NFL Preseason Week 1: Takeaways from Friday's Action
Football is finally here.
Well, sort of.
It's the first week of the preseason, which means a few things. The starters who do play will be on the field for a brief time. Many of the men who play significant snaps are rookies donning an NFL uniform for the first time, so jitters and mistakes are common.
It might not be good football, but it's football nonetheless.
And most importantly, fans across America will pack stadiums and gather around the TV anyway.
Preseason football might not be the truest barometer of regular-season success. But whether it's injured stars making their return, big-name rookies making their NFL debut or a former No. 2 overall pick trying to start over, there's plenty going on—even in games that don't count.
And here are the biggest happenings from Friday night.
Devin Taylor Steps Up
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Friday's first game featured the Detroit Lions against what's left of the Pittsburgh Steelers—if none of their offensive stars bother to take the field. But just because the Steelers chose to hold back doesn't mean the Lions didn't want to prove a few things.
Offensively, the first performance by the team's passing game sans Calvin Johnson was a mixed bag. They had some success moving the ball, only to turn it over when quarterback Matthew Stafford was strip-sacked by the ageless James Harrison.
Defensively, however, it was a young pass-rusher for Detroit who stood out in the early going.
After posting seven sacks in part-time duty last year, third-year defensive end Devin Taylor will start opposite Ezekiel Ansah in 2016. Taylor recently told Tim Twentyman of the team's website that he had a goal in mind when he took the field for the first time this season.
“For me, just to really perfect when I get into game scenario situations to be successful,” Taylor said.
Well, he didn't waste any time. Taylor had two tackles in the first quarter, including a sack of Landry Jones on the first play of Pittsburgh's second series.
Grant's March to the End Zone
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If the Pittsburgh Steelers had a glaring weakness last year, it was a pass defense that ranked 30th in the NFL.
The Steelers spent two of their first three picks in the 2016 draft on the secondary. One of the team's biggest priorities in camp and the preseason is sorting out both who will start at cornerback opposite veteran William Gay and who will be the team's nickelback.
Earlier this week, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote the Steelers were looking at ways to get second-year pro Doran Grant on the field:
"You have heard me say a number of times that I liked Doran Grant as a boundary corner who is more fitted to zone coverage. I have been told the Steelers will take a look at him at safety very soon here in camp. Either way, I'm not saying he will be a starter but I think he has a chance to be a solid backup.
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Grant made the most of his playing time Friday against the Lions. In addition to the seven tackles he tallied (which led the team), he also snagged a Dan Orlovsky duck from the air and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown in a 30-17 loss.
Teddy Needs a Hug
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Friday's matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals featured two playoff teams from last year and two of the NFL's better defenses.
The Bengals looked to be in midseason form, at least up front.
On the Vikings' first offensive series, Teddy Bridgewater took a pair of shots. First he was sacked by defensive tackle Geno Atkins, who reached the quarterback 11 times last year. Then as he released the ball, Bridgewater was whacked by Carlos Dunlap (13.5 sacks in 2015).
It was also no doubt a welcome sign for the Bengals that Atkins split his sack with veteran linebacker Karlos Dansby, who will be counted on to anchor the LB corps while Vontaze Burfict serves a three-game suspension to start the year.
One of the biggest questions facing the Vikings in 2016 is an offensive line that Football Outsiders ranked 29th in the NFL in pass protection last year.
Bridgewater pulling dirt out of his earhole isn't the answer the Vikings were looking for.
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...Never Mind
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Bridgewater got his hug in the form of revenge.
The offensive line isn't the only area in which the Vikings need to improve in 2016 if they are to take the next step and win a playoff game.
The team has to get better at challenging opponents vertically. The training wheels need to come off the passing game, and Bridgewater is going to have to start making teams pay over the top.
Head coach Mike Zimmer recently told Tom Pelissero of USA Today he's tired of hearing the talk about his popgun-armed passer:
"(People) say, ‘Oh, his arm strength.’ His arm strength is fine. He’s been throwing the ball 55 yards down in practice all the time. Ask what kind of arm Joe Montana had or any of these other guys. It’s just so fantasy football now. Our team is built a certain way, and that’s how we’re going to play.
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Bridgewater's arm strength did indeed look fine early in the second quarter, when he found Charles Johnson for six from 49 yards out.
Bridgewater finished the night 6-of-7 for 92 yards and that score.
Not a bad day at the office.
You Down with RG3?
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Yeah you know me.
The biggest storyline in Friday's matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers was no doubt Robert Griffin's debut as Cleveland's quarterback.
Griffin told Albert Breer of the The MMQB he's been toughened up by his free-fall from Offensive Rookie of the Year to persona non grata in Washington:
"I think I’m just grittier. All the experiences I had in Washington helped build character, because character isn’t anything that you just show, it’s what happens when no one’s watching. It’s what you do when you have to go through something. I think what happened to me there built that up in me.
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There was good news and bad news from Griffin's first start.
The good news is that he completed all four of his pass attempts on his first drive for 59 yards.
The bad news is that the fourth pass was caught by Packers defensive back Micah Hyde.
The good news is that interception wasn't really Griffin's fault—tight end Gary Barnidge pulled up on the route.
The bad news is that Griffin took several shots playing behind an offensive line that lost two starters to free agency.
Griffin's second series wasn't as sharp, but all in all, things could have been much, much worse.
Pray for the Health of Eli Manning
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Throughout his first 12 seasons in the National Football League, Eli Manning has been a remarkably durable quarterback. Since making his first career start on November 21, 2004, Manning has never missed a game.
That's a good thing. Because if he does, the New York Giants are so screwed.
With Manning taking the night off against the Miami Dolphins on Friday, Ryan Nassib got the start for Big Blue. Entering Year 4 of his NFL career and with free agency approaching, Nassib told James Kratch of NJ.com he knows these preseason reps are vital to his playing future:
"I see preseason as my opportunity to show the Giants what I can do. Everything we do is a job interview. That's almost the accumulation of where you can do it on paper, maybe you can do it in practice, but can you do it when the lights are on? That's pretty much how I see the preseason. Just another part of the job interview for the Giants.
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Well, if his first half against the Dolphins was a job interview, I wouldn't wait by the phone for a callback.
Simply put, Nassib was horrible. In addition to completing only seven of 15 passes for 75 yards, Nassib threw a pair of interceptions and fumbled three times, losing one. Oh, and he was sacked four times.
Other than that though, he did well.
As Paul Schwartz of the New York Post quipped, "No truth to the rumor Eli Manning just asked for a contract extension after Ryan Nassib's performance in the first half."
If he had, the Giants would have paid him.
Redbirds Rolling Along
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With the (glaring) exception of last year's NFC Championship Game, the Arizona Cardinals spent most of last season looking like the class of the NFL—in large part because of an offense that chewed up yardage in chunks.
Well, in their first preseason drive of 2016, the Redbirds were right back at it. Palmer completed three of his first five passes, including a big play to Michael Floyd. Tailback David Johnson peeled off another 23 on the ground. And before you could grab a taco, the Cardinals had driven almost 70 yards.
Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald told Kyle Odegard of the team's website earlier this week that returning all of the team's key skill position contributors was a big plus in 2016:
"It’s really nice when you’re able to go to bed at training camp knowing you have a decent grasp on what you have. It takes a lot of the anxiety of not knowing what you’re doing out of it. You can just go out there and play fast and play to your ability. I think that is a huge advantage.
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They had to settle for a field goal on the first drive, but Arizona definitely looked like an offense that knows what it's doing Friday evening.
Amari Cooper Is a Bum
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Hot take alert!
Kidding aside, if there was one knock on Oakland wide receiver Amari Cooper during a great rookie season in 2015, it's that he occasionally developed the dropsies.
In fact, per Pro Football Focus, no wide receiver in the NFL dropped more balls last season than Cooper's 18.
In an interview on 95.7 The Game's Haberman & Middlekauff, Cooper said he knew holding onto the ball was something he needed to work on in the offseason (h/t Mark Inabinett of AL.com).
"Just having that one year of experience and having an offseason to really think about and reflect on everything, I know the things that I have to work on going into this season," Cooper said.
In the first preseason game, however, it was more of the same—lapses in concentration. On Oakland's first series, Cooper failed to get both feet in on a beautifully thrown deep pass by Derek Carr. On the second series, he just flat-out dropped a pass.
This may sound like piling on or nitpicking. But if the Raiders are going to fulfill the expectations swirling around them in 2016 and make some hay in a loaded AFC West, Cooper has to make those plays.
The 'Mom Would Be Proud' Play of the Night
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Dwayne Washington was a late draft pick, selected by the Lions in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL draft.
He was also a late arrival to the Lions. The NFL rule that prohibits players from joining their teams until their academic year has ended caused the former Washington Huskies running back to miss OTAs.
But he was most assuredly not late in making an impression on head coach Jim Caldwell and the Lions staff in game action.
For the second consecutive day, the second half of a preseason opener starter with a bang. This time it was Washington taking the kickoff, racing up the sideline, breaking a tackle and buh-bye.
Ninety-six yards. Touchdown Detroit.
Better late than never, I guess.
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