Six eye-opening NFL preseason developments

Week 1 of the NFL preseason is no time to panic or jump to conclusions, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be surprised by some early developments.

From a surprising quarterback battle in New York to a failure to launch by Adam Gase’s Miami Dolphins to an up-and-down performance by a former Offensive Rookie of the Year, there is plenty to digest with still more action yet to come.

These are the most eye-opening developments that we’ve witnessed during the first two days of the NFL preseason.

1. Chicago Bears offense deader than dead

There’s no way to sugarcoat just how bad Chicago’s offense was on Thursday night as the Bears hosted the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. Now, you might expect the Bears to have some issues competing against Denver’s outstanding defense. But what we saw from this offense was nothing short of a disaster.

Quarterback Jay Cutler hardly played, finishing with 18 yards on three-of-four passing. And while he was quick to point out after the game that improvement starts with him, he assigned blame to everyone involved.

. “And that starts with everybody and it starts with me. We’ll take a look at it, the limited number of plays we were in. We’ll assess what we did good and bad and try to get better.”

In total, the Bears gained 130 yards and came up with zero points. The running game, which is now without Matt Forte, couldn’t gain much momentum. The Bears finished with 48 yards on 17 carries, and it’s worth mentioning third-string quarterback Connor Shaw gained 14 of those yards.

Clearly, replacing offensive coordinator Adams Gase is going to be a process. Hopefully for Bears fans, it won’t take too long.

2. Bryce Petty could unseat Geno Smith as Jets No. 2 quarterback

Based on offseason reports, it seemed like Petty might struggle to stay on the roster, just one season after being drafted by the Jets.

That the Jets are evaluating him closely is not up for interpretation. He played extensively in the second half Thursday and didn’t hurt himself, completing seven-of-14 passes for 93 yards. Better yet, he did not turn the ball over.

Meanwhile, rookie Christian Hackenberg, who has reportedly been awful during limited opportunities this summer (“brutally bad” was the exact term), didn’t play a single snap.

Then on Friday Rich Cimini of ESPN reported the Jets view Petty as a potential backup to Ryan Fitzpatrick and that he’s battling Smith for the spot.

This means Smith, who was excited about another starting opportunity before the Jets signed Fitzpatrick again, could potentially end up being relegated to third string before the end of training camp.

3. Carson Wentz clearly a long ways away from starting

It’s a good thing the Eagles aren’t going to throw Wentz to the wolves this year.

Don’t get us wrong, there were some big positives to take away from his first NFL action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But for the most part the rookie out of North Dakota State looked about as ready for NFL action as a newborn eagle is to fly.

Mobility is a huge plus for Wentz, who also has the size to see the entire field from behind center. He showed off this mobility escaping pressure in the pocket and taking off on a few decent runs.

Unfortunately, his mechanics were atrocious on Thursday night. Too many throws ended up high and/or behind receivers as he attempted to play within the flow of the game, which is much faster than anything he’s ever experienced.

Wentz finished the game with 89 yards on 12-of-24 passing with no touchdowns and an interception.

It was a promising outing for the rookie, and it’s one he can build on for the future. But by no means is he close to being ready to start for this team.

4. Robert Griffin III still a work in progress

Okay, so we’re all still a work in progress. And RG3 wasn’t all bad. In fact, his 49-yard strike to Terrelle Pryor for the Cleveland Browns was a thing of beauty (watch here).

But here’s the deal. For every awesome thing Griffin III does, he’s likely to do something just as exasperating. This perfectly describes the interception he threw just two plays after hitting Pryor. Down at the 21-yard line of the Green Bay Packers, he threw the ball into the arms of safety Micah Hyde.

It was a bad decision to throw the ball in the first place, as Hyde was tracking his eyes from the get-go. RG3 never looked him off, and making matters worse the throw was inaccurate. His tight end, Gary Barnidge, never had a chance to catch the ball and wasn’t even looking for it to begin with — a sign of miscommunication.

It was a rookie mistake and not something you expect from a player entering his fifth season. But this is a guy we knew entering the league had no idea how to run an NFL-style offense.

That he has the talent to become great has never been in question, but his ability to execute basic NFL plays is still a work in progress. It’s a process some NFL GMs believe could doom Hue Jackson’s tenure in Cleveland (more on that here).

We’re not ready to jump to such a conclusion, but clearly Jackson has his work cut out for him.

5. Teddy Bridgewater looking like a breakout candidate 

The Minnesota Vikings were a breakout team last year, going 11-5 to finish as the first-place team in the competitive NFC North.

But everyone agrees the only way this team can take the next step and make a deep playoff run is if Bridgewater takes his next step in 2016. This is something we discussed in our Vikings team preview, which you can check out here.

While it was only a small sample size Friday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, Bridgewater appears poised to answer the bell in a major way this season.

Finishing with 92 yards and a touchdown on six-of-seven passing, he overcame an rough start to lead what was a very efficient offensive attack.

More importantly, Bridgewater took advantage of some soft defensive coverage on the back end, connecting on a 49-yard touchdown bomb to receiver Charles Johnson (watch here).

Explosive passing plays were somewhat of a rarity last year when Bridgewater led the NFL’s 31st-ranked passing offense. That he’s showing an accurate cannon early bodes well for him and the offense as a whole.

6. Ryan Tannehill and Dolphins offense looking disheveled

Again, we’ll emphasize that there is no reason to panic yet. With that out of the way, word coming out of South Florida this summer is that the offense has struggled in camp. Things didn’t look any better Friday night when the Miami Dolphins visited the New York Giants.

In particular, the offensive line was atrocious. Ryan Tannehill must have been experiencing flashbacks to 2013 when he was the NFL’s most-sacked quarterback.

While he didn’t get sacked, Tannehill was hit hard more than once. The final play of the game for him ended with him being sandwiched between Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon — a sight Giants fans must have been thrilled to behold.

His first drive ended in a three-and-out, despite completing two short passes. Tannehill’s second and final drive was another three-and-out, and this time he failed to connect on both of his passes.

Rookie head coach Adam Gase was smart to get Tannehill out of the game at that point, because New York’s pass rushers smelled blood in the water.

This has to be a make-or-break campaign for Tannehill. He has shown some promise in his first four seasons, but potential isn’t going to do it any more.

It’s time to put it all together, and if Gase can’t get him to perform then it’s probably safe to say nobody will.