Green Bay @ St. Louis
New York Jets @ Chicago
Baltimore @ Dallas
New York Giants @ Indianapolis
Buffalo @ Pittsburgh
Miami @ Tampa Bay
Atlanta @ Houston
Arizona @ Minnesota
1. LeGarrette Blount "steel"-ing carries
To begin, let's take a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive backfield. You might have been considering Le'Veon Bell in the first or second round of your fantasy draft, but not so fast. I'm looking into my crystal ball here, and I see--what's this?--a timeshare? With LeGarrette Blount? Surely not! But indeed, the murmurings are becoming clear, Le'Veon Bell is in very real danger of losing significant carries to LeGarrette Blount. From a non-fantasy perspective, I don't have a problem with this. I feel like Blount has earned a prominent offensive role after working his way out of near obscurity so many times. First, he doesn't get drafted. Then there's the UDFA signing debacle in which Blount psyched out San Francisco in favor of Tennessee, only to be waived by the Titans in the 11th hour. Then, despite playing pretty well for the Bucs, Blount's fumbling problem resulted in being traded to New England's crowded, young backfield for a measley seventh-round pick. Blount was no lock to even make the team in New England, but he did, and he worked his way out of depth chart purgatory to a heroic playoff performance and a new contract with the Steelers this past offseason. The guy has earned this opportunity. As Blount put it to surprised journalists after his unexpectedly voluminous workload in the first preseason game, "Ain't no one gonna sign me to sit me."
But anyway, back in fantasy land where hard work doesn't get you any extra points, coach Mike Tomlin added fuel to the speculative fire when he stated that both backs would "get their share [of carries]." Watch closely tonight, and be wary of drafting Le'Veon Bell too high if his first-team reps aren't plentiful. Already what fantasy footballers call a "touchdown vulture" (someone who steals carries at the goal line), LeGarrette Blount's stock is rising and circling overhead while Bell's diminishes.
2. Logan Thomas: QB of the future?
No, seriously, Logan Thomas killed it in the first week of preseason. Granted, this came against the Texans' third- and fourth-stringers, but, Thomas' laudable performance (11-12 for 113 yards and a TD) led Eagles great and ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski to proclaim that Thomas was the first week of preseason's most impressive rookie quareterback. Not Bortles, not Manziel, not Bridgewater, but fourth-rounder Logan Thomas of the Arizona Cardinals, who is currently buried on the depth chart behind Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley, not to mention starter Carson Palmer.
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| Logan Thomas' play in the Cards' first preseason game has drawn praise from high places (Photo by Matt York, AP) |
After the terror that was the 2012 season, the Cardinals have no place for Ryan Lindley on their team--unless he is able to beat out Drew Stanton for No. 2 duties while Thomas is coached into an NFL quarterback. At 6'6" and 250 lbs., Thomas reminds me of Josh Freeman, but with greater mobility, and less immediate pro-readiness. With some polishing, Logan Thomas might just have the goods to be "The Guy" in the Desert when 34-year-old Carson Palmer's days are up.
3. Tampa Bay: Here, there be giants
It started in the Windy City, with Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, and Martellus Bennett--6'4", 6'3", and 6'6", respectively. With Jay Cutler's "Marshall-vision," the Bears' size advantages in the passing game did not really start to show up until Cutler's injury forced lifetime backup Josh McCown into starting services. Suddenly, Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett became star pass-catchers alongside their heralded teammate Brandon Marshall; and, luckily for McCown, the 34-year-old was in a contract year. Though he could not save the Bears' season, McCown tossed 13 touchdowns and only one interception as starting quarterback, leading to a starting gig in Tampa bay in 2014.
McCown is only half of the story though. If he can throw so proficiently to the big receivers in Chicago, why should he not succeed all the more with the mountainous receivers in Tampa? Starting with 6'5" superstar Vincent Jackson, the Bucs added draftees Mike Evans in the first round, and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins in the second; both also stand at a towering 6'5".
I wonder if the defensive backs in the NFC South have ever attempted to prevent birds from flying into the uppermost reaches of tree branches. It might be a good way to practice covering these monstrous pass-catchers in Tampa.
4. Will the flag-fest continue?
If you haven't been watching preseason, well, first of all, I must not be doing a good job of arousing intrigue; secondly, you are "missing out" on the outrageous amount of flags being thrown in the first two weeks of preseason. Because I haven't a less cliched way of expressing it, it seriously seems like every other play results in a penalty--specifically, illegal contact, illegal hands to the face, or defensive holding. And you know, these are good rules to have. Defensive players should not be allowed to rough up receivers trying to run their routes; offensive lineman should keep there hands below the head-and-neck area when pass-protecting. I don't think these rules are over-bearing, and they certainly help the game more than hurt it. But with this preseason came a dreaded "emphasis" on these particular penalties. Now, if a defensive back brushes a receiver's pinky finger with his own pinky finger, it's an automatic first down by penalty! Obviously, this over-officiousness prohibits any sort of physicality on part of defensive backs, rendering guys like Richard Sherman and his Legion-of-Boom comrades on the wrong side of the rulebook, as personified by the would-be house-call made by Tharold Simon against the Chargers last night. On the play, Simon defended the Chargers receiver beautifully on a pylon route thrown by San Diego backup Kellen Clemons; he played the ball the whole way, made a gorgeous, athletic interception over his shoulder, and ran the thing back for six points. But alas, the SC Top-Ten play was not meant to be, as the 94,637,963,763rd flag of the evening brought the Chargers back to Seattle's red zone to reclaim the six points. Did Simon touch the receiver? Damn right he did! He was playing physically, the way a defensive back should play. Did he disrupt the man's route? No! The route was sorry to begin with, and so was the ill-advised throw. The other thing that burns me up is the fact that defenders have the right to check receivers within five yards of scrimmage. This particular play was run from the five-yard line, and by the time the ball was thrown, Simon was still within that protected zone and already turning around to pick the ball off. It was the most high-profile bullshit call of a two-week stretch of NFL rules bullshit--also known as "ruleshit."
While Roger Goodell's lust for revenue and indifference to fans threaten to taint the game off the field, the referees are ruining it on the field. Of course, it is not all their faults; they don't make the rules, they simply enforce them. And we must also remember that the preseason is not just a trial period for the players, but also for the officials. Not all of these officials will be around to make questionable, game-altering calls come regular season, and it is reasonable to suppose or expect that those who are will allow for more leeway when it gets down to the nitty-gritty. Only time will tell, but if the NFL allows its games to be deluded by a yellow (pink in October) rain of penalty hankies, the product will pall. It's not fair to the fans, and it is certainly not fair to the players to make such a mess of this beautiful sport with tyrannically over-sensitive officiating. It needs to stop now.
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