Thursday
1. Chad Henne is not a better nor worse option than Blake Bortles. Henne wont score the Jags points this year but he won’t turn the ball over either. Fantasy tip stay away from the Jags passing game Allen Robinson is a tempting name but he isn’t worth it until the late, late rounds. Henne threw for ten yards in the first half that’s disgusting for an NFL QB.
2. Cam Newton looked…. Well he didn’t look like anything. We really didn’t see anything from Cam who threw two completions for 21 yards and a Touchdown. Not a lot to learn from that performance.
3. Jay Cutler looks in command of the Dolphins offense. He threw five of eight passes complete for 105 yards. A touchdown to add to that stat line as well. Cutler looks like he has this QB thing handled pretty well again. Bold Prediction: Cutler will have his best career year in this system and throw 30 touchdowns, 24 at least.
4. Jay Ajayi is the most underrated back in the league. He ran for 53 yards and two touchdowns. I am sneaky way high on this offense. If Cutler can be as good as I think he will be and the running game can work just as well, I don’t want to say it because it would shove the Titans out of a playoff spot but I think the Dolphins could make it back to the playoffs.
5. Carson Wentz looks like a new QB with fixed mechanics. They still look weird but not bad. It’s hard to explain on paper. He doesn’t throw all the through. He stops at the highest realease point like a follow through in basketball. He still has a slightly longer wind up but nothing as criminal as last year though. However, Wentz and his pocket presence has improved noticeably.
Friday
Julian Edelman is out for the season. Is it a crushing blow for the Patriots offense? No. But it provides a chink, not a large one, but a chink in the Patriots armor. Will it make them miss the playoffs? No. Take them out of the number one seed? No. Will it give them a hurdle to cross in the post season? Most definitely Edelman shines in the playoffs and is the difference between an unstoppable and beatable Patriots team in January.
The Patriots already have Edelman’s replacement. Chris Hogan dominated in this game and was by far Tom Brady’s favorite target. Two touchdowns and 70 yards on four receptions make Hogan a must get in your fantasy league.
The Lions starting offense is depressing. It took Stafford three preseason quarters to throw 2 touchdowns. Starting offenses are supposed to have more than seven points in the first half of a preseason game, unless you’re the Jacksonville Jaguars. Steer clear of all Lions players even Stafford in your fantasy drafts.
Russell Wilson looked Russell Wilson like. Wilson threw the ball well and his mobility looks to be back. He had 3 or 4 throws that missed the target by a long shot and one bad floater towards Jimmy Graham that should have been picked. All in all Wilson looked good and the Seahawks offense has got me excited this year. As for all the talk about leaning less heavily on the run. I think that’s false combined the Seahawks ran the ball 16 times in the first half. Don’t go to early on any one of these backs in your fantasy draft but Seahawks backs will be prime waiver wire bait when your starter has a bye.
Patrick Mahomes outplayed Alex Smith. Smith looked like himself, short pass, after short pass to wide open receivers. Mahomes just looks like a better QB. Honestly, I’m surprised there hasn’t been more competition. With Smith, the Chiefs are low risk low reward. It completely flips with Mahomes. I think either guy would give the Chiefs a shot at the playoffs. If Smith struggles it would not surprise me if we saw Mahomes start this year. That’s my hot take.
Saturday
The Chargers offense is one to watch this year. While the offensive line has struggled at point Philip Rivers continues to look like a top ten QB. Keenan Allen looks fully recovered from the knee injury. Travis Benjamin looked great as well. Though his career started rocky in Cleveland he has found his niche in the NFL as one of the leagues best slot receivers. I would be shocked if he wasn’t featured heavily in this offense.
2. Jared Goff, started strong, then collapsed. Goff started the game with a nice drive and several great throws. Then he got to the red zone, fumbled the ball and on the very next drive threw a head scratcher into a group of three Chargers that resulted in an interception. Goff has moments, has promise, has potential to be a Russell Wilson like QB. He also has moments where you wonder how he went first overall. He’s an intriguing guy to watch, make sure you tune into the Rams this year.
3. Jon Brown looks back in form, so does Carson Palmer, that spells success for the Cards. Brown dominated in 2015 when the Cards were at the height of their power. This offense looks like it’s ticking again, and that’s good, not only for the Cardinals but for football. The NFL is a better place when the NFC West is competitive and it’s shaping up to be an intriguing division.
4. As my good friend, @Chicubscoverage on Twitter told me, we can learn very little from the preseason, stay away from sweeping predictions. I will. This Falcons offense looked lackluster in the first half. Nothing to worry about with the Falcons though this offense has looked good in the past two preseason games. The Super Bowl hangover will be brief for Atlanta, if there is one at all.
5. The Tampa Bay offense struggled once again though. It’s something to watch going into the season. Perhaps this offense will need some time to warm up.
6. Brock Osweiler is not going to be on the Cleveland Browns come week one. He was not the first or second QB to start. Cody Kessler is the backup for this team but the Browns need to keep Brock for a little while longer because……
7. If Kizer starts it is not going to end well. The Browns first four games are insanely hard. Kizer struggled mightily.
8. Jordan Taylor is quickly becoming Trevor Siemian’s favorite target. Siemian needs to find a third guy to look too and Taylor provides that.
9. CJ Anderson looks good. Anderson found the holes and punished this Packers defense. I said it about a month ago and I will say it again. Anderson could have a big year if he stays healthy. Jamal Charles showed one or two flashes of what he used to be. He may not make this team but if he does, expect him to be a third down burst back.
10. The Boys will be fine without Zeke. Dak Prescott has once again dominated the pre season. The kid is an undeniable talent. Also, that offensive line is so dominant. Alfred Morris and Darren Mcfadden put up combined Zeke like numbers. Speaking of Zeke he got a drive in, 6 runs for 18 yards.
11. Amari Cooper torched the Cowboys defense. Four receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown. Cooper struggled near the end of last year. It is clear those struggles are no more.
12. Tom Savage has the Texans job, for now. It would not shock me if we saw Watson come in and steal the starting job before week 3. Yes, he is a raw, young, QB who likes to throw into coverage. He is also a young QB who loves to take shots and open up this offense. Bill Obrien usually will choose the latter over the former.
13. The Saints defense is sneaky good. They have been all pre-season. Will they change games? Probably not but don’t be shocked if they move from worst in the league to lower mid tier.
14. The Giants defense is dominant. It’s time to start putting them in the same group as the Texans and Broncos. This D score three times Saturday night. Yes, it’s the pre-season but they are primed to make the jump from the top tier of defense, to game changing. That’s scary considering who that team has on offense.
Sunday
1. This Washington offense is something of a mystery. The Capitol cities team struggled mightily on offense throughout this preseason. The biggest problem Washington has is that offensive line. If they continue to struggle Cousins won’t last a full season. This Line has serious problems but it’s not too late to remedy them.
2. Joe Mixon is one of the better running backs I have ever seen. Yes, he had a rookie jitter fumble Sunday but the guy makes explosive cuts and has incredible burst. He reminds me so much of Leveon Bell. However, like Bell he must stay out of trouble off the field to stay on it.
3. AJ Green is going to get a ton of targets this year. Forget about John Ross or Tyler Boyd or Brandon Lafell. The man who will run this offense is going to be AJ Green. He’s going to be a ppr monster this year if you play fantasy.
4. The Chicago Bears front 7 can shut down the run. The Titans have been dominating the ground game all pre-season, not today though. Derrick Henry and Demarco Murray combined for only 40 yards against the Bears front. This defense has the potential to be sneaky great this year. Considering the division, they are in it seems they are set. Minus the Packers both the Vikings and Lions are going to rely heavily on the ground game this year. Will they win the division? No. Will they be the dregs of the division? Definitely not.
5. I need to see Trubisky in action early in the year. If this team starts Glennon it’s an admission that they are just totally giving up and the end of Fox and Pace in Chicago. If Trubisky starts this team becomes interesting. The loss of Cameron Meredith hurt, yes, but this team has the potential to be an upset maker week in and week out. Bears fans have to be considered winners this pre-season, this team can be a playoff maker within the next 3 years.
6. Winners of the preseason. Sure, there’s one week left but be honest week four is not real football. So, winners: Jared Goff, though Goff had a rough third pre-season game you could see confidence building, there is hope. Derrick Henry, if you aren’t picking up Henry in fantasy your making a huge mistake. Henry is going to steal carries away from Murray and by the end of the year be the number one back in Tennessee. The guy is the next big thing, which brings us to our last winner.
7. The next generation of great NFL backs. It seems we just got Bell, Johnson, and Zeke. Now we have our next generation. Mixon, Mccaffery, Fournette, Cook, and Kamara. Why Alvon Kamara? If All day fails to be himself in New Orleans Kamara is a better option for this team than Ingram simply because he is younger and has fresh legs. Like it or not, the new NFL schedule is run backs to death and drop them after four to five years. There’s about two more years of Bell and Johnson fantasy fever. Then we move to the new backs.
8. Losers, the casual football fan. Unless you are obsessed 24 7 365 with the game of pig skin like I am chances are you hate the preseason. Good news, only a week and a half until real football!!
