With the preseason now half over, we can all pretty much agree that it’s time to get into regular season mode. While some interesting stuff did happen over the past four days around the NFL, the larger issue at hand has to be injuries. From a top pass catcher in Green Bay to a Carolina Panthers squad that reeling after losing its No. 1 receiver, the past week has not been friendly to skill position players around the NFL. That has to be the first thing to look at here.
On to what actually transpired outside of injuries.
We saw two NFC East quarterbacks put up stellar performances, one of which may start the first four games of the regular year for the defending champion New England Patriots. Meanwhile, Chip Kelly appears to have his Philadelphia Eagles offense in mid-season form.
Here are 10 takeaways from Week 2 of the NFL preseason.
Jordy Nelson’s Injury
This is a biggie. In a vacuum, this is something that could push the possibility of shortening the preseason to the front burner around the NFL. Preliminary reports indicate that Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson suffered a torn ACL in the team’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday afternoon. Nelson, one of the top receivers in the game, pulled up lame in an innocent looking play during the first half. After limping off to the sideline and chatting with trainers, the Pro Bowler was then jettisoned to the locker room.
With Nelson likely out for the season, Green Bay’s chances of winning the NFC took a considerable hit. Randall Cobb will be moved up to the No. 1 receiving role with Davante Adams taking over as the primary outside receiver. There’s little doubt that Adams, a second-year player from Fresno State, boasts a ton of upside. However, it’s absurd to believe that he will be able to replace the production Green Bay has seen from Nelson over the years. Last season saw the 30-year-old receiver catch 98 passes for over 1,500 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Outside of simple stats, Nelson’s absence will have a huge impact on Aaron Rodgers under center. The MVP has gone to him in a pinch a vast majority of the time over the years. Short of Rodgers acquiring a similar relationship with Adams, it’s likely the quarterback’s performance will also be impacted by this season-altering injury.
Ryan Tannehill already dialed in
After completing 12-of-15 passes for 102 yards and a score against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, this newly extended franchise quarterback is completing 82 percent of his passes with a 126.9 rating through two preseason games.
We know what you are thinking. Who cares about preseason stats? While that’s fine and dandy, it’s important to note just how much Tannehill has improved on tape. He seems to have a better pocket presence—something that the former first-round pick struggled with a great deal early in his career. And his deep ball? Well, it’s safe to say that’s coming along swimmingly.
There are a lot of skeptics out there concluding that the Texas A&M product will never be an elite signal caller in the NFL. That’s a narrative that he’s fully prepared to throw out the window this year. If the preseason is any indication (it usually isn’t), Tannehill could very well be on his way to doing just that.
Philadelphia Eagles offense looks to be in mid-season form
A total of 40 points and 31 first downs. Those two stunning numbers Philadelphia put up against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night are an indication that Chip Kelly and company are already in mid-season form.
After going with huddles and a slower tempo during joint practices with Baltimore leading up to the game, Philadelphia blitzed the Ravens defense early and often. From Sam Bradford leading a 12-play, 84-yard scoring drive in less than four minutes to open the game to Tim Tebow leading the Eagles’ offense to 10 points in the final 4:37 of the fourth quarter, it was clear that the team was working on tempo in this one. Overall, the Eagles ran a ridiculous 84 plays.
Both Ryan Mathews and DeMarco Murray scored touchdowns against the Ravens’ first-team defense as the Eagles racked up a ridiculous 238 rushing yards on 38 attempts. In terms of quarterback play, it was Mark Sanchez’s time to shine. Acting as a buffer between Bradford and the two quarterbacks vying for a roster spot, Sanchez completed 14-of-20 passes for 118 yards in a stellar all-around performance.
We already know that Philadelphia runs a quarterback-friendly offense. Now that we are seeing it take flight already, it really is a sight to behold. And with a ton of talent in the backfield, Kelly and company are going to be incredibly hard to stop in 2015. The question now becomes whether Philadelphia’s defense can consistently stop the opposing team. After all, the Eagles’ tempo led to Baltimore’s offense running 82 plays itself.
Jimmy Garoppolo looked tremendous against the New Orleans Saints
Statistically, Garoppolo put up the best performance for a quarterback thus far during the preseason against the New Orleans Saints. The second-year quarterback completed 28-of-33 passes for 269 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
While the statistics tell us one story, the tape tells us an entirely different story. A vast majority of Garoppolo’s 33 attempts were of the one read variety on short to intermediate routes. The idea here was to get the young quarterback in a rhythm against a Saints secondary that was missing all of its starters. Also without his primary pass catchers, Garoppolo did a tremendous job doing what was asked of him on the night.
And while he was intercepted on a deep pass to Brandon Gibson in the fourth quarter, the young signal caller pretty much played within the confines of the offense. That’s all the Patriots are going to ask of him should Tom Brady remain on the suspended list for the first four games of the season.
LeGarrette Blount, not so much
Pretty much etched in stone as the Patriots starting running back, Blount just didn’t look good Saturday night. The veteran running back tallied a total of 15 yards on 13 attempts for a paltry average of just 1.2 yards per attempt. Not yet in football shape, it’s apparent that Blount has a lot to work on in the back end in order to become regular-season ready. Suspended for the first game, it will be interesting to see how he performs throughout the remainder of the preseason.
After all, there are a plethora of running backs vying for carries in the Patriots backfield. The good news for Blount is that no other running back stood out against the Saints. Fresh off a stellar performance against the Green Bay Packers in the preseason opener, Jonas Gray put up just 22 yards on seven attempts. Second-year player James White added 23 yards on nine rushes. Meanwhile, new addition Dion Lewis did catch five passes out of the backfield.
Eli Manning’s struggles continue
A week after completing 4-of-8 passes against the Cincinnati Bengals in his preseason debut, Manning struggled again Saturday night against a weak Jacksonville Jaguars defense. He failed to lead the Giants to much offense, completing just 4-of-14 passes for 46 yards without a score or an interception. This brings Manning’s preseason total to 68 yards on 22 attempts with a 31 percent completion rate.
None of this should be too much of a concern for the Giants. Manning isn’t some wide-eyed young quarterback out there to prove himself in August. He has a routine and is likely working on a few things. That’s the benefit of having 11 years of NFL experience and being entrenched in as the team’s starting quarterback. Though, I am pretty sure offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo and company want to see more from Eli in the team’s third preseason game against the New York Jets next week.
Washington Redskins coaching staff to blame for Robert Griffin III injury
If doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is insanity, what the Redskins did to starting quarterback Robert Griffin III takes that to an entirely new level. Behind an offensive line that couldn’t protect the embattled signal caller in any capacity Thursday night against a pass-rush heavy Detroit Lions team, RGIII found himself used as an unwilling sparring partner.
The former Heisman winner was sacked three times and hit twice more in just eight dropbacks. Throughout the night, he repeatedly took some huge hits from oncoming Lions defenders. It wasn’t a lack of timing in getting rid of the ball. Instead, it was all about a lack of any sort of pass protection from the Skins offensive line.
The narrative here is that RGIII doesn’t do a good job seeing the field and struggles getting rid of the ball in a timely manner. While there is definitely some truth to this, no one can blame him for what transpired this past week. Some will point to the play that ultimately led to his injury. The enigmatic quarterback stepped away from what was a clean pocket, and missed two wide-open receivers on short routes. He then stepped into pressure, which led to the injury. When criticizing RGIII, these people fail to point out one simple fact. The two wide-open receivers were check-down options on third and long. Instead of taking the short gain and punting, the former top-five pick tried to make a play happen. This is what defined his career at Baylor. This is also what made him the second overall selection in the 2012 NFL draft.
This isn’t to say that the Redskins should rely on RGIII to be a starter-caliber quarterback in the NFL. Instead, it’s about throwing a ridiculous narrative out the window. The franchise may have destroyed any hope that he will bounce back from two disastrous seasons by continuing to play him in a meaningless preseason game. That shouldn’t be acceptable to anyone.
Seattle Seahawks struggle opening up offense behind revamped offensive line
Outside of a couple nice connections with Jimmy Graham, it appeared that Seattle was holding Russell Wilson back this past week against the Kansas City Chiefs. In the grand scheme of things, that was probably a good idea. Going with a revamped offensive line that brought two new starters into Friday’s game, Seattle had to make sure that Wilson survived the meaningless preseason game. That’s likely one of the reasons the team went max-protect throughout his time on the field. Though, it surely halted Seattle’s ability to do much on offense. He completed 9-of-15 passes for 78 yards (5.2 yards per attempt).
None of this is really a big deal. Outside of the obvious fact that Seattle needs to find the right mix along a struggling offensive line, not opening up the offense in the preseason is something a vast majority of teams around the NFL do. Knowing their scheme and talent, the Seahawks have no reason to tip their hand. Though, it might become a bit concerning should the same be said following the team’s third preseason game against the San Diego Chargers.
Johnny Manziel shows improvement, but still a work in progress
If nothing else, Manziel showed that he has the capability to make a NFL-level throw in live game action this past week against the Buffalo Bills. While that might not seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things, it’s not something we had seen on a consistent basis prior to Thursday’s game. All said, the former Heisman winner completed 10-of-18 passes for 118 yards with a touchdown. Preseason or not, it was the best performance of his young career.
There are, however, some major issues the second-year quarterback needs to work on. When faced with pressure, Manziel continues to look run first instead of stepping up in the pocket or away from pressure. With his head down, this disables the quarterback’s ability to scan the field for an open receiver. And while Manziel has improved to an extent when it comes to progressing through his initial read, he’s still a long way from being considered a pro-level quarterback in that area of the game.
Now that Manziel is going through some arm soreness, it remains to be seen whether he will get the necessary snaps to continue progressing as a passer this preseason. That could have a major impact on his ability to show the Browns that he can be counted on under center. Though, at least we have some darn good tape on the young quarterback. That wasn’t something we could say prior to Thursday’s game.
With NaVorro Bowman back, San Francisco 49ers defense looks legit
Prior to tearing up his knee in the NFC Championship game back in January of 2014, Bowman was considered the best inside linebacker in the NFL. A Defensive Player of the Year candidate prior to said injury, Bowman returned to the field for the first time Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys. And it didn’t take him more than one snap to make an impact. Playing just a handful of downs, the former All-Pro linebacker tallied three solo tackles, including two for losses.
Bowman’s presence on a 49ers defense that has lost Hall of Fame talent over the past several months set into motion a performance that may give us a glimpse of what this unit is capable of, especially the front seven. From rookie linebacker Eli Harold to defensive linemen Quinton Dial, Mike Purcell and Ian Williams, San Francisco’s defensive front was swarming throughout the game. All said, Cowboys quarterbacks were hit a whopping 15 times on the night. While it’s too early to draw any conclusions, new head coach Jim Tomsula has to like what he sees from this unit.