Top 10 storylines for Week 3 of the NFL preseason
Week 3 of the NFL preseason affords us the best opportunity to see just how much teams are prepared for the regular year. It’s practically a dress rehearsal for the real thing next month. This brings a ton of stories to cover around the league.
From first-team offenses looking to find their footing to training camp battles coming to a head, this week promises to be the most interesting of the exhibition slate.
Here are the top 10 storylines for Week 3 of the NFL preseason.
1. First-teams look to get into a rhythm
The third preseason game usually acts as a dress rehearsal for teams around the NFL. It’s when the starters will play into the third quarter. While it would be foolish to use the scoreboard from this week’s games as a way to gauge a specific team, individual performances should be looked at in a more serious manner than other preseason outings.
Who will get first-team reps for the New England Patriots under center? Is Joseph Randle prepared for a big workload as the Dallas Cowboys' starting running back? Is anyone prepared to step up as a starting receiver for the Carolina Panthers? These are three of the biggest stories to watch as first-team units get their most-extensive playing time of the preseason.
More than that, I want to see how the Seattle Seahawks offensive line performs in front of Russell Wilson against the San Diego Chargers' first-team defense. Hopefully, the Seahawks decide that it’s finally time to utilize their entire offensive scheme with so many question marks along this unit. No one wants to see Wilson thrown to the fire Week 1 against a very good St. Louis Rams defensive line.
2. Two new offenses facing off in Denver
Thus far this preseason, it’s readily apparent that Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is still getting accustomed to his team’s new run-first offense under first-year head coach Gary Kubiak. While that’s to be expected, the Broncos are going to want him to show a higher comfort level against San Francisco this week. Meanwhile, the 49ers' first-team offense has done very little in two outings under new coordinator Geep Chryst. Colin Kaepernick and company need to have some success in this dress rehearsal.
We have seen the Broncos' running game have a ton of success thus far this preseason. Ronnie Hillman is averaging 7.5 yards per rush, while starter C.J. Anderson is at a 4.6 per rush clip. It will be good to see both mixed in with the first-team offense against a deep 49ers defensive line. More importantly, I want to see how Manning handles this new scheme in his first extensive action. Playing into the second quarter last week against the Houston Texans, Manning led the Broncos to zero points and just two first downs while completing 8 of 14 passes for 52 yards.
Kaepernick and Co. haven’t done much either. The much maligned quarterback has completed just 3 of 8 passes for 27 yards in 21 preseason snaps. With new weapons all over the field and at least two new starting offensive linemen, it’s going to be important for Kaepernick to get some reps in this one. It’s going to be equally important to see him finally find a connection with new receiver Torrey Smith, whom the 49ers are going to be relying on a great deal this season. They have a new scheme, new coaching staff, reformatted offensive line and new skill-position players. Yeah, I am sure San Francisco wants to see something from this first team in its third preseason game.
3. Davante Adams' ability to step up in biggest individual game of his career
That sounds a bit dramatic, doesn’t it? After all, Adams played an important role in the Green Bay Packers' run to the NFC Championship Game last year. Hence, the term "individual" here. Now etched in stone as the team’s No. 2 receiver with Jordy Nelson lost for the season, Adams will likely see an increased number of targets this week against the Philadelphia Eagles. With Randall Cobb manning the slot in three-wide sets, the second-year receiver will most likely find himself lined up against Byron Maxwell the majority of the time Saturday night.
Even to be considered a Packers starter, it’s highly likely that Adams already has a built-in relationship with Aaron Rodgers. As a rookie last season, Adams played 47 snaps per game while coming down with 38 receptions for 446 yards. Adams seems to have the confidence of the organization -- something that head coach Mike McCarthy mirrored during the team’s off-season activities back in June:
“Davante, if you wanted me to pick an MVP or an all-star (of the offseason) he would definitely be atop the list.”
It’s one thing to perform at a high level during practice or as a secondary receiving option in games. It’s a completely different thing to replace the top receiver on a contending team that relies heavily on the passing game. It will be interesting to see how Adams performs against Philadelphia this weekend.
4. Robert Griffin III to start
By now, I am sure most of you are sick of this story. In fact, the idea of writing “RG3" more than once in this piece leaves a bad taste in my mouth. We already know the narrative here. Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden doesn’t seem to have a ton of confidence in his starting quarterback to get the job done. Indications of a lack of respect by both parties morphed into an ugly scene last week when the Redskins kept throwing the injury-plagued signal caller out there against the Detroit Lions after he continued to take huge hits behind an atrocious offensive line. The end result here was RG3 leaving the game with a concussion.
Within just a few days, the fourth-year quarterback was back on the practice field and preparing to start this week against the Baltimore Ravens. Even then, talk about the issues in D.C. had not died down.
There’s the split. An overly-involved owner going to bat for his quarterback when it appears the coaching staff (and some players) would rather see someone else thrown out there under center. Sound familiar? It should, as this was the same exact situation that led to Gruden getting the job in the first place after former head coach Mike Shanahan was ousted following a disastrous 2013 season.
A couple things are clear here. It really doesn’t matter who is under center. If the Redskins offensive line plays the way it did last week during the regular season, the team will see a few different signal callers on the injured list. In addition to this, the narrative that RG3 struggled last week is beyond ridiculous. He was thrown out there to be a punching bag for the Lions defensive front. That in and of itself speaks volumes about where this team is at right now.
5. Most extensive action for Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota
Through two preseason games, it’s readily apparent that Winston has been the more comfortable of these two rookie signal callers. He’s coming off an outing against a solid Cincinnati Bengals defense that saw him complete 8 of 13 passes for 90 yards with a rushing touchdown en route to leading Tampa Bay to a score on the team’s opening possession. Overall this preseason, Winston is completing 53 percent of his passes with two touchdowns (both on the ground) and one interception. Going up against an elite Cleveland Browns secondary (if healthy), Winston has an opportunity to continue his progression heading into Week 1. Though, it’s going to mean even more work with star receiver Mike Evans sidelined for the remainder of the preseason with a hamstring injury.
As it relates to Mariota, he’s been darn good since turning the ball over twice on his first two possessions in the Tennessee Titans' preseason opener. Through two games, he’s completed 12 of 16 passes for 153 yards with an interception. Though, it must be noted that Tennessee has kept it simple for the reigning Heisman winner. He’s mainly been asked to throw one-read intermediate passes in the first two games. Considering this week’s outing against the Kansas City Chiefs will be as close to a real game as any in August, it’s highly likely the Titans will ask more of him here.
We likely aren’t looking at either of these signal callers putting up numbers similar to what Andrew Luck did as a rookie back in 2012. Neither player is anywhere near as pro-ready as the Indianapolis Colts starter was during his inaugural NFL season. With that said, they both seem to be on better footing than any of the rookie quarterbacks we have seen since Luck’s rookie class. That has to be reason for optimism for both the Titans and Buccaneers.
6. Can David Johnson put up another strong performance for the Arizona Cardinals?
The highly anticipated debut of this rookie running back went swimmingly last week against the San Diego Chargers. Johnson, a third-round pick out of Northern Iowa, has an opportunity to make a major impact as a rookie. Held back due to a hamstring injury earlier in camp, the running back got his first taste of live game action, going for 66 yards on 13 attempts while playing with both the first and second teams. At 6-foot-1 and 224 pounds, Johnson has the frame to be a three-down back in the NFL. The issue we noticed early on last week was seeing such a big back dance around in the backfield instead of using his power to go downhill. Using every opportunity as a teaching moment, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians spoke to Johnson early in the game:
“We had a nice talk,” Arians said. “We had a nice talk about dancing. He can go on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ if he wants to dance. As big and fast as he is, take your foot on the ground and give me four yards or more, and we’ll come,” Arians said, via ESPN.com. “I thought he ran really, really well after that.”
The other issue we had heard about in camp was pass protection. Interestingly, the Cardinals allowed him in on obvious passing downs with Carson Palmer in the game. If that doesn’t show faith, I have no idea what does.
With incumbent starter Andre Ellington seen as an injury risk and new veteran addition Chris Johnson simply looking to earn a spot on the 53-man roster, it will be interesting to see how much play Arizona gives the younger Johnson with the first-team offense against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
7. Brian Hoyer’s first game after being named Houston Texans starter
Earlier this week, Texans head coach Bill O’Brien named Hoyer the starting quarterback. While that might have been a nice shot in the arm for the veteran, it didn’t seem to come with the full weight of the coach’s support behind him. That was magnified by his comments regarding Ryan Mallett after informing him of the decision that Hoyer would start:
“You have to prepare every single week like you’re the starter. You have to be ready to play at a moment’s notice.” O’Brien said, via Fox Sports. “I believe that he understands that. I’m sure that he doesn’t agree with the decision, but I can tell you that he’s a professional … and he’ll handle himself in such a way that we all expect from him.”
The reality of the situation is that Hoyer is a safer pick. He has experience (and some success) starting in the NFL. Meanwhile, Mallett possesses much higher upside than his counterpart. And if preseason stats are an indication (they aren’t), Mallett may very well find himself under center should Hoyer falter early on.
Considering O’Brien named Hoyer the starter prior to the third preseason game, it’s unlikely that he will change his mind before giving the veteran some sort of time to prove he should retain the job during the regular year. Though, it will be interesting to see how both quarterbacks perform this week.
8. Buffalo Bills quarterback situation
Bills head coach Rex Ryan isn’t about to tip his hand when it comes to the team’s ultra-complicated quarterback competition. While most figure EJ Manuel is out of the mix with Tyrod Taylor and Matt Cassel vying for the starting job, the first-year head coach left open the idea that he might play all three with the first-team offense this week (via WKBW.com).
Cassell started the team’s preseason opener, but didn’t play a snap in the second game. Meanwhile, Taylor saw himself under center to begin last week’s game. How the Bills dole out reps this week could be an indication of where they are headed regarding the competition. Then again, we already know the game Rex likes to play. He’s all about a competitive advantage. The longer he holds off on naming a starter, the less opportunity the Indianapolis Colts have of preparing for one guy.
9. Looking at how depth charts will play out
We have covered training camp competitions throughout the past month. But what about specific depth charts? That’s where this week is going to be interesting. Who is going to be the third-down back for the San Diego Chargers? Is anyone going to emerge as the No. 2 receiver in Seattle? What about the cornerback position in Dallas with Orlando Scandrick lost for the season? We could probably provide you with a list of 100 different scenarios to watch this week. However, no one really wants to read that. Instead, make sure to check out some of the top battles as they play out starting Friday.
10. Injuries
The amount of injuries we have seen during the first two weeks has been alarming. One has to wonder whether some teams will be reluctant to treat this week as a dress rehearsal knowing what’s happened around the league thus far this summer. If they do, the opportunity for injury increases a great deal with starters playing a larger portion of the game. The last thing we need here is another Jordy Nelson-like injury to occur. No one wants to see season-altering injuries in the month of August.
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