New York Jets Preseason #1

By Eric Ford

Another year and another start for another optimistic Jets fan. Well, at least until week 1. Here’s to week 1 of the preseason. This preseason we get to see a short glimpse of the Jets 2021 season. Reports as of late have been that Zac Wilson will see at least one quarter. My presumption is we will see more reps from backups, James Morgan and Mike White. No report on if we will see any reps with veteran and journeymen Josh Johnson.

We have a few new receivers from the off-season, some signed from free agency, others drafted Corey Davis, who had a good year with the Titans, and Keelan Cole from the Jaguars. A big name I hear a lot is Elijah Moore, who was taken from the second round of this year’s draft who has been receiving praise from many coaches and players, including Odell Beckham Jr from the Browns. Reports say he is injured, but his MRI was good. No sign if he will play. Not-so-good reports are from Denzel Mims, who was a second-round draft pick in the 2020 draft. Reports have said that he has taken a step back from last year, which isn’t a good sign. Will he get out of the slump he is in or not. He has spent most of last year injured. Based on the depth chart, the starting running back is Tevin Coleman.

Coleman is very familiar with the new system because he had Mike Lefleur as an offensive assistant on the Falcons and passing game coordinator on the 49ers. Lefleur is the Jets Offensive Coordinator. A positive sign is that we hope to see CJ Mosley. He was mainly injured in his first year as a Jet and did not play last year because of COVID. My big concern is the pass defense. Can they keep up with the receivers or not. The goal I want to see for this game and preseason, in general, is for the Jets to show others that they are a better team than last year’s record. My other goal is not to focus on a win but to let everyone play and see what adjustments we can make before our first game on September 12th in Carolina.

Preseason week 1 Titans @ Falcons Recap

By Bill Murphy

Atlanta – The Tennessee Titans opened up their preseason last night with a 23-3 win over the Atlanta Falcons. The Titans did not start any of their significant starters, such as quarterback Ryan Tannehill, Running Back Derek Henry, Wide Receivers, AJ Brown, Julio Jones, and Cornerback Caleb Farley. As you can see, even without them, it wasn’t a factor at all.

In place of Tannehill, The Titans started Logan Woodside, who threw ten completions out of 15 attempts and threw for a total of 84 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown backhanded catch to Cameron Batson. After Woodside left the game, Matt Barkley entered and ended up making five completions out of 8 attempts, throwing for 54 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Mason Kilter. These performances by these two respective quarterbacks have shown the backup quarterback competition of who will be the number two to Ryan Tannehill. After tonight’s performance, let us see through the preseason of who is worthy of getting that spot, but if I were to make a prediction, I would put my money on Woodside to get the job as of this moment.

When it comes to the defense, which is an area that Titans struggled with last season, tonight they stepped it up. Tonight they held the Atlanta offense to 139 yards, six first downs, and a field goal. We saw an interception by David Long and a total of five sacks by the defense.

While Julio Jones was injured and did not play, others got injured, such as running back Darryton Evans, who left the game with a knee injury, Offensive Lineman Trevor Cooley, who left with a foot. Safety Bradley Breeze and linebacker BJ Bello left with an ankle injury.

Overall, I think the Titans had an excellent performance in last night’s game. It is hard to tell how the rest of the season will be because they had none of the starters last night, but the backup squad held its own. Many questions need to be answered in the season, like who will be the backup for Tannehill when the season rolls around? Next week, the answer may become more apparent when the Titans take on the defending Super Bowl Champions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Battle of Back-Up Fromms in Buffalo

By Lawrence Lang

Detroit- In their first preseason game, The Buffalo Bills would come back and beat the Detroit Lions 16- 15 behind a game-winning drive with quarterback Jake Fromm. Fromm would go 8/13 for 65yds and two sacks. Fromm’s moment would come in the 4th quarter with a 4th and 10 situations. Fromm would throw a 42-yard bomb to Marquez Steveson to give the Bills a fresh set of downs. The Bills would get all the way down to the Lions 25, where Tyler Bass would kick the game-winning field goal (44 yds). Fromm shows that even in a preseason game, he can be in a pressure situation and try to mount a comeback, and in this case, he got the job done.

Bills Mitchell Trubisky and Davis Webb also got some rep time as well during the game. Trubisky played two series, going one for two with 10yds. Webb would have a nice outing as well, going 11/16 for 90 yds and a touchdown to Devin Singletary, a 6yrd touchdown.

On the Lions side, they also had three quarterbacks playing as well as the Lions are also in their own Quarterback decisions. David Blough would go five for six with 76yds, Tim Boyle would go 8 of 15 for 38yds, and Jared Goff would go 7/9 for 56 yds. Craig Reynolds, who went undrafted in 2019, had the silver lining for the Lions with a 24ds run for a touchdown.

With the Battle of the back-up now starting for the Bills, it seems that Fromm and Webb are the frontrunners for the job since the Bills didn’t play much of Trubisky, but that might be a different case next week when they travel to Trubisky former team the Chicago Bears on Saturday, August 21st kickoff is slated for 1 PM. I think since this is Trubisky’s former team, we might see him play an entire quarter, if not maybe the first half, depending on if the Bills decided to play Josh Allen at all.

One thing that is worth mentioning is that Fromm, Trubisky, AND Webb make a case that if one of them is cut, they might have a case to go somewhere else and be a back-up their if another quarterback were to go down with an injury or if something else occurs where they are unable to play one of three can come in and be ready. All three are still very young in quarterback terms: From (23), Trubisky (26), and Webb (26), with them all still in their 20’s. The three make another case that they could fit in anywhere that needs a quarterback if that were to arise.

All Eyes on Tua

By Michael Rifkin

The 2020 Miami Dolphins season ended with a bad taste in their mouth. In Week 17, all the Dolphins had to do was win, and they would make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Miami went into Buffalo and got manhandled 56-26. The primary story that came with that defeat was rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa who went 35/58 for 361 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions in the game. Is he the solution as the Dolphins franchise quarterback? Tagovailoa, the fifth overall pick from Alabama, was six and three as the Dolphins starter had a 64.1 completion percentage, 1,814 yards, 11 touchdowns, and five interceptions.

Tua had a significant hip injury in Alabama. But the thing that people will remember about Tua was the week 17 performance after being pulled in week 16 in favor of veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick who was unavailable in week 17 due to Covid. All offseason long, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores and general manager Chris Grier said they believe in Tua and are their guy. This offseason, they showed that by drafting Tua’s former teammate in Alabama Jaylen Waddle in the first round of the NFL Draft, and they signed veteran wide receiver Will Fuller to a one-year contract.

The major storyline in training camp on defense was cornerback Xavien Howard who wanted a new contract, even though he signed a five-year 75 million dollar deal in 2019. The Dolphins front office was able to come to a deal with the star corner who last season led the NFL with ten interceptions and finished third in defensive player of the year voting behind Rams Aaron Donald and the Steelers T.J. Watt. Playing Xavien Howard across from 2020 offseason splash Byron Jones gives Miami one of the best corner tandems in the league. Miami’s defense was the reason they were as competitive as they were in 2020 and the reason they won 10 games. They are a very opportunistic defense as they were third in the league in turnover differential at a +9. In the first round, they added to their pass rush by drafting Jaelan Phillips, who was viewed as one of the premier pass rushers in the draft and played at the University of Miami.

The Dolphins front office is not afraid to make a big trade, which is why this season is all about Tua. If Tua has a tremendous year, the Dolphins may have found their solution at quarterback, which they haven’t had since Dan Marino retired. The 2021 season is all about Tua and his development.

Debut of The Mac

By Michael Rifkin

On Thursday night, the New England Patriots got a shot at the guy who might be their next franchise quarterback. The Patriots first-round pick out of Alabama, Mac Jones, went 13-19 for 87 yards in his NFL debut against the Washington Football team. Jones played in the second and third quarters. Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Jones “ We’ll look at the film and see. Some good things, plenty of things we have to work on. Same as everybody else.” Jones was the first quarterback New England has selected in the first round since Drew Bledsoe in 1993. Jones is battling to start quarterback with former MVP Cam Newton, who also saw action Thursday night.

Last year at Alabama, Jones set an NCAA record with a 77.4 completion percentage with 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. Jones led Alabama to another National Championship. This is an unusual spot for the Patriots to be in, as, before the 2020 season, they could pencil in Tom Brady as the team’s starting quarterback. Tom hoisted the Lombardi trophy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in February. Meanwhile, in New England, they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008, the common factor not having Tom Brady, Brady in 2008 tore his ACL in week 1, and the Patriots missed the playoffs despite going 11-5. In week 4 of this season, Brady returns to Foxborough to play the Patriots for the first time, and the question is, who will be the Patriots starter?

You cannot compare Jones to Brady, who is the greatest quarterback of all time, but there is a lot to be excited about if you are a Patriots fan. Jones has the potential to be unique, just be patient and let him develop. Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels have done this before, and they have the ability to do it again.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Preseason #1

By Robert Mills

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open their first pre-season game on Saturday at 7:30 pm against the Bengals. Coming off their 2020 super bowl winning campaign, it is safe to say there will be a lot of eyes on this game. But what are some things that could affect them coming into this year? Let’s break it down a bit. Returning starters, that was a huge factor coming into the 2021 season. Typically, teams tend to lose starters after winning a Super Bowl due to salary caps and other factors. But what a better winning recipe than being the first team in the super bowl era to resign all 22 of their starters. Though we probably won’t see many of them for pre-season, it’s still essential to note. What does this mean for the rest of the league? Well, in 2020, the Buccaneers had one of the top-rated defenses. They were 5th in total yards allowed (327 ypg) and 8th in total points allowed (22.2 ppg).

These stats only continued to improve headed into the postseason; if you compare the yards per game and points per game to the regular season, they kept right on par, averaging 347 ypg and only allowing 19.5 ppg, which included holding the number 1 rated offense in 2020 in Kansas City to only 9 points in the super bowl. We all knew that players like Vita Vea and Shaquil Barrett would be impactful, but the defense just seemed to get better as the season progressed. And the offense is the same story.
The chemistry between Tom Brady, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin only seemed to have improved as the 2020 season progressed, and every team in the NFL will be on high alert if this dynamic trio will be firing on all cylinders again. And to make things harder, the Buccaneers offensive line finished 2020 ranked in the top 5 for overall O-lines. Brady was only pressured on 24% of his dropbacks which is the 4th best in the NFL. So defenses will have their hands complete if they expect to get to Brady.

Though, this is now history, as we need to move on to the 2021 season. With Tom Brady having just signed a one-year contract extension through the 2022 season, it’s safe to say he will be running the helm. And as mentioned before, we can fully expect those starters to be the week in and week out, guys. However, one important transaction in the offseason was the acquisition of Kyle Trask (Rd 2, pick 24) from the University of Florida. Signing Trask was one of the smarter choices made as this will allow him a chance to work with Tom and develop and show that this team is trying to be contenders in the future. Their other top pick was Joe Tyron (Rd 1, pick 32) from Washington. He is already showing out in camp. Could he be the next Shaq Barrett? And if so, could we be talking about a rookie DPOY candidate? It might be a little early to talk about that, but from what we hear from Bruce Arians (HC), he is “a hard guy to block.”

So wrapping up everything with a nice bow, it’s safe to say I fully expect another super bowl run by the Buccaneers. If you had the right recipe last year and are using the same recipe again this year, why should we expect less? The NFC South will be “weaker” this year (depending on who you talk to) with Drew Brees retiring, which makes their most challenging opponent in the NFC South (New Orleans Saints) much more manageable. And the Buccaneers have the 4th easiest strength of schedule (SOS) according to opponents win percentage of 2020. The 4th easiest SOS and the Buccaneers had the 3rd best offense (PPG) in 2020 with all starters returning? It sounds like 2021 should be rather fun for Buccaneers fans.

Los Angles Chargers vs Los Angles Rams Pre-Season #1

By Zakary Haines

LOS ANGLES- Football has returned to Los Angeles, and what better way to kick off pre-season than with the two teams that call LA home. The Rams and Chargers will face off tonight at 10 pm est making this the latest game of the day. Most of the Rams starters will sit out game one. That includes Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, and many more. This makes the Chargers the favorite to win this game. With the spread at +3 for the Rams, this game will mostly be for evaluations and where to make some cuts to the roster. 

The NFL has carried over its COVID flex rules and will make cuts occur on Tuesday for the 2nd season in a row. The Rams will have to cut their roster down to 85 players after Saturday night. This game will be crucial for many players as it is a chance to prove they belong on the 53 man roster for week 1. Here are some groups to look out for on the field for game 1.

Wide Receiver: The Rams have plenty of options to throw to, but who will get the ball is another question. Currently, there are ten listed players in the Wide Receiver position, and trimming it down will be important in the coming weeks. Some players are returning to the team, such as Robert Woods and Connor Kupp, while newer additions such as DeSean Jackson and Van Jefferson will need to carve out a spot for themselves. Considering Matthew Stafford will be the starter in week 1, it is important to find the best hands and talent in this group.

Inside Linebackers: Despite the Rams ranking 1st in defense last year, that does not mean it was perfect. One position of concern is the Inside Linebacker. With the talents of Aaron Donald on the defensive line and Jalen Ramsey at corner, the Rams need a leader to step up in the middle. Expect these guys to go all out in the pre-season with a young mix of Micah Kiser, Troy Reeder, Travin Howard, and Kenny Young looking to make the roster and earn the starting role. Young is the favorite to win the spot but is not surprised if another player grabs the spot.

Special Teams: The Rams ranked 30th in special teams last season and were the worst out of all the playoff teams. Significant improvements for this upcoming season are necessary. This first game will help see who may be a good fit on kickoff, punts, and field goals. There will be some competition. Johnny Hekker has been on the team for ten seasons, but Corey Bojorquez is on the roster for a reason. Meanwhile, Matt Gay and Austin MacGinnis will be fighting for the starting kicker position after the Rams moved on from Sam Sloman last season.

There is a lot to improve on from last season. Trading for Matthew Stafford has created a significant buzz and a new drive in the team. It is important to be firing on all cylinders early on in the upcoming season. Overall, this game may not appear necessary, but it starts the final preparations for the regular season for the players and coaches. 

New York Jets vs New York Giants Pre-Season #1

By Jeff Knapp

NEW YORK- The 2021 season is here, and the New York Giants start things off this preseason with three games against the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, and New England Patriots. This Monday, the Giants will take the field with a returning core unit on both sides of the ball. We’ll see Daniels Jones, Saquon Barkley, Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram on the offense. On defense, we are seeing the return of Blake Martinez, who was in the top 10 again last year for tackles, Leonard Williams, who signed a three-year contract with the Giants after having the franchise tag put on him, and Jabrill Peppers alongside Logan Ryan on defens

The Giants said goodbye to Kevin Zeitler, Wayne Gallman, Dion Lewis, Golden Tate, David Mayo, and Dalvin Tomlinson during the offseason. Not having Dalvin upfront may hurt the Giants. He was a force in the middle and was highly reliable. He started and played in every game since his 2017 rookie year and played in at least 50% or more of the defensive snaps.

Although we lost a few good men, we also added some great men. On defense, the Giants signed 26-year-old CB Adoree’ Jackson away from Tennessee for three years; from Minnesota, they signed DE Ifeadi Odenigbo, who might help fill the void left by Dalvin Tomlinson.

The big splash this past offseason was the addition of highly coveted WR Kenny Golladay for the likes of 4 years. Golladay will make their wide receiver core much more dangerous. The addition of speedy John Ross, who should open up the field alongside Darius Slayton. We can’t forget the addition of TE Kyle Rudolph, who should be a tremendous asset to help Evan Engram grow as a TE.

During the 2021 draft, the Giants selected multi-tool player Kadarius Toney, WR out of Florida, with their first-round pick. They then selected LB Azeez Ojulari out of Georgia in the second round.

One of the things that concerned me the most going into preseason was LB Todd Davis’s retirements and  O-linemen Joe Looney and Zach Fulton. I hope this isn’t an omen of things to come. Heading into week one of the preseason and the next few weeks, we will need to keep an eye on the injuries that occurred to John Ross, Kenny Golladay, Shane Lemieux, and how Saquon Barkley fares from his 2020 injury.

We will not see much of the starters during preseason until the 3rd and final game, but Joe Judge, Patrick Graham, and Jason Garrett will be looking for many different things. For instance, schematic changes or play calling focus. The staff may look at how the team does on the 2nd & 3rd down. They may also teach them the basics of their team’s blocking assignment terminology. The coaches may also go week by week looking to set specific goals for individual players to reach.

I’m not looking at wins and losses during the preseason. I’m looking to see how they look as a unit early in the preseason.

Cincinnati Bengals vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pre-Season #1

By Liam Sullivan

TAMPA, FL- The Cincinnati Bengals finished with the fourth-worst record in the NFL last season, with a 4-11-1 record. Before LSU Rookie Joe Burrow got hurt, he was having a pretty good year. Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon, running back, had a good season until he injured his foot in Week 6, on the road against the Indianapolis Colts. Clemson Rookie Tee Higgins had an excellent season for a rookie with 66 receptions for 900 yards, with six touchdowns. 

On the defensive side, it was a pretty bad performance. However, there are future stars in Wake Forest rookie Jesse Bates and Ohio State product Vonn Bell. 

Zac Taylor is in his third year at the coaching helm of this team. Taylor improved from his 2019 season to 2020 from a two-win season to four wins. With Burrow and Higgins on the team, fans wanted to see a better improvement. The playoffs are not expected for this organization, but they would like to see a winning season. Some say that Taylor can expect to be fired if he does not have a winning season.

This year, the Bengals look to open up the preseason in Tampa, Florida, against the championship defending Buccaneers. Mike Brown’s organization hopes to present its newly drafted players on the field against the Glazer Family. 

Brandon Allen is expected to get the start against Florida rookie Kyle Trask. Allen is expected to have a rotating backfield of Trayveon Williams and Samaje Perine. He is expected to throw to newly drafted Wide Receiver and LSU Product Ja’Marr Chase, Florida State product Auden Tate, and sixth-year Veteran from Southern Miss Mike Thomas, all of whom play for Troy Walters. Potentially blocking and receiving for the Bengals will be a third-year player from Washington, Drew Sample, coached by James Casey. Jackson Carman, D’Ante Smith, and Trey Hill will hold Frank Pollack’s lineup. Evan McPherson will hope to make Darrin Simmons’ Special Teams unit. 

For Staten Island, NY., Native and Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo, the Bengals hope to display some of their newly drafted players on the defensive side of the ball. On Marion Hobby’s defensive line will be players like Joseph Ossai, Cam Sample, Tyler Shelvin, and Wyatt Hubert. In the defensive backfield will be Jesse Bates and Vonn Bell at safety, playing for Robert Livingston, and Trae Waynes and Mike Hilton at corner, playing for Steve Jackson. 

When I asked Reed Burton, in Arlington, NY., a Bengals fan, about why he is excited about this season, he said this: “I want to see how Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Burrow play together.” 

Takeaways from last night’s WFT/Patriots Matchup

By. Dan Ryans

WASHINGTON–The Washington Football Team played a preseason game for the first time since 2019. Most aspects of the team shined during the 22-13 loss against the New England Patriots. Here are three takeaways from last night’s events:

1. Chase Young is still a stud

Right out the gate, Chase Young showed us once again why he was Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020. Not only did he repeatedly beat left tackle Isaiah Wynn in 1-on-1 battles, but Young also put a lot of pressure on QB Cam Newton. One play, in particular, was early in the first quarter. The Patriots were on 3rd & 8 at their own 22-yard line and on that play, Chase Young easily got by Wynn and manhandled Newton for what looked like a sack and a fumble at the time. Unfortunately, the ruling on the field was changed to an incomplete pass, and Young was credited only with a QB hit. That doesn’t matter though. It still didn’t change the fact that he wasted no time showing the league his dominant force on that defensive line. 

2. All 3 QB’s were excellent

Let’s start off with Ryan Fitzpatrick and what else can you say about the 17-year veteran. He ended the night going 5 of 8 with 58 yards. On top of that, his early connections at camp with receiver Terry McLaurin and tight end Logan Thomas were easily noticeable. One of his first passes was to McLaurin for a 22-yarder on a 2nd & 7. Later on, Fitzpatrick converts a pass on 3rd & 10 to Thomas for 24 yards. If Fitzy can keep this up throughout camp and into the season, this offense should be in good shape. 

Taylor Heinicke was next after Fitzpatrick’s two series and let’s just say, he was solid as well. He struggled at first with an incompletion and a sack. However, he rebounded quickly with two big completions to TE John Bates and WR Steven Sims, Jr. He even led Washington down a scoring to put them up 7-6 at the end of the half. Heinicke ended his night going 9 for 15 with 86 yards, pleasing head coach Ron Rivera. “Taylor picked up right where he left off,” said Coach Rivera after the game. “I think he’s a high-dynamic energy type player. He did a lot of good things, made some good decisions, and I like who he is as a football player right now.”

Rookie Steven Montez capped off the night for quarterbacks with a nice performance of his own completing 17 of 24 passes, for 108 yards, one touchdown, one interception. His lone TD pass to Lamar Miller came late in the fourth to pull Washington within two points.

3. Keep your eyes on undrafted rookie Jaret Patterson

Standing at 5’8, 195 pounds is Prince George’s County, Maryland native Jaret Patterson. A 21-year old lifelong fan of Washington Football, Patterson said after the game that making his NFL debut with his hometown team is a dream come true. “It’s a blur, man. It’s been unreal. The feeling was unbelievable…My mindset was whenever I get the opportunity, I was going to take advantage of it and show these coaches…I belong in the NFL.” And he certainly did show out last night as he led the squad with a total of 40 yards rushing and added 30 receiving yards on 14 touches.