hurt as a result of the new rule (and the reason for it) do you still hate this change?

If player health is so important why don't they just give the receiving team the ball at the freakin' 20 yd line and eliminate the kick

As stated above, less time for commercials. Maybe also because it takes the onside kick out of the equation. Eventually I would think teams will try the sky kick in hopes to get a player to fumble or kick high as close to the GL as possible to pin them down further back.

 

[SammyJankis]

Watched the Cards-Raiders game in it's entirety. Thoughts from an AZ perspective:- Kolb: Looks the part. He was out of sync with the offense and won't have a fantastic box score, but I came away impressed. He's only been in camp for a week and was out of sync. However he has clear chemistry with Fitz. He threw a 40 yard bomb to Fitz where Fitz made a miracle catch on a ball that could have been intercepted. I saw him interviewed afterwards and he said he knew Fitz was blanketed, but it was single coverage and he knew he could beat it. Also Kolb looked surprisingly nimble. On one play he tucked the ball on third down and ran for an easy 15 yard pick up. He had a tipped ball almost picked. Overall I came away with this impression: He looks the part, he's going to get better, he'll look for Fitz a lot.- Beanie/Williams: My takeaway is that Williams is going to be a stud and is going to supplant Wells. O-line was playing poorly for both players. Beanie got a carry early and then spent a lot of time blocking after that. Finally the Cards went on a long drive and Wells got a lot of carries. His best carry by far was when he took it left, was met by a single defender, gave him the stiff arm and then raced for 15. It was all downhill from there. He got stuffed four times on the goalline on that drive, one in particular where he could have easilly scored if he had made a better choice where to run. Caveat about Williams: He didn't come in until the 3rd quarter. (Well technically he came in on the final play of the 1st half but didn't carry.) He just looked fantastic. Shot out of a cannon. He had very little to work with but was always fighting for yards. Looked powerful and shifty. He only had four carries, but on the Cards message board you see a lot of "he'll be starting by week 3" sentiment. Folks came away very impressed after a few carries.Other notes:- Lerod Stephens Howling is a great third down back and always does a lot with his carries.- Andre Roberts is being touted as the clear #2 but he was invisible and lost a fumble on a punt return.- Stephen Williams scored twice and looked great, but realistically its hard to imagine him logging a lot of minutes in the regular season.- Heap looked very good and then got hurt. (natch). Banged his thumb. X-rays negative. He'll be good when healthy.- Housler caught a score and also looked very good at TE. I can't imagine him doing a lot this year, but he's a great dynasty prospect.

Disagree somewhat on the RB stuff. You are right the O-Line will be holding back the the RB's for Az. Beanie had 2 good runs the 15 yd stiff arm then a 6 or 7 yd run up the middle in traffic to the 3 or so yardline. The first run from 3 he should have gone left he missed that but the other 3 runs, he had defenders in the backfield or his O-lineman pushed up and back with no place for him to go and defenders on him as soon as he got to the line. Williams looked OK but I expected better against 3rd stringers and I think LSH played better than Williams. Williams will be a change of pace back once he learns to pass block and pickup the blitz.

I'll say this, I watched the game, and follow on a couple of Cardinals message boards. I'll say this, opinions are all over the map. For those folks making decisions about Beanie and/or Ryan Williams I'll post a few other opinions I've seen:

Beanie - ran strong and fast. Did not have the punch at the goalline (though he also didn't have a hole, but he should still convert in four tries).LSH - I love the kid, so much heart and a great change of pace back.Ryan Williams...STUD. He will be the goalline back if Beanie fails in that opportunity one more time. He and Beanie compliment each other well though, this is a VERY strong and diverse RB trio.

Beanie - Ive been a Beanie fan since he got here and have supported him through everything. He looked decent on a couple runs tonight but on every one of them ABC showed a replay from behind him and he was missing holes like crazy. Even on that play with the stiff arm he cut right at the end when it looked like he could have beat everyone to the endzone by just running the sideline. I still have to blame the o-line because they looked awful that first series. Hes definitley more of a one cut back which is not great considering our line blows. I think with a bad line its better to have a back with quick feet that can adjust. Im hoping he just needs the snaps to settle in cause i love the kid.LSH - i thought he was overlooked tonight. Hes obviously quick and looks like he may have bulked up a bit. After watching him tonight im almost angry at the depth the cards have at runningback because i think he could be a real game changer. His speed suits the offense well and he can obviously catch the ball out of the backfield. Williams - this guy looked like the real deal tonightninthink we can all agree. Hes quick, powerful, and nifty. Of all the guys he really made nothing look like something. He made the line look decent because it seemed like he just made something happen. Its difficult to judge him since he didnt really get in untilnthe 2nd half but you can tell hes got ability thats for sure. I hate to say it but he made beanie look like the rookie tonight.

Man, Beanie ran over that packer on purpose last year, could have went around him too! Beanie is a punisher, I like that. You get him with a play caller that mixes in both the run and the pass in the same series and you have something special. I agree with Beanie after about 7 rushes, the chess game begins, He will steal their Will! and that helps the rest of the team. Many can do what Rwill can do but few can breakdown a defense like Beanie Wells, mark my word, and watch the 2nd ranked GB rush defense in the 09 playoff game, before the pass fest, when we had a 3 score lead in the 1st 1/4.

Beanie still has a TON to prove. He technique is all wrong as he runs WAY to high. A guy with his size and supposed strength should be running with his pads lower to the ground, using his leverage and strength to destroy guys who decide to take him on straigth up.

He needs to show WAY more desire to punish people. I'm just not seeing it with him and I would not be surprised at all if Williams is our starter very early in the season.As for Williams, damn he just looks like a high-caliber RB. He stays low (get a friggin clue Beanie!), uses his power (he's got great leg strength), and his quickness! His side to side quickness is awesome! LSH is just a pure football player, period! Great speed and quickness. Great strength for such a little man. HUGE heart and determination! LOVE him and LOVE him being on our team!!

 

[Joe Bryant]

Also the rule change on kickoffs seems to have made a huge difference. A lot of teams starting out on their own 20 or inside it. Heck Janikowski almost made the field goal on the kickoff.

Yes. Hated this change.Gruden summed it up after a few touchbacks with the "That's exciting..."I wonder how this will go and if teams start taking bigger chances returning kicks caught 6 yards deep in the endzone. Don't like the change.J

If significantly fewer players get hurt as a result of the new rule (and the reason for it) do you still hate this change?

I'm old school enough I guess that kickoffs just seem like part of football. It's all a balance. There would be significantly fewer injuries if they went to flags instead of tackle. That's not happening. I'm fine with the changes for the defenders and helmet to helmet stuff. The kickoffs seemed ok in my opinion though. I'm anxious to see how it evolves but last night, I was definitely with Gruden on the kickoffs.J

 

[Joe Bryant]

Mike Vick looked completely unstoppable. He didn't play much but the first pass where he rolled to his left, stopped and then flicked a lazer was just . Then the TD pass at the goal line was completely indefensible where he put the ball. He had a window of about 6" and he put it exactly where it had to be.

Then the sideline stuff talking afterwards he sounded like Peyton Manning saying everything exactly right. Preparation, hard work, in awe of the new Hall of Fame inductees and how everything he's doing is pointed toward one day trying to get to Canton. And how that should be the goal of his team mates.

He can be an unbelievably scary player if he gets everything lined up. And it's looking that way.

J

 

[FreeBaGeL]

He's a unique QB with upside that was drafted too highly by a guy that isn't there anymore.

Can someone explain to me where the notion that McDaniels was the only coach crazy enough to take Tebow in the late 1st round came from? I mean, everyone talks about it now as if he would have been a 4th rounder except for crazy Mr McDaniels.In reality, at the time everyone had him pegged going in that spot (or early 2nd at the latest) and NO ONE had him pegged going to the Broncos. That means they all thought someone else was willing to take him there as well. Heck, when he got drafted there were even people remarking that he went later than they expected, as the consensus tended to be that his true value was as a late 1st but someone would jump up and take a shot on him too early.

Also, how is it irrational to think that a highly drafted rookie with upside who has looked good when given the chance should be given a shot to show what he can do over killing time with a slightly above average guy who's going to win you 7 games at best this year and then be a free agent?

Tebow has never been a guy who impresses people in practice. John Brantley looked better than him in practice at Florida too, and we saw how that translated to the field. You may as well see what you've got. The vast, vast majority of rookie QBs look a lot worse in their first three starts than Tebow did. When has giving a guy the keys and then taking them back away and making him sit on the bench while the entire country talks about how horrible he is ever been good for a player?

Screw mechanics. Tebow's aren't going to change and despite what the so called experts say, they don't need to. What Tebow is weak at is reading the field, and the only way he's going to get better at that is by actually being out there on it. You can sit back in practice for 20 years trying to change his throwing motion or his footwork while throwing to receivers be defended by the air and it's not going to make a damned bit of difference. It's just a waste of time.

 

[ICON211]

He's a unique QB with upside that was drafted too highly by a guy that isn't there anymore.

Can someone explain to me where the notion that McDaniels was the only coach crazy enough to take Tebow in the late 1st round came from? I mean, everyone talks about it now as if he would have been a 4th rounder except for crazy Mr McDaniels.In reality, at the time everyone had him pegged going in that spot (or early 2nd at the latest) and NO ONE had him pegged going to the Broncos. That means they all thought someone else was willing to take him there as well. Heck, when he got drafted there were even people remarking that he went later than they expected, as the consensus tended to be that his true value was as a late 1st but someone would jump up and take a shot on him too early.

Also, how is it irrational to think that a highly drafted rookie with upside who has looked good when given the chance should be given a shot to show what he can do over killing time with a slightly above average guy who's going to win you 7 games at best this year and then be a free agent?

Tebow has never been a guy who impresses people in practice. John Brantley looked better than him in practice at Florida too, and we saw how that translated to the field. You may as well see what you've got. The vast, vast majority of rookie QBs look a lot worse in their first three starts than Tebow did. When has giving a guy the keys and then taking them back away and making him sit on the bench while the entire country talks about how horrible he is ever been good for a player?

Screw mechanics. Tebow's aren't going to change and despite what the so called experts say, they don't need to. What Tebow is weak at is reading the field, and the only way he's going to get better at that is by actually being out there on it. You can sit back in practice for 20 years trying to change his throwing motion or his footwork while throwing to receivers be defended by the air and it's not going to make a damned bit of difference. It's just a waste of time.

Actually most people thought he should not be a first round pick, but it only takes one team to fall in love with a guy and there was a decent chance one team would.

 

[Truman]

He's a unique QB with upside that was drafted too highly by a guy that isn't there anymore.

Can someone explain to me where the notion that McDaniels was the only coach crazy enough to take Tebow in the late 1st round came from? I mean, everyone talks about it now as if he would have been a 4th rounder except for crazy Mr McDaniels.In reality, at the time everyone had him pegged going in that spot (or early 2nd at the latest) and NO ONE had him pegged going to the Broncos. That means they all thought someone else was willing to take him there as well. Heck, when he got drafted there were even people remarking that he went later than they expected, as the consensus tended to be that his true value was as a late 1st but someone would jump up and take a shot on him too early.

None of this happened.

 

[DawnBTVS]

Patriots/Jaguars thoughts...

- QBs Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett both looked solid although I'm tempering expectations since the Jaguars D just looked like they couldn't do anything right at all during the game. So it's hard for me to judge whether it was truly solid talent or play that looked better than it was due to the level of the competition faced. With that said... Mallett has an obvious rocket but needs to learn to apply touch and let his receivers have a chance to look the ball in (see the Ridley TD catch that was perfect). Another thing worth noting is that Mallett got a delay of game penalty and got chewed out by Belichick. Small mental error to remind us that rookies still may not be caught up on everything.

- WR Buddy Farnham got an INT playing Safety. That was cool and just fun to see. Looked like everybody on the Patriots loved that it happened too.

- RB Stevan Ridley looked good but again, he wasn't exactly going up against stout competition. I did love his second effort TD and he showed good hands on the TD catch away from his body.

 

[renesauz]

He's a unique QB with upside that was drafted too highly by a guy that isn't there anymore.

Can someone explain to me where the notion that McDaniels was the only coach crazy enough to take Tebow in the late 1st round came from? I mean, everyone talks about it now as if he would have been a 4th rounder except for crazy Mr McDaniels.In reality, at the time everyone had him pegged going in that spot (or early 2nd at the latest) and NO ONE had him pegged going to the Broncos. That means they all thought someone else was willing to take him there as well. Heck, when he got drafted there were even people remarking that he went later than they expected, as the consensus tended to be that his true value was as a late 1st but someone would jump up and take a shot on him too early.

Also, how is it irrational to think that a highly drafted rookie with upside who has looked good when given the chance should be given a shot to show what he can do over killing time with a slightly above average guy who's going to win you 7 games at best this year and then be a free agent?

Tebow has never been a guy who impresses people in practice. John Brantley looked better than him in practice at Florida too, and we saw how that translated to the field. You may as well see what you've got. The vast, vast majority of rookie QBs look a lot worse in their first three starts than Tebow did. When has giving a guy the keys and then taking them back away and making him sit on the bench while the entire country talks about how horrible he is ever been good for a player?

Screw mechanics. Tebow's aren't going to change and despite what the so called experts say, they don't need to. What Tebow is weak at is reading the field, and the only way he's going to get better at that is by actually being out there on it. You can sit back in practice for 20 years trying to change his throwing motion or his footwork while throwing to receivers be defended by the air and it's not going to make a damned bit of difference. It's just a waste of time.

I tend to think he was a little over-rated coming out, but I do agree that they should throw him out there and let him sink or swim unless they're going to commit to Orton longer-term (which wouldn't make much sense).

 

[baconisgood]

Ridley's best characteristic- he is decisive. Even on plays where he bounces it to the outside there is no hesitation and he moves forward on his 'stutter' step. I wouldn't say he looks spectacular, but he looks like a solid back who could earn playing time quickly.

 

[ourmanflint]

* With 2nd and goal at the 3, Arizona's 1st team offense couldn't punch it in with 3 straight running plays against Oakland's 2nd team defense. Pretty pathetic.

* Arizona's line looked weak especially run blocking against Oakland's 1st team defense. I don't expect much again from Arizona running backs this year.

* Hightower is running with purpose and lots of energy. The Skins line looks viable. The offensive scheme looks like it might be creative enough to give Hightower some open field to use his energy and create some plays.