Preseason Week 3 recap : Bears @ Titans

By Bill Murphy

Nashville-  After a chaotic week, the Titans’ preseason ends with a loss to the Chicago Bears by a score of 27-24.  The chaos was caused by nine players and coaches either testing positive for Covid 19 or ending up on the Covid/ reserve list, including head coach Mike Vrabel and quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The Titans did not play any of their starters as players played their last chance to make the squad.

The backup quarterback battle between Logan Woodside and Matt Barkley took place.  Woodside threw 12 completions out of 17 attempts, 100 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Barkley threw for seven completions out of 15 attempts, 126 yards, and one interception.  Overall, Woodside threw 29 completions out of  40 attempts, 228 yards, and three touchdowns this preseason. Barkley threw 24 completions out of  39 attempts, 295 yards, and two touchdowns. Woodside has a 72.5  %completion rate, while Barkley has a 61.5 % completion rate. If you look at the numbers, Woodside will most likely get the job as the backup quarterback.

The Titans offense featured running back Mekhai Sargent. Since Derrick Henry was not playing, Sargent ran for 51 yards and scored one touchdown. Cameron Baston had 45 receiving yards and scored one touchdown.  Baston has been one of the strong receivers for the Titans all preseason since they have been without AJ Brown and Julio Jones.   

The strong point of the preseason for the Titans has been the defense, which was a weakness last season.  They have only received one sack and gave up 448 yards. They also gave up three touchdowns to Bears tight end Jesper Horstead, especially a six-yard one-handed catch. This preseason, the Titans have held teams to 854 yards, nine sacks, three touchdowns, and two field goals. 

So the Titans have finished the preseason with a 2-1 record after a very strong performance over the last three games. This week will be the moment of truth when the roster is cut from 80 to 53 players. We will see who is going to earn their spot on the roster for week one.

Rams fall short against Broncos in preseason finale

By Zakary Haines

DENVER- The Los Angeles Rams had another close game but fell short of winning 17-12. The Rams are 0-3 this preseason, but the good news is that the next time they suit up, it will be in the regular season. With the looming deadline to announce their 53-man roster, the next 48 to 72 hours will be tough on the coaching staff. Some great players have stepped up and made plays that may have secured them a spot. However, it was easy to see who may not be on that final roster in this game. 

On the offensive side, past issues from the previous two games were present in this game. The offense was not clicking like last week against the Raiders. The team only recorded 104 rushing yards, most of which came from the starting quarterback Bryce Perkins. As for the running backs, Sony Michel, Darrell Henderson Jr, and Jake Funk did not suit up for this game. For the two running backs that did get touches, Xavier Jones made the most out of his time with 44 rushing yards off of 13 carries. Meanwhile, Otis Anderson only had ten rushing yards off of three carries. As for the receiving game, Tutu Atwell had the best night with eight receptions out of 12 targets for 62 receiving yards. Trishton Jackson also had a decent night with three receptions out of five and 48 receiving yards. 

However, all of the scoring in last night’s game came from the Rams’ starting kicker, Matt Gay. Gay was a perfect four of four in field goal attempts, including one 54 yarder. Gay racked up 12 points for himself and capped off a fairly good preseason. This week the Rams had a listed punter with Corey Bojorquez, who had himself a night too. Bojorquez recorded five punts for 277 yards. Three of those punts were within the 20 of the Broncos, and his longest punt of the night was 70 yards. 

As for the defense, this was not their best outing. With only one interception and one sack, the defense was relatively quiet. Players who are on the bubble getting in did not perform as well as the Rams hoped. Only a couple of defensive players performed well, including JR Reed. Reed had six total tackles, two of which were solo tackles. Christian Rozeboom was the only individual who recorded an interception against Drew Lock. Lock had pressure and threw into coverage, where Rozeboom was able to pick him off. 

In his postgame press conference, Sean McVay jumped right into discussing upcoming roster cuts and had nothing but high praise for this roster. “Really grateful for this group,” McVey said. “This group of men that did an excellent job…we asked a lot of them, consistently showed up and the amount of snaps these guys were able to complete.” McVay also noted some of the players made their decisions easier on him and his staff. The final roster cuts are to be done by August 31st, 4 p.m. EDT. 

WFT Falls in Preseason Finale

By Dan Ryans

WASHINGTON–The Washington Football team finished the preseason last night and lost big to the Baltimore Ravens by a final of 37-3. In a game that surprisingly didn’t feature any starters for WFT, this was expected. Many of Washington’s young players, who are still vying for a spot on the team, did have a chance to play. Again, it wasn’t great overall, but a learning experience nonetheless. It was a great opportunity for the coaching staff to fully evaluate the rest of the team as they prepare to cut down the rosters to 53 men by Tuesday afternoon. 

Coach Ron Rivera knew it would be risky to throw out the starters in the final preseason game, so he took the conservative route. “It was something we decided on a few days back,” said Rivera after the game. “We didn’t want to get anybody hurt…we have a lot of people we feel really comfortable and confident in who they are for us, and we just felt that exposing [them] was not the thing to do.” Rivera did talk about the players that he threw out. As a team, he wasn’t pleased with the performance. But what was most important at this point in the preseason is the quality of individual play. “Some things came through that made it even more clear for us…we got some really good battles going on, and we got some guys that we have to take a real good look at. So they got a lot of extended play.”

One such individual performance came from defensive lineman David Bada, who comes from Germany and is a product of the NFL’s International Pathway Program. He signed with Washington last year but spent the year on the practice squad to learn and grow in the game of football. Quietly, he has had a strong summer and what we saw last night only betters his chances of making the final roster. He sacked Lamar Jackson early in the game in addition to his four total tackles on the night (three of them on his own). Bada has done his job. Now it’s up to Ron Rivera and the coaches to see if he’s fit for this squad on Week 1. 

By Tuesday night, we will know which players have made the 53-man roster. The next time Washington plays a game, it’ll be for real. WFT will be home against the Chargers on Sunday, September 12th, at 1pm. 

Bengals Final Preseason Game

By Liam Sullivan

The Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) seek to close out their pre-season campaign when they host the Miami Dolphins (1-1) tomorrow at 4:30 PM in The Buckeye State.

The Dolphins are coming off of a 37-17 home rout of the Atlanta Falcons.

Any Bengals player in the secondary should get ready to take on second-year player Nick Saban coached Tua Tagovailoa if they want to keep their roster spot.

While the receptions were democratically shared with fifth-year UNC product Mack Hollins, third-year Washington product Myles Gaskin, and other Wide Receivers, the run game was more productive, with a seventh-year player and Texas running back, Malcolm Brown having 43 yards on ten carries, an average of 4.3 yards per carry.

Bengals offensive players like Jacques Patrick, Chris Evans, or Trenton Irwin, who want a roster spot, better know how to get by Texas Tech product, and Linebacker Sam Eguavoen, a former Canadian League product who had seven tackles.

The weather for tomorrow’s afternoon showdown at Paul Brown Stadium is not looking up. There is a 50% chance of rain earlier in the day, and it seems not to be as threatening. However, it will be 89 degrees and a rough one for those responsible for gaining yards in the ground game.

They Came In Like Roaring Like Lions But Left Quiet Like A Mouse

By Mark Halpern

Yesterday the Lions squared off against the Colts and what looked like a promising start only to fizzle like a campfire. The Lions started many first-stringers except those of Goff and Swift and Hockenson. The lions have felt that Goff has had enough time in the preseason to get ready. By my account, he has thrown in one game. Not to stay, he won’t come firing out in week one and perform as he did in Los Angeles.

The Lions started 4th-year veteran Tim Boyle to get him some action, and he was pretty accurate during this game, going 7/9 for 53 yards and a touchdown but did have a costly fumble in the opening drive. Quinton Cephus was the recipient of the pass. As for the running game, not much to talk about as Jamar Jefferson lead the way with 43 yards on 11 carries.

David Blough came in and was below average, throwing for 117 yards and an interception. Mind you, none of the first team receivers nor the second tier were in, but when this is your last week, and you are vying for a sport, you must take every advantage in front of you and do what you can with it.

The Lion’s defense looked like the kittens they are. They were only able to put up one sack, a few quarterback pressures, and only one take away which came during mop-up duty. This team better start getting their act together because in 2 weeks, the season starts, and if they play like this, then 0-17 could happen. I expect Goff to work out some issues, and we all hope that Swift is ready for the season.

The Colts know who their starting core is on the other side of the ball, and they didn’t want to risk an injury to a first-stringer starter. Some players made their cases on why they should remain on the team. Running back Deon Jackson ran for 81 yards on ten carries and a touchdown. We know Carson Wentz is in line to start but, Jacob Eason has had a quiet preseason but pretty much a flawless one. If Wentz shows that he hasn’t fully recovered or is plain awful, they have a competent backup, unlike some other teams in the NFL.
Cut down week begins next week for all the teams to hit 53 members. I will give a rundown of the depth chart in the next segment and give my predictions for the year.

Preseason Finale-At Home : WFT vs. Baltimore

By Dan Ryans

WASHINGTON–It’s another edition of “Battle of the Beltway” as the Washington Football Team enters the third and final game of the preseason at home against the Baltimore Ravens. Not that it matters much to WFT, but the Ravens have won 19 straight preseason games,m and it’ll be cool to see Washington end that streak. Coach Ron Rivera has stressed more quality of play than getting wins during these tune-ups. The Washington players, however, are more intrigued about this streak. Some were asked about ending the 19-game winning streak for Baltimore. A notable response came from defensive star Chase Young. He smiled, answering that question to the media earlier this week. “Yeah, we’ve heard about it,” Young said. He certainly wants to end that streak, and it’ll be interesting to see if they’ll get the job done. 

In order to beat the Ravens, Washington will have to play its starters for most of the game. Throughout the history of the NFL preseason, the third game would feature most of the reps for the all starters, but that was when preseason was four games.  Coach Rivera made it clear that we will see Washington’s first team in action on Saturday. We just don’t know how much they’ll play. After all, you don’t want to risk any possible injuries with the season opener two weeks out. At the very least, it’ll be nice to see Washington’s offense go out and have a better performance than they did last week against Cincinnati. Ryan Fitzpatrick did not have his finest moment against the Bengals number ones. If he’s going to be the starter for Week 1, he has to prove his leadership of this offense. Otherwise, WFT might as well start Taylor Heinicke. 

This game will also give us another chance to see undrafted rookie RB Jaret Patterson, who has been the MVP of this preseason for the Washington Football Team. More first-team reps in this matchup will only benefit him at this point. He has received nothing but praise from his teammates and his head coach. Another standout game would only solidify his spot on the 53-man roster. 

Sammis Reyes is back after missing a week with a concussion. He will certainly get a lot of time out there and prove that he deserves a spot on the final roster.

Giants Final Preseason Game

By Jeff Knapp

This Sunday, the 0-2 Giants will play their final preseason game of the year against the 2-0 New England Patriots. According to Joe Judge, Giants fans will see Daniel Jones take the field for the entire 1st half of the game. Still, the rest of the starters are expected to remain out in preparation for their September 12th opener against Denver Broncos.

Although the starters are not playing this Sunday, some rookies will not take the field due to injury. Between now and opening day, the Giants and fans alike will keep an eye on those who are injured in one way or another. Those to keep an eye on our Saquon Barkley, who received the most work of his training camp. There will also be close attention to Kyle Rudolph, 1st round pick Kadarius Toney, who is still dealing with the effects of COVID, CB Adoree Jackson, Kenny Golladay, Shane Lemieux, John Ross, and other 2021 draftees, Elerson Smith, Azeez Ojulari, and Aaron Robinson.

Going into the game, Joe Judge will probably look at how the young guys on the O-Line handle and pass rush from the Patriots will and how our pass rush will look due to injury and young, unproven talent.
Following this week’s game, the Giants and the rest of the league will then cut their rosters from 85 players to the 53-man roster.

Titans Preseason Finale

By Bill Murphy

Nashville -Well, after a 34-3 victory last week against the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Bucs, The Titans are starting their final week of the preseason on a chaotic note. On Thursday, it had been reported that nine players and coaches have either tested positive for Covid 19 or have been placed into Covid 19 protocol, including head coach Mike Vrabel and quarterback Ryan Tannehill. As a result, Tannehill will not start again, and Offensive coordinator Todd Downing will be taking the clipboard with the assistance of defensive coordinator Shane Bowen for tonight’s game against the Chicago Bears.

With Tannehill on the bench, the backup QB fight between Matt Barkley and Logan Woodside will reach the finale. Tonight plans that Barkley will start and will rotate with Woodside. Both of them have had impressive performances over the preseason games. Logan Woodside has thrown for a total of 17 completions out of 23 attempts,128 yds, and two touchdowns, while Barkley has thrown 17 completions out of 24 attempts, 169 yards, and three touchdowns. We will get a bigger picture of who will be the #2 to Tannehill after tonight’s game.

As it has been the last two weeks, there will again be a very backup-heavy game. Alongside Tannehill, there will be no AJ Brown, Julio Jones, and Derrick Henry as they are both recovering from injuries. Brown is expected to be playing week one against Los Angles, while Jones participated in limited practice this week. That means it will be up to Cameron Baston and Mason Kensey to carry the team receiving game this week while Mehki Sargeant will be covering the running game.

A strong point of this team has been the defense, who have held opponents to 406 yards, eight sacks, three interceptions, no touchdowns, and two field goals. This week, the defense will have a bit of a challenge as they will be facing Chicago’s new quarterback, first-round draft pick Justin Fields from Ohio State. They need to cover and pressure Fields throughout the game.

An Important point to remember in this last preseason game is that this is the last game before the roster gets reduced from 80 to 53. So whoever plays tonight better play like it is his last game because it just might be as cut down day is on Tuesday. So who will be Tannehill’s backup? That question and many others will be answered after tonight’s game between the Titans and Bears at 7 pm eastern time.

The Rams head to Denver for final preseason game

By Zakary Haines

LOS ANGELES- As the preseason is coming to a close, coaches are getting one final look at their players before the final cuts come in. Tonight’s game is critical for many players, as the Rams must cut down from 80 players to 53. The last four players cut include running back Raymond Calais (who had foot surgery), defensive back Paris Ford, tight end Kyle Markway, and quarterback Delvin Hodges. With that in mind, here are the groups to watch out for in tonight’s game against the Denver Broncos.

Running Backs: With the trade of Sony Michel, it looks like the Rams have reignited the competition for the number one running back spot. With Cam Akers out for the season with a torn Achilles and Darrell Henderson Jr. not performing well during the preseason. This leaves an open competition for Otis Anderson, Jake Funk, and Xavier Jones to land a spot on the Rams’ final roster. Funk led the team in rushing yards against the Raiders last week. Expect there to be more run plays to help determine who will make the cut. 

Inside Linebackers: This group has been spared any cuts as the coaching staff tries to see the best fit. That could change come next week. This game will be essential to show who will come up big for the Rams’ defense. That includes tackles for loss, filling gaps, and stopping the other team’s running game. Kenny Young and Troy Reeder are expected to be the starters, but that has not stopped Travin Howard from making his mark. As for Micah Kiser, this will be their last chance to prove he belongs on the team.

Wide Receivers: Another group that has been unaffected by roster cuts until now is the wide receivers. Most starters have been identified, such as Robert Woods, Connor Kupp, and Desean Jackson. As for other receivers, this game is a “prove it” game. Some of the top performers so far have been JJ Koski, Trishton Jackson, and Jeremaih Haydel. As for the rest of the depth chart, that will be determined in today’s game. Expect the routes to be more complicated, and players expected to push the yards after catching even further.

If there was ever a time to shine, this is it. This third and final preseason contest can make or break some players’ NFL careers, so it is important to leave it all out there on the field. The Rams will need to tighten up their roster, and some players are not making this an easy task. Another late-night kickoff is set for 9:05 pm est in Denver. The final roster cuts are to be done by Tuesday, August 31st at 4 pm est.

Dallas vs Jacksonville Gunslinger Edition

By Mark Halpern

Well, last week, we witnessed another Dallas preseason loss to the hands of the Texans. When it comes to the preseason, I don’t care about the wins or losses. This time is used to narrow down your team to 53 players. This time is coming, and this upcoming game with Jacksonville will be interesting.

The Cowboys know who their number 1 gunslinger is this season, and that is Dak Prescott. However, who is going to handle the backup spot and possible 3rd string? Garrett Gilbert, Cooper Rush, and Ben DeNucci will all have time to show off their skills. This week the first-string offense except for Cee Dee Lamb {Covid Protocol} Dak Prescott {No Need to Injure} and Zeke Elliot {Being cautious} will play at least a quarter. This will give whoever starts this game a slight advantage. Also, the Jacksonville defense first-stringers will be in making a challenge on whoever takes that first snap. Before last week Garrett Gilbert was the clear frontrunner but, Cooper Rush gave the offense a rush of excitement, throwing for two TDS. This leaves poor Ben DeNucci to most likely get mop-up duty against 2nd and possibly 3rd stringers if he gets a chance. In the end, I believe that DeNucci will be cut but will join the practice squad.

As for the Dallas defense, most of the Cowboy’s first stringers will play a quarter to a half except for Demarcus Lawrence {injury. Will be ready for week 1} and Malik Hooker {Covid Protocol}. The Dallas secondary feels good to go, and they have named their defense strategy “The No-Fly Zone.” I like it, it’s new, and I love to hear that they will be roaming and looking for those Picks. The Dallas Linebacker core of Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, and Keanu Neal has been rated in the top five crews in football; however, Micha Parsons and Jabril Cox have been performing at an unreal rate and could challenge for more time than they were expecting to get. I am excited to see Malik Hooker this season. He has been a coach to most of the secondary since he was a leader in the locker room. Jacksonville will go with their first-string offense for the first half, and this is an ideal scenario for the Dallas defense to get a good challenge put in front of them. If there are a few squeaky cogs in the system, they will be fixed very quickly.
This Cowboys offense and defense really can be something special. Just this past Monday, Dak Prescott has been given the all-clear to re ramp up his workouts to be prepared to take on the Buccaneers in two weeks. Once that is released in the upcoming week, I will have a complete rundown of the Dallas depth chart.