NFL Preseason 2015: Analyzing Biggest Storylines Entering Regular Season

America has gotten a little taste and now there is no stopping NFLmania as the preseason is officially underway. 

As teams prepare for their regular seasons, these exhibition games are the perfect opportunities to find the right combination to put together a winning team. 

Continue for the remaining preseason schedule and a look at some of the biggest storylines going into the regular season.

Week 1	TV	Stream
Week 2	TV	Stream
Week 3	TV	Stream
Week 4	TV	Stream
Friday, August 14
Tennessee at Atlanta	NFL Network	NFL Game Pass
Carolina at Buffalo	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Pittsburgh at Jacksonville	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
New York Giants at Cincinnati	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
St. Louis at Oakland	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Denver at Seattle	NFL Network	NFL Game Pass
Saturday, August 15
San Francisco at Houston	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Tampa Bay at Minnesota	NFL Network	NFL Game Pass
Kansas City at Arizona	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Sunday, August 16
Indianapolis at Philadelphia	NFL Network	NFL Game Pass
Thursday, August 20
Detroit at Washington	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Buffalo at Cleveland	ESPN	Watch ESPN
Friday, August 21
Atlanta at New York Jets	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Seattle at Kansas City	NFL Network	NFL Game Pass
Saturday, August 22		NFL Game Pass
Miami at Carolina	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Baltimore at Philadelphia	NFL Network	NFL Game Pass
Chicago at Indianapolis	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Jacksonville at New York Giants	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
New England at New Orleans	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Oakland at Minnesota	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Denver at Houston	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
San Diego at Arizona	NFL Network	NFL Game Pass
Sunday, August 23
Green Bay at Pittsburgh	NFL Network	NFL Game Pass
St. Louis at Tennessee	FOX	NFL Game Pass
Dallas at San Francisco	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Monday, August 24
Cincinnati at Tampa Bay	ESPN	Watch ESPN
Friday, August 28
New England at Carolina	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Detroit at Jacksonville	CBS	NFL Game Pass
Tennessee at Kansas City	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Saturday, August 29
Pittsburgh at Buffalo	NFL Network	NFL Game Pass
Atlanta at Miami	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Cleveland at Tampa Bay	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Minnesota at Dallas	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
New York Jets at New York Giants	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Chicago at Cincinnati	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Washington at Baltimore	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Seattle at San Diego	CBS	NFL Game Pass
Philadelphia at Green Bay	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Indianapolis at St. Louis	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
San Francisco at Denver	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Sunday, August 30
Houston at New Orleans	FOX	NFL Game Pass
Arizona at Oakland	NBC	NFL Game Pass
Thursday, September 3
Tampa Bay at Miami	NFL Network	NFL Game Pass
Cincinnati at Indianapolis	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Baltimore at Atlanta	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
New Orleans at Green Bay	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Philadelphia at New York Jets	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Jacksonville at Washington	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Carolina at Pittsburgh	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Buffalo at Detroit	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
New York Giants at New England	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Cleveland at Chicago	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Houston at Dallas	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Minnesota at Tennessee	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Kansas City at St. Louis	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
Arizona at Denver	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass
San Diego at San Francisco	NFL Network	NFL Game Pass
Oakland at Seattle	Local Affiliates	NFL Game Pass

Jimmy's World?

While New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is serving his four-game suspension (for now), head coach Bill Belichick has handed the keys to the defending Super Bowl champion offense to backup Jimmy Garoppolo. 

But it seems he is doing so begrudgingly.

A day after he was sitting in lower Manhattan with the Supreme Court, Brady started the Patriots' first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. It's perfectly legal for Brady to start preseason games and take part in training camp, but one would think that Garoppolo should spend as much time with the first team as possible if he has to start the first four games of the regular season. 

After Brady played two series, Garoppolo was called in and spent much of his time struggling behind a second-string offensive line. He went 20-30 for 159 yards with an interception while being sacked seven times. 

He did not have much of a chance to show his ability to pass the ball down the field, averaging just 5.9 yards per reception, but when he did, his passes were underthrown and nearly intercepted. 

It would have helped his confidence, as he told Matthew Geagan of CBS Boston:

"

I wish I had the deep ball tonight that I had last year in the first preseason game. That would’ve helped a little bit, but you’ve got to take it in stride, really...They were bringing a little bit of heat, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. You’ve just got to handle it.

"

He did complete 10 consecutive passes in his outing and showed flashes of solid play, but he still has plenty of work to do from now until the start of the regular season. Entering just his second season, the Patriots coaching staff should be focusing all of its efforts on Garappolo while Brady creates headlines with the league and the law. 

It would help if Garappolo was given more reps with the first-stringers. Put him behind a full offensive line with targets like Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola, and his confidence could skyrocket if he is able to rattle off a couple of nice series. 

Defenseless in San Francisco?

No other NFL team has had a more brutal offseason than the San Francisco 49ers. Yes, I'm looking at you too, Jets fans. 

The 49ers have built one of the best defenses in the league over the past few seasons, including a top-five ranking in the league in 2014. But an offseason has San Francisco looking like a brand-new team, especially on the defensive side of things.

Let's take a look at just some of the key losses on defense for the 49ers:

Player	Position	Reason
Patrick Willis	LB	Retired
Chris Borland	LB	Retired
Justin Smith	DE	Retired
Chris Culliver	CB	Signed with Redskins
Perrish Cox	CB	Signed with Titans
Aldon Smith	LB	Released

ESPN's Dianna Marie Russini points out just how many returning starters the 49ers have for 2015:

Playing in a division with the two-time NFC champion Seattle Seahawks along with the ever-improving Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams, the outlook for the 49ers' season seems grim.

But there is hope.

A physical group that still features NaVorro Bowman, Ahmad Brooks and newly acquired Darnell Dockett will find ways to wreak havoc on offensive lines around the league.

If Bowman can stay healthy after missing the entire 2014 season with a knee injury and return to his 2013 form where he recorded 120 tackles, that alone could be a huge boost to that linebacking group that lost Patrick Willis, Chris Borland and Aldon Smith. 

Dockett, who also missed all of last season with an ACL injury, is going to have to prove himself on a new team after coming over from the Cardinals. A strong defensive tackle who stops the run with solid speed, he is going to combine well with rookie defensive end Arik Armstead. 

Selected 17th overall in the 2015 draft out of Oregon, Armstead has been impressing Dockett early on in camp and has even drawn comparisons to his former teammate Calais Campbell. Dockett spoke with Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area about the likeness between Armstead and Campbell:

"

Don’t get me wrong, Calais Campbell is a dominant football player ... [Armstead has] a coach that’s going to take care of him and not wear-and-tear his body ... He’s got a lot of upsides...The biggest thing is he asks questions and he listens and responds. Some guys come in and think they know everything. He’s not like that. He asks questions and he wants to learn. He’s very humble. That’s what I really like about him the most.

"

The new coach that Dockett refers to is new head coach Jim Tomsula, who has the responsibility of leading a depleted 49ers side that lost Jim Harbaugh to the University of Michigan along with running back Frank Gore and wide receiver Michael Crabtree as well. 

Never holding an NFL head coaching or coordinator role, Tomsula is going to look to combine with his defensive coordinator Eric Mangini to work with this new-look 49ers defense. Tomsula spent the past eight seasons as the 49ers defensive line coach and should find a way to get the best possible play out of them.

The former Jets and Browns head coach, who has been away from the defensive side of things for 10 years since he was the defensive coordinator with the New England Patriots, Mangini is certainly going to have his work cut out for him and will need to work closely with Tomsula to figure out what makes this unit tick. 

Tackling this problem by committee, San Francisco still is going to have plenty of pieces to ensure that the defense remains dangerous in 2015 despite its heavy losses. With the right kind of coaching, a defensive unit that can shut down opponents will give the 49ers a chance to make a run for the playoffs. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com