Tim Yotter, VikingUpdate.com
Minnesota Vikings
Without question, second-year quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was a pleasant
surprise. Jackson is expected to be the team’s starter in 2007 with only two
games of starting experience from last year. While he sometimes looked shaky and
indecisive in practices during the offseason, Jackson in the preseason opener
was quick and decisive – and accurate – in the three series he played
against the St. Louis Rams. He connected on 8 of 11 passes for 83 yards, avoided
costly turnovers and added two rushes for 25 yards, one a designed bootleg and
another a spur-of-the-moment scramble. If he can continue to build on that
performance, he can put the doubters behind him at some point this season.
Denis Savage, SilverandBlack.com
Oakland Raiders
The decision-making. With Lane Kiffin's first game as a head coach,
he played both ends of the spectrum in terms of tactics that raised
an eyebrow.
With first-and-goal from the one-yard line, Kiffin went to Dominic
Rhodes to carry the ball across the goal line, the same player that
will miss the first four games of the season. Why not go with a
player that will actually help when the season comes around in a
similar situation? The next touchdown - a designed play for Mike
Williams who hauled it in - was a smart maneuver. Get the kid some
confidence. His height in the red zone could be a huge advantage for
the offense.
Jon Scott, PatriotsInsider.com
New England Patriots
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| Ty Warren (AP Photo) |
The preseason opener against the Buccaneers went much the way I anticipated
with the starters leaving the game early, while injured players – including
Randy Moss, Richard Seymour and others – didn’t bother to suit up for the
game. With the limited appearance of the first string, it was the defensive line
play that I found to be of most interest.
Without starters Seymour and Ty Warren, the Patriots defensive line struggled
to control Tampa Bay’s running backs throughout the game. After initially
holding the Bucs to a pair of three-and-outs, the defense showed weakness
against the run. Rookie Kenneth Darby ran almost at will for a game-high 84
yards on 15 carries (5.6 avg.). The Tampa offense averaged 4.6 yards per carry
and used their rushing attack to control the clock on the final game-winning
drive.
New England has struggled to find quality backups on the defensive line, and
it appears they may still need to address the situation even after adding a pair
of draft picks and a pair of free agents to the unit this year.
Charlie Bernstein, JagNation.com
Jacksonville Jaguars
The most interesting thing I took away from the Jaguars preseason opener was
the improved play of the Jaguars wide receivers. Throughout most of last season,
they struggled to get open quickly and consistently, which caused the
quarterbacks to take some unnecessary hits.
On Saturday evening, rookies Mike Walker and John Broussard found themselves
wide open a lot, as well as Reggie Williams, Ernest Wilford, and even Matt
Jones. If the Jaguars' offensive line play had been a little better, they would
have had even more big plays in that game. Overall, there was clear improvement
at the wide receiver position from last season.
Stan Jones, TitansInsider.net
Tennessee Titans
The biggest surprise from the first preseason game for the Titans was the
suspension of quarterback Vince Young by head coach Jeff Fisher. After several
years of questionable behavior displayed by players on and off the field, Fisher
sent a message to his young squad with the suspension of Young for a violation
of team rules -- an apparent curfew violation by Young on Friday night when he
apparently decided to spend the night at home instead of the team hotel.
As a result, the Titans offense was placed in the hands of veteran backup Kerry
Collins who led a very sloppy, disconnected attack in their first loss of the
season.
Nate Caminata, RoarReport.com
Detroit Lions
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| Calvin Johnson (AP Photo) |
If Rod Marinelli had narrowed his "What I Want to See" list to two
items in his team's exhibition opener against Cincinnati, it is likely that the
second-year head coach witnessed both. Although Detroit's first-team offense
wasn't exactly spectacular (which can be blamed on a watered down game plan and
the fact they played less than a quarter), the team's come-from-behind, 27-26
victory reflected Marinelli's "team" philosophy.
But while the Lions certainly seemed more cohesive as a complete unit than
the Bengals, rookie Calvin Johnson's impact drew the smiles.
It wasn't necessarily the two nice catches that the No. 2 overall pick
secured. Instead, it was his presence during receiver Shaun McDonald's 83-yard
touchdown grab. While the Bengals were concerned with Johnson's whereabouts,
McDonald had enough time to guess the mathematical coordinates of reserve
quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan's lengthy heave.
The buzz in Detroit wasn't necessarily in regards to the win, yet what the
offense will accomplish with Johnson, Roy Williams and Mike Furrey on the field.
Aaron Wilson, RavensInsider.com
Baltimore Ravens
Rookie linebackers Antwan Barnes and Prescott Burgess combined
for eight tackles, two sacks and three quarterback hits in the Ravens' 29-3
victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Their instincts and hitting ability opened
eyes, and Barnes leveled unsuspecting Eagles punter Sav Rocca with a block that
separated him from his helmet.
Ken Palmer, TheGiantInsider.com
New York Giants
The Giants have a running game! The Giants have a running game!
A year after the retirement of the franchise's all-time leading rusher, Tiki
Barber, the Giants responded in their preseason opener with a very impressive
ground-game display. It was by far the most noteworthy development as New York
kicked-off its exhibition slate.
The combination of new starter Brandon Jacobs, Reuben Droughns, Derrick Ward,
Ryan Grant, rookie Ahmad Bradshaw, and fullback Robert Douglas combined for 124
rushing yards and another 64 receiving yards as New York's first Barber-less
offense showed itself extremely well in the club's 24-21 loss to Carolina.
John Crist, BearReport.com
Chicago Bears
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| Rex Grossman (AP Photo) |
The Bears have always been and will always be a running football team, but
the passing offense looked better than expected on Saturday night in Houston
against the Texans.
Starter Rex Grossman only played the first two series, but he completed his
first eight passes and finished the night 8-of-10 for 50 yards. Backup Brian
Griese had his first throw intercepted, yet he rebounded strong and ended up
6-of-7 for 72 yards and a touchdown. Third-stringer Kyle Orton got the majority
of the snaps, hitting on 16-of-25 for 151 yards and a score.
It's always dangerous to read too much into what happens on the field in
preseason games, but Bears fans have every reason to be excited since all three
quarterbacks played well and 17 different receivers caught a pass.
Todd Korth, PackerReport.com
Green Bay Packers
First-round pick Justin Harrell showed signs of turning the corner in Green
Bay's preseason opener at Pittsburgh. Harrell, who hasn't practiced in pads
since rupturing his biceps last September in a game while playing for Tennessee,
struggled with conditioning during the first two weeks of training camp. He had
trouble mounting any kind of rush in part because of fatigue but also from a
lack of moves.
On Saturday night, Harrell finished with a sack against the Steelers and a
tackle while playing with the third-string defense -- a big step. He also showed
an ability to pressure the quarterback at times in the game.
Doug Farrar, Seahawks.net
Seattle Seahawks
Left guard Rob Sims’ performance in Seattle’s 24-16 win over the Chargers
was less a surprise and more a confirmation of what people saw from him late in
his rookie season of 2006, when he started the last three regular-season games
and two playoff games next to Walter Jones. Seattle’s first-team line only
went the first series, but they trucked down the field for a touchdown against
the Chargers’ front seven and Sims had a lot to do with it. Not only did his
fine blocking at the point allow Jones to fan out more to protect Matt
Hasselbeck’s blind side, but he caught a deflected pass and rumbled 16 yards.
After a down year in 2006, Seattle’s offensive line appears ready for a
rebound, and Sims will be a big part of that.
Michael Lombardo, SDBoltReport.com
San Diego Chargers
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| Vincent Jackson (AP Photo) |
A lot of players did a lot of good things in the opener, but one who had a
horrible game stood out the most. Vincent Jackson is the going to be the crux of
the offense. If he plays like he did down the stretch last season (14
receptions, 286 yards and three touchdowns over the final five games), the
Chargers will repeat as the league’s highest scoring team. If he plays like he
did in the preseason opener, where he fumbled away his only reception and was
called for a costly holding penalty, the passing game will suffer.
The Chargers' two best receivers, Antonio Gates and LaDainian Tomlinson, do
most of their damage between the hashes. Although both are supremely effective,
they let defenses off the hook by not attacking the entire field. Jackson is the
only player on the roster with the health, talent and experience necessary to
excel as an outside threat. The Bolts are banking on him doing exactly that.
Steve Waters, BroncosUpdate.com
Denver Broncos
It wasn't so much what happened on the field as the Denver Broncos beat the
San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football, 17-13, but who didn't even make
the trip to the Bay Area.
Defensive tackle Gerard Warren stayed at home amid confirmed reports that he
is on the trading block. Warren was acquired a couple of seasons ago from
Cleveland and has been the mainstay of the defensive line making 49 tackles and
5-1/2 sacks. He was acquired in a trade with the Browns and quickly became the
most important cog in the defensive line.
Warren apparently doesn't fit into new defensive coordinator Jim Bates'
philosophy and became expendable when the Broncos acquired a couple of defensive
linemen during the offseason and drafted three more. It was a shock to many,
however, when Warren was left at home for the preseason opener.
Alain Poupart, DolphinDigest.com
Miami Dolphins
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| Trent Green (AP Photo) |
With the exception of left tackle Vernon Carey, who sustained a minor knee injury in the first quarter, every other first-team offensive lineman played the entire first half and the results were disastrous. Quarterback Trent Green was under constant pressure, and that played a big role in him being only 6-for-15 for 60 yards. And running back Ronnie Brown was held to 8 yards on eight attempts.
Coach Cam Cameron has said throughout training camp that the Dolphins are doing a lot of mixing and matching up front to find the right combination, so it's possible the unit that started against the Jaguars won't be the same one that will open up Sept. 9th at Washington. At this point, we can only hope so because the line appears mismatched. And it wasn't just rookies Drew Mormino at left guard and Samson Satele at center who got handled by Jacksonville. It was all five linemen getting badly beaten on a play or committing a penalty.
The line does figure to get better at some point, but in the preseason opener it was not even close to being respectable.
Craig Massei, SFIllustrated.com
San Francisco 49ers
There are a lot of people out there who don't believe quarterback Alex Smith
will ever become a difference-maker, but I'm not so sure that's the case
anymore.
For someone who has watched Smith's development virtually every day for six
months each year since he was drafted with the No. 1 overall selection in the
2005 draft, I detected more than just a subtle change in his game demeanor
during San Francisco's preseason opener.
The kid looks in his element now, something you couldn't say very often the past
two years when Smith was the youngest starting QB in the league. There was just
something different about his presence, and it was easily recognizable.
Smith looked poised and confident and made some outstanding downfield throws
when the first units were in the game, leading San Francisco on scoring drives
both possessions he played. And he did it without Pro Bowl halfback Frank Gore
(broken hand) behind him, indicating he's ready to take more of the offensive
load upon himself during the 49ers' anticipated 2007 playoff run.