5 Stories, 5 Games: NFL Preseason Night 1

Boy, oh boy, there was football last night. There was real, live, actual NFL football (no, I don’t care what Mike Wilbon says), for six straight hours last night. Obviously dominant story lines emerged, despite it only being preseason Week 1, despite starters getting at most 10 plays, despite performances from unknowns who will manage to get cut from their respective teams. Here are five that stood out to me, one from each of last night’s games.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 13, BALTIMORE RAVENS 6

The Eagles have been given a lot of names this offseason: Dream Team, the All-Hype Team, the Miami Heat (shudder). I am going to jump on that train right now and say that, based on last night (I repeat: Based on last night) the Eagles easily lived up to the hype they’ve generated over the last several weeks.

Not only did Michael Vick look sharp, completing passes downfield and looking like he picked up where he left off last season, the offensive line did a better job of protecting him, even when faced against the supposedly vaunted Baltimore Ravens starting defense (note: “supposedly” vaunted, because anyone who had the Ravens defense on their fantasy team last year knows that their production is stalling).

The Eagles defense, to contrast Baltimore’s, looked absolutely brutal and dominating—three Pro-Bowl corners on the field at once. Between these two teams, one looked to be in mid-season form, while the other was led by a quarterback who just lost his favorite targets and needs to regroup. That would be Joe Flacco, for those playing along at home. Also, Tyrod Taylor proved himself to not be the answer at No. 2 quarterback, in contrast to the Eagles’ Vince Young and Mike Kafka, who impressed.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 47, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 12

Another team prone to offseason hyping, the New England Patriots, again lived up to it, proving that they have continued to uphold high standards of play. 47 points? In a preseason game? In which Tom Brady and Chad Ochocinco did not even participate? That alone should give Patriots fans and Patriots haters (such as myself, I might add) chills.

Backup New England quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett were extremely impressive; indeed, all three squads on both the Pats’ offense and defense were impressive, and that kind of depth easily precludes a good December and January for the squad.

With Jaguars starting QB David Garrard suffering from a back injury, rookie Blaine Gabbert got the start. He looked like a rookie out there, granted, but with a season (or two) of practice and study, he could easily be a talented starter. That Gabbert already has a good throwing motion and footwork out of the box means he has a future in the league. But the Patriots are the real deal; to say what they did last night is a “return to form,” after impressive recent seasons, means that they are easily one of the AFC front-runners. Based on last night.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 24, SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 17

Oh, Tarvaris Jackson. Oh, you poor, poor guy. For some reason, Pete Carroll loves him and stands by him as his choice for starting quarterback. But Jackson’s performance last night means two very clear things: Carroll needs to really think about installing Charlie Whitehurst with the first team, and if not, Jackson needs a lot of work. As in, as much work as a quarterback could ever get, multiplied by fifteen. Inconsistent, to say the least, and terrible at moments, seeing a guy like Tarvaris Jackson play starting QB in contrast with their opponent’s starter, hyper-talented Philip Rivers, just highlights what a joke the Tarvaris Jackson experiment has become (based on last night).

Backups Whitehurst and Josh Portis were able to pull it together through the rest of the game, with Portis looking exceptionally impressive. Whether he remains a Seahawk is unknown, but it would be a shame if he didn’t have a place in the league to develop.

On the Chargers side, both backup QBs Billy Volek and Scott Tolzien performed well, and rookie running back Jordan Todman (who rushed for 30 yards on six carries and caught four passes for 21 yards) makes the Chargers’ loss of Darren Sproles feel much less major.

DALLAS COWBOYS 24, DENVER BRONCOS 23

Tim Tebow. Tebow, Tebow, Tebow. I don’t dig Tebow; I don’t know entirely why because a good deal of it is an emotional response, but another part of it is more tangible: he really may not be able to be all that successful as an NFL quarterback. There’s a lot of talk today about Tebow’s impressive performance last night (six of seven for 91 yards in the air, plus 15 yards rushing) in comparison to Orton’s one offensive series (two of six for 37 yards, which led to a field goal), but Orton still went out there and looked a lot more comfortable than Tebow.

Considering that Tebow has had such a shaky (some would say bad) training camp, I don’t think his work last night should lead to a starting quarterback controversy (based on last night); I think the greater controversy is who should be the No. 2. Brady Quinn also played well, going eight of 14 for 120 yards and a touchdown.

The Dallas Cowboys, on the other hand, need a lot of work. Especially their defense. Nothing the Cowboys did last night was impressive, aside from the fact they were able to avoid a preseason overtime game. Thank you for that.

ARIZONA CARDINALS 24, OAKLAND RAIDERS 18

Kevin Kolb, he of the seven starts and $63 million contract, had his first start last night as an Arizona Cardinal, and it was not pretty. In terms of known-unknowns, Kolb is the biggest at the quarterback position. While he successfully heaved it out there to Larry Fitzgerald, I am pretty convinced nearly any quarterback in the NFL could find success when paired with him.

In two series he went four of seven for 68 yards and rushed for 15; not a terrible showing, certainly, but not what was expected out of such a highly-paid, highly-hyped savior of the Cardinals offense.

The Raiders, on the other hand, seem to be stuck in the same patterns of their last few seasons: a few flashes of brilliance quickly negated by offensive penalties followed by fumbled snaps. It’s not surprising, that based on last night (there it is again), that the Raiders have a lot of work to do. And so does Arizona. Of note: the Raiders’ veteran safety Hiram Eugene suffered a dislocated hip, and man, did that look painful.

Tonight’s slate of preseason action is going to be just as, if not more, interesting than last night’s. We have my Pittsburgh Steelers destined to destroy the Washington Redskins (over-under on Rex Grossman/John Beck picks? I’ll go with four and the over), the Cincinnati Bengals at the Detroit Lions (over-under on Jordan Palmer/Andy Dalton picks? I’ll go with four and the over), the Miami Dolphins at Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs (truly looking forward to this one, to be honest), and San Francisco at New Orleans (also an interesting game). You know what’s awesome? Going from zero to football overnight. Welcome back.