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Top 10 storylines for Week 4 of the NFL preseason

The final week of the NFL preseason normally doesn’t amount to a hill of beans. In general, teams rest their starters for almost the entire game. Heck, some even sit their top players altogether in preparation for the regular season.

This doesn’t mean that there aren’t things we should look for as the NFL gets ready to kick off the season.

Who is going to be the No. 3 wide receiver in Green Bay? Will the Dallas Cowboys running back situation be settled come Week 1? What about three disastrous starting offensive lines in the NFC West? Will any of those situations be settled on Thursday?

Here are your top 10 storylines for Week 4 of the NFL preseason.

Green Bay Packers No. 3 receiver job

Now that Davante Adams is entrenched in as the team’s No. 2 receiver with Jordy Nelson officially on injured reserve, the biggest question regarding the Packers wide receiver situation is who will be on the field when they go to three-wide sets.

Thus far this preseason, it’s been a even split of playing time between second-year pass catcher Jeff Janis and rookie Ty Montgomery with the former playing 102 snaps compared to 98 for the latter. Those are the two receivers vying for that all important No. 3 position. For his part, Janis has both touchdown receptions for Packers receivers this preseason.

Though, it seems that Montgomery is the leader in the clubhouse at this point. He started over his counterpart in the team’s third preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. While it makes little sense to read too much into this, it’s a more important indication than who gets first-team reps in a fourth exhibition game that rarely includes starters playing much, if at all.

Tim Tebow’s chances to make the Philadelphia Eagles

Chip Kelly and the Eagles have come away impressed by what this former Heisman winner has done thus far. In fact, Kelly had some glowing remarks about the embattled quarterback earlier this week:

“I’ve seen Tim improve since he’s gotten here,” the head coach said on Monday. “He’s improved his throwing motion a great deal. Since we got him back in April, he’s worked very hard at that. Sequencing his throwing motion, so I think he’s been more accurate.”

Whatever Kelly might be seeing on the practice field has not necessarily translated to live in-game action this summer. Through three preseason outings, Tebow has completed less than 53 percent of his passes, accumulating an average of just 5.1 yards per attempt and 9.7 yards per completion. Those aren’t necessarily NFL-level numbers right there.

What gives Tebow a real good chance to make the team is his ability to act as a difference-maker in goal-line plays and potential two-point conversions. With the new NFL rules regarding extra points, there’s a good chance that the always innovative Kelly will decide to go for two more often this year. In that, Tebow could have a defined role on the team. That’s something that we can’t say for Matt Barkley, who is currently competing with Tebow for the No. 3 job behind Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez.

Colt McCoy, Robert Griffin III and the Redskins

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Lost in all the drama surrounding RGIII is the fact that McCoy will be given the opportunity to play the entire game in the team’s preseason finale Thursday. The career backup may not represent the same intrigue as either RGIII or Kirk Cousins, but he’s performed extremely well thus far this preseason. The former third-round pick is completing nearly 80 percent of his passes with three touchdowns and zero picks. Could a solid performance from McCoy this week help push the Redskins in the direction of cutting ties with RGIII completely?

As it relates to who Jay Gruden envisions backing up Cousins when the regular season comes calling, the head coach seemed non-committal earlier this week:

“Well, Robert is still in the concussion protocol program,” Gruden said, via the Washington Post. “So, when he gets out of that, we will make a determination.”

Barring something further coming up regarding RGIII’s concussion, this is a decision Gruden will have to make sooner rather than later. Teams usually only dress two quarterbacks on game day, which means we will likely know who the Week 1 backup is prior to the Redskins season opener against the Miami Dolphins. Just imagine RGIII being overtaken by McCoy as the team’s No. 2 signal caller. That would lead to even more drama in D.C.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver situation

Carolina did pick up second-year receiver Kevin Norwood from the Seattle Seahawks earlier this week, but expecting him to be a difference maker in the absence of Kelvin Benjamin is a bit too much. That’s putting it lightly.

Outside of Benjamin’s injury, the biggest issue this preseason has been Carolina’s receivers actually holding on to the football. Philly Brown, who many had pegged as a starter opposite Devin Funchess, has dropped three of the 11 passes thrown in his direction this preseason. Heck, he has one catch in 11 targets. Meanwhile, Funchess, a rookie second-round pick from Michigan, aggravated a hamstring injury earlier this week and has dealt with his fair share of minor injuries during the summer. It’s highly unlikely that the Panthers can expect a whole bunch from him early in the regular year.

With so much uncertainty at wide receiver, Ted Ginn (of all people) may act as Newton’s favorite wide receiver target this season.

While good news for Ginn, no passing offense in the NFL is going to succeed with him as the team’s No. 1 wide receiver. That possibility came to an abrupt end when the former first-round pick struggled for so many years with the Miami Dolphins early in his career.

Unlike most teams, the Panthers final preseason game will have wide-ranging implications on their depth chart at wide receiver. Right now, we have to assume that Ginn will join fellow veteran Jerricho Cotchery in the starting lineup. Outside of that, everything remains up in the air.

EJ Manuel and Matt Cassel in Buffalo

With Tyrod Taylor slated to start the regular season opener, Buffalo’s biggest decision before next week has to be who’s going to back him up and who might end up as a casualty when the Bills have to cut their roster down to 53 on Saturday. Recent reports suggest that the Bills are preparing to go with EJ Manuel as the primary backup while letting Matt Cassel go.

While it’s unknown whether any of this will change following Thursday’s game, we do know that Matt Simms is slated to start the preseason finale. Depending on how long he plays, that could be an indication of two things. First, that Simms will make the roster as the team’s No. 3 quarterback. And secondly, that whoever loses out on the primary backup job will be out of an actual job this weekend.

Jimmy Garoppolo and the New England Patriots

There is so much up in the air regarding the Patriots quarterback situation. First off, we have absolutely no idea whether Tom Brady will be playing in the team’s regular season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers next Thursday. One week before the start of the year, and the most-important position on the defending champs remains unsettled. Though, the federal court is anticipating a ruling some time this week.

As it is, we still don’t know how much Garoppolo will play in the preseason finale. Considering that Brady is the starter (whenever he’s actually able to see the field), he’s unlikely to play. This should tell us that the second-year signal caller will be under center.

Either way, Garoppolo has had an up-and-down performance thus far this preseason. He followed up an uneven preseason debut against the Green Bay Packers with a stellar outing two weeks ago. Overall, the former second-round pick has completed 76.3 percent of his passes for 554 yards with two touchdowns and two picks in three games.

Will anything be decided regarding the Dallas Cowboys running back situation?

With all signs pointing to Darren McFadden getting a nice amount of reps when the regular season comes calling, the Cowboys running back situation couldn’t be on a thinner sheet of ice. Joseph Randle, who many had pegged as the starter prior to training camp, is now likely going to be part of a running back by committee approach with McFadden.

Speaking up about the team’s situation at this all-important position after losing DeMarco Murray to the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles, owner Jerry Jones had this to say this week:

“Even if we’re in that game, even if they’ve done a good job of taking it away from us a little bit, even if we’re having to throw more, the word is respect.”

Respecting the running game and fearing it are two different things. Opposing teams feared what Murray brought to the table on a consistent basis last season. I am not too sure the same defenses will fear McFadden and/or Randle too much.

For his part, McFadden has been one of the most injury-prone running backs in the NFL over the past several seasons, missing a quarter of the Oakland Raiders games since being selected No. 4 overall back in 2008.

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they might not have the luxury of resting either of their top two running backs in the preseason finale. Through three exhibition games, this duo has combined for 20 rushing attempts and 42 total snaps. That’s not necessarily the sample size head coach Jason Garrett and company were hoping for.

Logan Thomas or Phillip Sims in Arizona?

The Cardinals had huge expectations for Thomas when they selected him in the fourth round of the 2014 draft. But after the team decided to pass on him starting late last season with both Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton injured, those expectations were muted a bit. Enter into the equation undrafted rookie free agent Phillip Sims, who will get the start over Thomas in the team’s fourth preseason game.

From the Cardinals official website:

“It’s a preseason game, yes, and the fourth one at that. But Sims has done well in his battle with Logan Thomas to see which one fits third behind Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton, and it’s Sims who gets the start against the Broncos.”

That’s an interesting line right there. We all know how team sites tend to error on the side of caution when it comes to tipping their hand, but this could signify that Sims has the upper hand over Thomas. Though, it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see Thomas under center for the entire second half as a last-ditch opportunity to prove that he belongs on the 53-man roster.

NFC West offensive lines

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It’s bad. It’s really bad. No matter where you look in this division, there are issues along the offensive line. From a right side in San Francisco that leaves a whole heck of a lot to be desired to a reshuffled line in Seattle that may end up giving Russell Wilson nightmares, there are going to be some major pass-protection issues in the NFC West.

Colin Kaepernick couldn’t even get off a completion until the 49ers final drive of the first half last week against the Denver Broncos. And it had absolutely nothing to do with him. The team’s offensive line was an absolute dumpster fire during that game. Sadly for fans in San Francisco, head coach Jim Tomsula pegged Jordan Devey and Erik Pears as starters along the right side of their line. They were among the worst players at their respective positions last season. Something needs to be done here if Kaepernick is going to come close to rebounding from a down 2014 campaign.

In Seattle, the news isn’t much better. Including the seven sacks its offensive line allowed in the preseason opener, Seahawks quarterbacks have gone down a total of 10 times in three games. With Max Unger and James Carpenter gone, Seattle needs to find the right mix in front of Russell Wilson. If not, he faces the real possibility of going down to injury this year.

This doesn’t even take into account an Arizona Cardinals offensive line that is still without expensive free-agent signing Mike Iupati after he underwent surgery for a torn meniscus during camp. Starting right tackle Bobby Massie is also suspended for the first three games of the regular season after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. All this comes with Cardinals quarterbacks being dropped for sacks 10 times through three preseason games.

Running back situation in Cleveland

If preseason snaps are any indication, Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West are battling for the primary ball carrier duties. Unfortunately, that really doesn’t tell us a lot about which way the Browns are leaning. One thing is known here: Duke Johnson might be out of the running early on after suffering a concussion early in his preseason debut last week. That could dramatically impact the rookie’s ability to make an early-season impact.

Browns head coach Mike Pettine just recently refused to rule out the possibility of signing Ray Rice. If the team doesn’t have any sort of running back rotation going come Week 1, signing the veteran could become a real possibility. It will be interesting to see if the Browns attempt to figure out what Crowell and West can bring to the table this week.

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