Preseason Reaction Thread

[Thanatos 2,847]

KB made one hell of a catch for a TD. Gonna be fun watching him with all the hate against him pre-draft, with Newton throwing to him, who went through the same thing.

 

Defense let the Bills march down the field on them, but then stuffed them at the goal-line.

 

I'm willing to bet run defense is just because of preseason. Everyone has vanilla looks. Not at all concerned about our run D. If there is anything on the secondary that is a potential issue, its the secondary.

Edited August 9, 2014 by Thanatos19

[CampinWithaMissingPerson 2,025]

Yeah the secondary for y'all is perpetually bad Front 7 made up for it last year.

 

I wouldn't get too caught up on the Kelvin "hate" pre-draft. There was valid questions about him (coming from an FSU fan here too), but the ceiling and potential with this kid is obviously immense. The draft process always brings out the worst and best of each prospect, they get picked apart to death. Heard he's been lights out in camp with his hands and not having many drops which is a great sign. The best part to me was how he improved by light years from his first year playing with the Noles, to his second year, looked like a completely different player. His first year he was "that big WR who looks sloppy, can't catch and is a waste on the field" and turned into a legit play maker last year. He definitely has good ORTY odds. I hope Cam throws to him even when he doesn't appear open because that's the way to take advantage of all Kelvin can offer you.

[CampinWithaMissingPerson 2,025]

btw, for Dmac:

 

 

Chris Smith was jumping that snap like crazy. Needs to continue to use his arm length more while rushing so he doesn't have to take such wide angles to get to the QB quicker and not just rely on speed outside to fully maximize his potential. Solid start though.

 

EDIT: slow mo look at his get off:

 

https://vine.co/v/MVIBBHYIDvp

Edited August 9, 2014 by CampinWithGoatSampson

[CampinWithaMissingPerson 2,025]

Next up...

 

vs

 

• The amount of flags in this game was ridiculous, first off.

 

• Bears starters generated lots of pressure on Foles forcing some uncharacteristic bad decision making. Jeremiah Ratliff forced a very good OG in Evan Mathis into holding him from getting a sack/hit on Nick. Pressure again the next play by Lamarr Houston and Willie Young — two guys I highlighted on TGP Radio when I said the Bears defense should be improved and part of the reason why I picked the Bears to win the NFC North — causing Foles to make a terrible decision throwing while falling back into the middle of the field right to Ryan Mundy.

 

• Eagles run defense bottled up the Bears all game save for one Forte run it seemed.

 

• Jay Cutler continues to have atrocious mechanics yet still makes amazing throws But those same mechanics issues cause him to miss guys when he should hit them easily. The living paradox that is Jay Christopher Cutler.

 

• Vinny Curry is a monster and must be #Freed ASAP. Marcus Smith looked impressive flipping his hips and back pedaling playing as an OLB. Very good signs. He set the edge well on run plays too.

 

• If Bears TE Zach Miller (former 2009 6th round pick of the Jags) ends up balling out for the Bears I'm gonna be He was running good routes and showing nice hands out there for both Cutler and Jordan Palmer.

 

• Josh Huff

[SteVo+ 3,702]

Campin knows football. I like Campin.

 

And yes, #FreeVinnyCurry.

[CampinWithaMissingPerson 2,025]

Campin knows football. I like Campin.

 

And yes, #FreeVinnyCurry.

 

https://vine.co/v/MV1tqIAdIYZ

 

[CampinWithaMissingPerson 2,025]

for Dmac:

 

[panthergf 31]

DVR'd vs

 

• Sammy looks so miserable with EJ as his QB But it might just be them feeling each other out because EJ doesn't seem like he knows how to utilize him yet. He still has that chemistry with Robert Woods though, and made a nice read on a defensive breakdown on a nice loft to a wide open Chris Hogan.

 

• Kelvin Benjamin, y'all

 

• Speaking of EJ, he played real solid in spurts in this game, but had his fair share of goofs. Looks about the same as he did his rookie year so far this preseason.

 

• The Bills are just flat out mean hogging up all those RBs like they are But yeah they really gashed the Panthers run defense in this game. Might just be because of preseason but Carolina has to shore that run defense up (though they had a real nice goal line stand early in the game to stop them on 4th down.)

 

Haven't been on for a while but my take away's from what I had seen and read that translated from camp to the field in this game and even some surprises.

 

KB has been solid in camp and not dropped many passes this seemed to continue into the game Anderson missed him on one of his two looks he got but 2nd look was KB just making a incredible catch for the TD. From everything I read and seen when I went down and watched 3 days of camp him and Cam are practically attached at the hips literally never leaving each others side even when WR's would go to the opposite side of the field for drills he would stay by Cam. So I am really looking forward to seeing those two together when Cam returns next week they look to have really good chemistry.

 

King has been having a really good camp, and had a really good game probably the best out of the WR's yesterday I wouldn't be surprised to see him take Avant's place at some point this season was running with the one's some when I was down and even reported by local reporters he should move up the depth chart some next week.

 

Bersin has been a stand out in camp and a target Cam really likes, looked good for the time he was in and has had a really good camp. Brown also looked good yesterday and has had a pretty good camp right now if I had to guess favorites to make the roster on the back end of the WR's if we keep 6 is Bersin, Brown, & King.

 

WR's don't look no where near as bad as been made out, I actually think we have improved from last year and this also includes because we will be running more two pass catching TE sets. Brandon Williams "Swoll" will be giving Dickson all he wants for that number two TE spot across from Olsen. All TE's looked solid yesterday, Williams, Dickson, & Brockel should all make the roster more then likely with us carrying 4 TE's one pure blocking TE in Brockel.

 

Bell wasn't terrible at LT but interested in Chandler as he gets his shot next week. O-line did better then expected Trai Turner looked really good in the Guard spot. Defense gave up some runs but I don't really read a lot into that. I agree the secondary is probably spots I worry about the most mainly Godfrey more then the others, I think he needs moved back to safety he is just too slow to play CB. I am surprised Byndom didn't get more playing time as he played well in camp, Bene looks solid, and Cason has had a pretty good camp so with that D-line I am not overall real worried but if there was a spot on that defense its the secondary.

 

McNutt, Underwood, Clemons, Pilares haven't done much and are the first bunch I think are on the cutting block in the WR's. Lucas has had a good camp and was hoping he did well yesterday but had some rookie struggles. Webb surprised me and I think he will take Blanchards spot after Blanchards terrible play last night even though those two are both really don't matter too much anyways as we should only keep two QB's.

 

Reaves also looked pretty good, I thought he did a better job then Barner. Special Teams on returns has me worried I think ultimately Cason or Bene will be returning when its said and done or probably Philly Brown.

 

Anyways not a bad overall first pre-season performance including given Cam, DeAngelo, Stew, Johnson, Harper, Gano, and others sat out.

Edited August 10, 2014 by panthergf

[Tridentdawgpound 1,043]

Snead, Krause, McFadden, Desir, Manziel are the guys who need to go based on tonight.

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

How about Logan Thomas?

 

You guys want a preseason overeaction, the guy looked great tonight. Future superstar fo sho.

[BC 331]

Can we call the bust label off Clowney now? Clearly looks like he's going to ball like hell this year. Dude lives in the backfield.

 

I get the frustration of Dri Archer's size from Zack's perspective but can I said say holy shit if they keep using him as screen / swing / slant pass and KR PR type of player that he might just give them that 2-3 burst plays per game to make that draft selection completely justifiable.

 

Paul Richardson >>> Golden Tate

 

The Texans have THE WORST QB situation in the league. They should IR every defensive starter now and go for Jameis Winston.

Edited August 10, 2014 by BC

[Dutch 874]

This blows so hard... I'm going to miss every preseason game because of my work schedule on Thursdays and Friday nights >.> Better preseason than regular season though.

[SteVo+ 3,702]

This blows so hard... I'm going to miss every preseason game because of my work schedule on Thursdays and Friday nights >.> Better preseason than regular season though.

 

Just get Campin's analysis and you'll be fine.

[.AirMcNair. 1,232]

The one and only...Clipboard Jesus

 

[FartWaffles 1,857]

 

The Good: Watt, Clowney, Powe, Grimes, Blue, and rush defense.

 

The Bad: Everybody else

 

The Ugly: Penalties

 

I didn't have high expectations for this team, but sweet baby Jesus I didn't think it would be this bad! Still a lot of training camp/preseason to go, but if this is any indicator of things to come then it's time to start breaking out the Mariota/Winston film.

 

The fact that O'Brien stressed discipline since the day he got here had myself scratching my head with all of the bonehead penalties that were committed last night. That's gotta change quickly.

[.AirMcNair. 1,232]

 

The Good: Watt, Clowney, Powe, Grimes, Blue, and rush defense.

 

The Bad: Everybody else

 

The Ugly: Penalties

 

I didn't have high expectations for this team, but sweet baby Jesus I didn't think it would be this bad! Still a lot of training camp/preseason to go, but if this is any indicator of things to come then it's time to start breaking out the Mariota/Winston film.

 

The fact that O'Brien stressed discipline since the day he got here had myself scratching my head with all of the bonehead penalties that were committed last night. That's gotta change quickly.

 

but..but...but...

 

[oochymp 2,393]

 

The Good: ... Grimes

what's the talk on him from camp? I watched him a lot in college and was really surprised he didn't get more NFL interest, so I'm glad to see him making some noise

[FartWaffles 1,857]

what's the talk on him from camp? I watched him a lot in college and was really surprised he didn't get more NFL interest, so I'm glad to see him making some noise

All the reports I've read suggest Grimes is having a great training camp, and O'Brien thinks highly of him even going out of his way to claim that Grimes is a three down back. For whatever reason Andre Brown did not play yesterday, so Grimes drew the start at RB.

 

With Arian's injury history and large volume of carries over the years, it wouldn't surprise me if Grimes saw some significant regular season carries while sharing the load with rookie Alfred Blue.

[Glanvilles Grits 142]

My complete reactions so far:

 

- Kelvin Benjamin made one hell of a catch. The fact that he was able to keep his eyes on the ball as he stumbled to the ground is absolutely amazing. They may have hit something special, but theres no need to over-react just yet. As somewhat of a skeptic on the Panthers passing game actually being relevant this year, it was a huge plus. I'm still not that impressed with his route running, but that's something that gets better with time.

 

 

- EJ Manuel and Sammy Watkins definitely need to work on their chemistry. They seem completely out of sync. Again though, that's something we'll see get better with time. I still think Watkins is going to be a stud for the Bills.

 

 

- Carlos Hyde looked every bit of a starting NFL running back. Lattimore who? I think the 49ers found their replacement for Frank Gore in this kid. He's on the bigger side, but man he's got some speed to go with that size. If he carries his first performance right through the pre-season, we're going to see him take a lot of carries from Gore.

 

- Johnny Manziel looked like a rookie. Nothing particularly great in his performance, his ability to escape trouble looks like it could be nice to have. Other than that, he looked average.

 

- Blake Bortles may be the quarterback the Jaguars have been looking for. He's definitely got confidence in the pocket. He's not afraid to trust his receivers. Another performance like that, and he could be in the drivers seat in the competition.

 

- Zac Stacy has nothing to worry about right now. Tre Mason looked solid, but in no way did he look like a guy that could threaten the starting job.

 

- Jeremy Hill was stout. 6 carries for 36 yards. The Bengals have a gem in Hill, I think that people high on Bernard this season are going to be in for a surprise, it seems like the Bengals love what they have in Hill, I think he and Bernard will end up splitting time.

 

- Matt Cassels job to lose: Bridgewater looked skiddish in the pocket. Cassel will need to really screw it up in order to lose the starting spot this year.

 

- Rashad Jennings is a legitimate starting running back in the NFL. Not sure why everyone has been sleeping on Jennings. While Williams has looked solid, I'm not sold on him just yet. Jennings seems to always step up. The Giants are sold on him as their guy at this point.

 

- Antonio Gates taking a back seat to Lardarius Green at this point. I think Green is going to have the torch passed to him this year. The Chargers clearly love what they have in Green, he's a big target with playmaking ability.

 

- Nick Foles is showing us everything we were concerned of. Last year there were a lot of times where Foles looked shaky in the pocket and threw the ball a little too soon, fortunately for him last year it worked out majority of the time. He was picked off twice against the Bears on questionable throws. Only the first pre-season game, but I think it's safe to say that Foles will take a step back this year.

 

- Falcons run defense looked stout, and all the while in the nickel formation the entire game. Not going to get too excited though on that, it is the Dolphins afterall. Nolan kept the defense in the Nickel all game, clearly trying to feel out our safety situation, excited to see a few other formations as preseason progresses.

 

 

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

It's kind of hard to give an accurate judgement of the Packers with how much rain was falling last night.

- The run game looked amazing though. James Starks might just be one of the better #2 backs in the league...

 

- Rajion Neal looks like he wants to destroy Dejuan Harris' dreams and steal the #3 RB slot.

 

- The starting defense looked improved, minus letting Greene waddle around at will

- Scott Tolzien outplayed Matt Flynn, easily. Praise all that may... I want Flynn off this team forever, and Tolzien may deliver us from evil!

- Chase Rettig is exactly what we thought he was -- a massive project

 

- Even without the local boy battling for a spot at WR.,.. We have too many players at the position I want to keep. Chris Harper, though, is making one of the strongest cases of the bunch. If he doesn't make the team, I may be pretty shocked at this point. The kid has skills, it's just a matter of refining them.

- Speaking of WRs... Davante Adams with 2 fumbles. Ewwww. Granted it was raining heavily, but still not something you want to see.

- I think it's ironic that the Titans were battlign us in FA a year ago for ILB Brad Jones... And now in the first preseason game of this year... I am not so sure Brad Jones really has a spot on this roster anymore. Younger, cheaper, UDFAs are playing either at his level or higher..... I've always liked Brad Jones and his potential, but this far into his career, I am okay with letting him reach that potential elsewhere.

[CampinWithaMissingPerson 2,025]

vs

 

• As JD already said, the rain really kind of made this preseason game (which obviously isn't the best indicator in the first place) into even less of an indicator of what to expect from either passing games for the first quarter and a half, but specifically for Jake Locker.

 

• The Packers and James Stark straight gashed the Titans on the first drive. While I do think Starks (and Lacy when he's back playing) and the Packers run game will be good again as Air pointed out live it did seem like the Titans defensive effort and run fits were really lazy on that first drive and they tightened up the next drive and after. So not sure how much we can take from that first drive where they just ran right through the Titans defense.

 

• Shonn Greene and Dexter McCluster ran really hard behind that good starting OL. McCluster specifically impressed by breaking a couple tackles and fighting for extra yards. We'll see if that continues. If Whisenhunt and his offensive staff carves out a good role for him, he could be a solid signing no matter how iffy it seemed at the time.

 

• Though I think the Packers sort of reached on Khyri Thornton in the 3rd round he was one of my favorite underrated DT prospects in the draft. He flashed his strength and lateral agility tossing around some lineman and disrupting plays.

 

• DaQuan Jones was another one of my favorite underrated DL in the draft, and he made a really nice play for the Titans blowing up the backup OL and getting the TFL in the backfield on the RB.

 

• After the rain stopped I'm in agreement that Tolzien did much better (finding Chris Harper deep twice on one scoring drive) than Flynn who was all over the place with his accuracy. How awesome was it too when he flat out dropped/fumbled the ball when it started raining again while scrambling and he out wrestled a Titans player by pulling him back and pouncing on the football to avoid the turnover? We also need more Tolzien spin moves in our lives

 

 

• Bishop Sankey did really good in the receiving game which wasn't a surprise (where his best value lies), but also not a surprise to me was when running the ball he still can't break tackles with consistency if he can't out run or make a defender miss via his movement skills when his blocking isn't great. One of my beefs with him coming out the draft was how easy he was to take down, even from mere arm tackles. If they can scheme around that and get him on misdirection tosses or off tackle runs to get outside he can shine more but when going through the trenches if the blocking isn't great he still leaves a lot to be desired. He's got some decent push when he falls forward though to get an extra couple yards and he should get better blocking behind the starting OL.

 

• Clipboard Jesus was up and down but all around did pretty well I think. Mettenberger's slide attempt He also got stripped on the fumble so he's gotta keep the ball up higher to avoid that in the future. Can't knock him for his INT as it bounced off his guys' hands into the air for an easy pick for the Pack. But overall he made some nice throws in tight windows like he did in college, took what was given to him when nothing was deep and struck deep when guys were open or 1-on-1. That throw to Robiskie was a beauty. Showed a little slide and move up in the pocket move too which was encouraging for his future as a pocket passer.

 

[.AirMcNair. 1,232]

Holding off on much of an opinion of Sankey until he runs behind the first team o-line. I know a bit better is expected even if it is the second team line, but our interior depth is extremely lacking, and our best interior depth player, Chris Spencer, went out with an injury only 4 snaps in to his playing time.

 

It's pretty telling that his average first contact was only 1.6 yards ahead of the LoS(per PFF), made it hard for him to show much of anything. When he did have a little space he made some very nice moves in the open field.

 

The way our first team o-line dominated the LoS(assuming that continues), though, it won't matter who is lining up at RB, they're gonna have their success. The person I might have been happiest with is Warmack. I know it was only 12 snaps, but he was punishing someone on every snap. Last year it took him quite a while to figure out the speed of the NFL game, but got better as the year went on. Hopefully this showing is an indication that he'll continue his improvement this year.

Edited August 11, 2014 by .AirMcNair.

[OSUViking 505]

I've learned that I'm still fine with Bridgewater sitting for longer. I don't want him rushed. I don't care if this isn't our year, if holding back Bridgewater means he'll be better later on then I have no problem waiting.

[BJORN 679]

Hoyer looked extremely average to me. Manziel looked ok, but I'm definitely more convinced he can make the transition seeing him on the field for the first time. Still feel like he will be similar to Russell Wilson in the end but he will be more of a gunslinger. Still have to wait and see just my early thoughts.

 

Side note: I'm really puzzled as to why Kyle Shannahan has a OC job, hasn't he been with three different teams in the past three years? He obviously isn't a very good OC.

[RazorStar 4,025]

It's not quite nepotism, but coaching has been an ol' boys game.