NFL Preseason Report (updated 8/26)

I <3 Legion. Did Flutie make it out to play?

No. New England only played Davey and Cassel. Flutie was in pads on the sidelines, but he wasn't expected to come in unless someone got hurt.

Seeing as Cassel only had 33 pass attempts in his college career, I think the Pats decided the extra reps were good for him.

Dammit, I want to see Flutie play one more time. Obviously it's going to take a flu-bug to knock out Brady and Davey for a week or two.

I love Flutie. He's the consumate underdog! Go Dougie!

Flutie will get some reps in preseason. There's still 3 more games for them to go.

It's a battle of 4 QBs for 3 spots. And the top spot is no battle, obviously. So you've got Davey, Cassel, and Flutie. Cassel's the most unknown of the three, and needs the most reps to be able to show his potential, so he got the brunt of the load this week. I think it may end up being a battle between Davey and Flutie. The Patriots may be deciding to pull the plug on the Rohan Davey Project. He hasn't yet become what they hoped. It's come time to decide whether Davey has it or not. If not, you're counting on Flutie as your veteran backup, and a mentor for Cassel. If Davey has it, then Flutie doesn't belong on the roster over a young project player. Having Davey and Flutie on the roster together makes little sense - if they're confident enough in Davey to stay on the team, then he's gotta be the go-to backup, and the #3 spot should be a project QB. Unless Cassel completely flops, I don't think you can carry Davey and Flutie. And I think maybe that's what his workload in this game was (partly) all about. If Cassel's got enough potential to be worth keeping as your project, then either Davey has to assume the mantle of a legitimate #2 NFL QB, or he has to be sent packing.

Watched the Redskins preason and they looked rough all the way arround.

I try not to read too much into preseason but will be interesting to see how they pan out.

Damnit, they put Rex Grossman on the IR. Hate to see them giving up on him like that.

Gonna have a bucs vs Tenn write up Legion?

I have a write up that probably only Karma will get:

Ernest Graham = Mazio Royster

Well, I know he was a RB in the early 90's but I was in my Nuclear schools so was not able to follow football to closely.

Is that = for wasted potential or hopeful potential?

karmajay wrote:

Gonna have a bucs vs Tenn write up Legion?

I will have one for every game. I've got all of this week's games (the ones I haven't yet done) recorded on TiVo. I'll watch about two or three games each day this week.

MIAMI DOLPHINS v. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS, PRESEASON WEEK 1: 8/12

1ST TEAMERS

Miami came into this game having already played a preseason game, and the extra work gave the Dolphins defense an edge. The new Dolphins defense was clearly further along than the new Jaguars offense, as the Dolphins pulled out the blitz packages for their new 3-4 defense that were absent in the Hall of Fame Game against Chicago.

Akin Ayodele has been considered the least secure, jobwise, of the Jaguars linebackers. It didn't show tonight. Ayodele blankted Pro Bowl TE Randy McMichael in pass coverage and held him to 0 catches. He was disruptive on the blitz, and chased down ballcarriers across the field. He was primarily a pass rusher at Purdue, but he is developing the rest of the LB package.

The Jaguars 1st team defensive line had their way with the Miami offense. Ironically, new pass rusher Reggie Hayward wasn't a factor, but Paul Spicer and Pro Bowler Marcus Stroud tormented Gus Frerotte. The Jags also pressured the QB with some LB blitzes, something they didn't do a lot of last year.

Byron Leftwich and the 1st team offense struggled. The offensive line and backs had problems in blitz pickup, and Leftwich was indecisive with the ball at times. His receivers also offered up a couple of drops, including an uncharacteristic drop by Jimmy Smith. The result was 4 sacks on Leftwich and not a lot of offense. Things weren't a total failure for Leftwich, though. While he was clearly still trying to figure out the offense on the field, the physical tools showed up in spades. Leftwich rifled the ball with velocity I haven't seen from anyone else in preseason. His mechanics also appear to be much more mature. Often criticised for a slow wind-up release, Leftwich's release in this game was noticably quicker and smoother, without losing any of the zip on his fastball. When Leftwich figured out where to go with the ball, it got there in a hurry and on a dime.

With Fred Taylor sitting the game out, LaBrandon Toefield took the field as the Jaguars #1 running back. Toefield ran hard but was tentative at times, missing cuts that could've resulted in bigger gains.

Ricky Williams made big strides in his return to the NFL in this game. He's looking slimmer and running quicker than ever before. He isn't showing the same battering ram power, but he's still someone that the defensive backs don't wish to take head-on. Williams had a pair of nifty outside runs, in which he used his agility to get by tacklers and pick up some good yardage. 39 yards on 6 carries is quite an improvement from his Hall of Fame Game performance. With Ronnie Brown now signed, Williams may be putting on a public tryout for the rest of the NFL.

I've been a fan of Dolphins WR Chris Chambers since he came into the league, and if Miami ever gets him a QB, everyone else will be too. Chambers continues to improve, and he ran great routes and caught everything that came near him too. He also made a heads-up (or heads-down, as it were) play of catching a ball that he muffed when Jags S Deon Grant blasted him and made his body snap backwards and land on his back. Chambers went down harder and faster than the ball, and he was aware enough to reach out with one hand and tip the ball into his grasp for a great lying-on-the-ground catch.

Jason Taylor tore up Jags LT Mike Pearson, who is back on the field after a season-ending knee injury last year. Pearson is the weakest link on an otherwise strong Jaguars O-line. His grasp on the starting LT job is inversely proportional to the play of 2nd round pick Khalif Barnes. Barnes has not yet stepped up and made a serious run at the starting job, but it's something that could end up happening during the season.

Gus Frerotte's numbers weren't great, but he was throwing against a 1st team Jags defense that had his receivers in their back pockets. Only Chambers was able to get open, especially since TE Randy McMichael was, as previously mentioned, shut down by Akin Ayodele. Frerotte looked the best out of any of the Miami QBs by far. He didn't have much to work with against that defense, but he avoided making dangerous mistakes.

2ND & 3RD TEAMERS

A.J. Feeley was invisible for most of his time on the field, until he overthrew a receiver and was intercepted by Jag CB Chris Thompson. Feeley overthrew a number of receivers, and just seemed to have no idea what to do. The starting job belongs to Gus Frerotte. Feeley may be in danger of not even making the team if he does not rebound in a big way.

Jags S Nick "Jesus" Sorensen is the team's special teams ace, but the Jags would like him to develop more as a safety. Sorensen still shows slow reaction to receivers cutting through his zones, and gets beat on the crossing routes. There's a place for Sorensen on this teams as the special teams captain (not unlike a Steve Tasker), but the team would love to be able to rely on him as a reserve safety. Right now, he still has a ways to go.

The star of the game was Jags RB Alvin Pearman, a 4th round draft pick out of Virginia. Pearman racked up 64 yards on 11 carries, as he tore through the Miami 2nd and 3rd team defenses. Pearman hit holes quickly and without hesitation, and ran with the kind of confidence and purpose not seen in LaBrandon Toefield. The Jaguars were expected to scour the waiver wire for a running back after cuts started coming in, but Pearman is convincing the team that perhaps he can be the #2 behind Fred Taylor. Pearman is small (5'9", 208 pounds) and doesn't have blazing top-end speed, hence the drop to round 4. But if he can take the wear of the pro game, he could be a productive runner. His receiving abilities and quickness make him an ideal 3rd down back.

Matt Jones made a splash in catching a 20 yard strike between zone coverage on his first play on the field. He finished with 3 catches, including a back-of-the-endzone TD catch against former Pro Bowl safety Lance Schulters. Jones gave Schulters a little inside move, and then took it back outside. Quinn Gray threw it up where only Jones could reach it, and Schulters had no chance.

Dolphins 3rd string QB Sage Rosenfels drove the Dolphins to their first TD, hitting tight end Jason Rader on a semi-broken play on 4th-and-goal. Rosenfels played with some confidence, and seemed to have it together as much as any of Miami's QBs.

I mentioned before how Leftwich has thrown the ball harder than anyone I've seen in preseason so far. Well, the second hardest passer so far was 4th string Dolphins QB Brock Berlin. Unlike Leftwich, Berlin was pretty wild and all over the place, but he also rocketed a couple of strikes for big yardage and Miami's 2nd TD. He found a favorite target in 2nd year WR Maurice Mann, who finished with 5 catches for 89 yards and the TD grab.

SPECIAL TEAMS

David Allen lost his kick returning job in training camp last year to Jermaine Lewis, but Lewis didn't pan out, and Allen returned to the Jaguars in December of last season. The team drafted NCAA special teams player of the year Chad Owens to provide a spark to the kick & punt return game. Allen, however, is not willing to give up his job so easily. He fielded one kickoff for a great 24 yard return, in which he made a great play in pulling through a would-be tackler. Then, he fielded a punt return 76 yards for a touchdown. Allen easily outshone Chad Owens as a return man, and is making a compelling argument for keeping him around.

Jags K Josh Scobee helped separate in the kicking competition from Seth Marler with consistantly deep kickoffs and a 31 yard field goal. Marler his a 21 yard field goal, but his kickoffs weren't as deep, and one went out-of-bounds for an illegal kick penalty. Scobee has a cannon leg and could be a dangerous long field goal kicker after a little more development. The job is Scobee's to lose, but the rookie struggles of his 2004 preseason seem a distant memory now.

Chris Hanson was back in Pro Bowl form, thumping some nice go-make-a-sandwich hangtime kicks. Eddie Johnson punted as well to keep Hanson's workload down, but is no threat to take Hanson's job.

3 STARS:
1. Alvin Pearman (RB, Jaguars)
2. Chris Chambers (WR, Dolphins)
3. David Allen (KR/PR, Jaguars)
Honorable mentions: Jaguars WR Matt Jones, Jaguars LB Akin Ayodele, Jaguars DT Marcus Stroud, Dolphins RB Ricky Williams

3 LOSERS:
1. Mike Pearson (OT, Jaguars)
2. A.J. Feeley (QB, Dolphins)
3. Lamar Gordon (RB, Dolphins)
Dishonorable mentions: Dolphins RB Travis Minor, Jaguars WR Jimmy Smith (catch that ball, fool!)

I'll be interested to read *Legion*'s take on tonight's battle of Pennsylvania, particularly the first two minutes or so of the game.

It's taped baby. It's comin'.

It's taped baby. It's comin'.

I best not see a Pitt vs Philly before that TB one Legion, or you are going on Fletcher's List!

BTW, Pitt looked pretty good. Or Philly looked pretty bad. Or both.

I'm doing things roughly in the order they were taped on the TiVo. So Pitt and Philly is a few games away.

karmajay wrote:

I best not see a Pitt vs Philly before that TB one Legion, or you are going on Fletcher's List!

BTW, Pitt looked pretty good. Or Philly looked pretty bad. Or both. :)

At least those eagles will get a sparkling special teams report...err...wait

CHICAGO BEARS v. ST. LOUIS RAMS, PRESEASON WEEK 1: 8/12

1ST TEAMERS

This is another one of those games where one team goes into it having a preseason game already under their belt. It didn't show that much on the Bears 1st team offense, but the defense definitely showed it, especially against the passing game.

Rex Grossman did not make it through this game. His ankle was broken early in the 2nd quarter, after he got twisted around by blitzing MLB Trev Faulk. Grossman was helped up after the hit and he hobbled halfway towards the sideline before we went back down on the ground again. Grossman's injury has since landed him on IR, ending his season. He didn't look good before the injury, though. He overthrew a number of receivers and underthrew others. Not as promising as the Hall of Fame Game performance, but certainly a real blow to the Bears fans that now have to attend counseling over the idea of Chad Hutchinson being their team's starting QB.

Trev Faulk had a monster game - besides breaking Rex Grossman, he had 10 tackles. He's making the most of the absence of Chris Claiborne, who does not have a stranglehold on the starting job by any means.

Steven Jackson is assuming the mantle of the starting RB this year in the Rams offense, and he looks like he will bring a spark to the ground game. Jackson showed great lateral movement as he side-stepped Mike Brown through the hole on the way to a 33 yard gain. Marshall Faulk, meanwhile, had -2 yards on 2 carries.

Marc Bulger has a lot of rust to knock off. He was picked off on a poor pass over the middle of the field, but was lucky to get it back by way of defensive penalty. He followed it up with an interception that counted later in the drive, as he threw a pass too high to Holt on a post pattern, and Charles Tillman grabbed it and took it down.

Thomas Jones started preseason strong last week, and continues to establish his spot on the team in the absence of holdout draft pick Cedric Benson. Jones is light on his feet and held up well in blitz pickup too. Chicago has to be encouraged by his performance so far, and though they would prefer to have Benson out there pounding the pile, I don't think they can feel bad if they have to put Jones into the game. They have to forgive him a lost fumble, though.

Bears WR Justin Gage is quickly slipping out of the #2 WR picture. He failed to catch a pass for the 2nd straight preseason game. Bernard Berrian caught 2 balls for 22 yards, and Bobby Wade caught 1 for 7 yards (with the 3rd team offense). Berrian continues to look like the guy that will take the #2 job in the end.

St. Louis is getting better play from their front 7 than in recent years. The team added Dexter Coakley to the linebacker position, and is getting good play from their 3rd year DT Jimmy Kennedy. Their two 1st round DT picks from 2001, Damione Lewis and Ryan Pickett, continue to be a pair of bums, though.

Chicago's got a pair of twin beasts at the DT position, with 2004 draft picks Tommie Harris (1st round) and Tank Johnson (2nd round) holding down the starting spots. Both are listed at 300 pounds exactly, and both have the kind of agility you love to see in 300 pound defensive tackles. They will be a handful for other teams, and will keep guards off of their smaller, quicker linebackers.

With neither Orlando Pace nor Alex Barron in the game at OT for the Rams, the Bears two DEs (Adewale Ogunleye and Alex Brown) tore up the Rams. The Rams OGs were doubling up on the big Bears DTs, and Ogunleye shredded Rex Tucker while Brown abused Matt Willeg. Barron signed his contract with the Rams on the day this game was played, and the team will be looking to get him in the lineup as soon as possible.

The Rams tackles weren't the only ones getting pushed around. Bears RT Fred Miller (ex-Ram from the Super Bowl teams, and recent cap casualty in Tennessee) was driven backwards by Rams DE Leonard Little. With some more help inside from his DTs, Little may be even more of a force in the pass rush. He's had double-digit sacks in back to back years, and will probably get there again.

2ND & 3RD TEAMERS

Jamie Martin and the 2nd team Rams offense got a couple of drives against the 1st team Bears defense. They were much more productive when the 2nd team Bears defense came in. Martin threw a pair of TD passes, one to promising young WR prospect Kevin Curtis. Martin showed no fear with the ball, throwing passes high and letting the receivers go up and get them. He carved up the Bears' 2nd team defense, playing that Cover 2 zone scheme.

The Rams expect big things from Kevin Curtis eventually. Curtis came out of (new WAC member) Utah State, and at 5'11", 186 pounds and with a ton of footspeed, he's an ideal "Greatest Show on Turf" slot receiver. He and fellow teammate Dane Looker are quick white boys looking to make an impact in this passing game. What's with all these white receivers anyway? Drew Bennett, Curtis, Looker, Matt Jones, Chas Gessler, Danny Farmer, and a bunch of others I've seen in preseason so far, too. Everyone seems to have a token white guy playing receiver now, mostly on the 2nd and 3rd teams, but still. White people that want to catch passes will now have more to look up to than the Ed McCaffrey and Keith Poole role models they had in years gone past.

Chad Hutchinson, the team's current #1 QB after Grossman's injury, only threw 2 passes in this game. He completed them both, so, you know, that's nice. On his first drive, he handed off about 10 times to go with his 2 throws. I guess that's what the Bears offense is expected to be without Grossman. On his 2nd drive, he was sacked and fumbled after perpetual disappointment OT Marc Colombo was smoked by DE Tyoka Jackson. Colombo was drafted in the 1st round in 2002 and has not been able to become a starter at the NFL level.

Adrian Peterson plays running back for the Bears. He doesn't play ball for the U of Oklahoma. That's a different Adrian Peterson. This one went to Georgia Southern. Peterson had 69 yards and a TD carry, and has really been a productive back with the 2nd and 3rd team offense in these last two games. Peterson should lock down the #3 RB job easily, and slip into #2 if Cedric Benson remains a holtout.

Kyle Orton is #2 on the QB depth chart right now, post-Grossman. But Chad Hutchinson is probably not the answer. If Chicago feels like Orton will be their QB of the future, they will let Orton take his regular season lumps this year in order to prepare him for the future. So Orton's preseason performance became incredibly important overnight. Orton had a very strong game outside of a tipped pass that was intercepted. He went 7-of-10 and found Darnell Sanders and Mark Bradley often.

The current ChicagoBears.com depth chart doesn't even list TE Darnell Sanders, but he played a ton in this game with the 1st and 2nd and even 3rd team offense. All three of the team's top 3 QBs (Grossman, Hutchinson, and Orton) completed passes to Sanders. While he's not listed on the chart, the guys that are listed are far from marquee players. Sanders is winning himself a job, and given his work with the 1st team, it's not impossible for the guy to take down the starting job.

I don't know how serious to take Mark Bradley's preseason performance. With 194 yards receiving in 2 games, he is easily leading the NFL in preseason receiving yards (the extra game helps, but even his Hall of Fame Game performance alone would be enough to still lead the category). Bradley has, of course, done most of this on the 2nd & 3rd team offenses. On other teams, I might not think twice about it, but Chicago's group of receivers beyond Muhsin Muhammad are hardly established. Justin Gage and Bobby Wade are the veterans of the group, but they have 1 catch and 7 yards between them in two preseason games. Berrian is probably the front-runner after two solid performances, but one has to think that Bradley can't be staying all the way down at #5 after this kind of show. Neither Gage nor Wade carries enough of a contract where they have to be cut if they don't start or at least play #3. But if Berrian and Bradley step up for #2 and #3, Chicago's got some experience at WR to burn, perhaps in a deal with Philly?

St. Louis's #3 and #4 QBs, Jeff Smoker and Ryan Fitzpatrick, barely got any reps. 7 pass attempts between the two of them. Bears now-#3 QB Kurt Kittner got to come in and throw the ball around against the super-scrubs. Kittner's now on his 6th NFL franchise in his 4th year in the league, but this time he's with his ex-Illinois coach, Ron Turner (offensive coordinator). Kittner had a pretty good performance, but a penalty from his line helped stall his 1st drive. Kittner threw an INT, but it was on a last-second hail-mary and should not be held against him.

Rams reserve DE Brandon Green pulled down a sack on Orton in the 4th quarter. Green is someone the Rams are pretty excited with. I got a good look at him last year when he was a Jaguar. He's a hard-working kid with a motor, who was passed on by most of the league because he has diabetes. Jag teammates dubbed him "Insulin Boy" and "Senor Pancreas". Given some more time and work, he could develop into a useful situational pass-rusher. Green was one of the Jags' many DEs that ended up on injured reserve, and Green's rookie year ended on injured reserve too (all unrelated to diabetes). If he can stay on the field, Green can be a guy that helps his team on Sundays.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Bernard Berrian's first punt return didn't happen - reserve WR Mark Bradley ran into him after Berrian called for a fair catch, and another Bear touched the ball (causing both a penalty for "illegal touch" and causing the ball to be "live" and fair game for the Rams to recover). Luckily for the Bears, a Bear recovered, but the team started their drive on their own 8.

The Rams returned the favor later in the 1st half, when Mike Furray lost track of a punt that the returner was waving off, and let it hit him to become a "live" ball. The Rams were able to recover, and weren't penalized (since there was no fair catch call), but they came close to losing the ball.

Rams P Reggie Hodges wasn't very impressive with his punts. His 3 kicks failed to eclipse 40 yards in gross average. Hodges is the team's "real" punter (not a training camp guy), and they might want to look elsewhere for help if he continues to kick so short.

3 STARS:
1. Mark Bradley (WR, Bears)
2. Trev Faulk (LB, Rams)
3. Adewale Ogunleye (DE, Bears)
Honorable mentions: Rams RB Steven Jackson, Bears RB Thomas Jones, Bears DTs Tommie Harris / Tank Johnson, Bears RB Adrian Peterson

3 LOSERS:
1. The Bears (for losing Rex Grossman, biggest "loss" of the night)
2. Justin Gage & Bobby Wade (WRs, Bears)
3. Marc Bulger (QB, Rams)
Dishonorable mentions: Rams P Reggie Hodges, Bears OT Fred Miller, Rams OTs Rex Tucker & Matt Willeg

Unfortunately, Logan deleted a couple of games off his TiVo that I taped to watch, so I'll miss a few Week 1 games. I'll be sure to hit those teams' games in Week 2.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS v. TENNESSEE TITANS, PRESEASON WEEK 1: 8/12

1ST TEAMERS

Both teams' starting RBs, Chris Brown and Cadillac Williams, were expected to play, but neither took the field. Interestingly, Gruden was quoted today saying, "I like this guy Cadillac [Williams]; I don't know why we didn't give him the ball last week. It's beyond me." (Gee Jon, maybe because you didn't say, "Hey Cadillac, go out on that there field and play"? Do you routinely forget that you have certain players on your team? Silly Chuckie).

Earnest Graham started in place of Cadillac Williams. He ripped off some good runs, including a 10 yard touchdown run. He was even able to turn the corner on Keith Bulluck on a stretch to the left side, when Bulluck appeared to have a great pursuit angle. He also burned up some of his goodwill by losing a fumble, but finished with over 60 yards and helped the Bucs control the game early on.

Brian Griese barely stepped onto the field, attempting only 2 passes. Chris Simms got a lot of good time with the 1st team offense. His timing wasn't all there just yet, sometimes looking to throw too early and having to hesitate and wind up to throw again. He also hit Keith Bulluck right in the hands, and Bulluck took it to the house for Tennessee's only score in the 1st half.

Albert Haynesworth drew double-teams from the Bucs, but also made mental mistakes in jumping offside. With the Titans D-line depleted from salary cap cuts, the Bucs had no problem leaving many of othe other D-linemen in single-team blocks.

Titans DT Randy Starks has really come on for this team since slipping into the 3rd round last year. Starks covered lots of ground in run defense, and punked RG Jeb Terry with a spin move that put him in the QB's face before Simms could finish his dropback. Both Starks and Haynesworth were stout, but everyone around them collapsed against the run.

Tony Beckham struggled in taking over one of the starting CB spots. He drew a pass interference penalty on a deep pass, and then badly missed a tackle on Earnest Graham the next play, letting Graham turn the corner and rush into the end zone easily. This team's depth at CB is atrocious, and with Adam "Pac Man" Jones missing so much camp (and fostering so much negativity from his comments towards teammates), he might not help matters much for a while.

"Booger" McFarland and Simeon Rice had their way with the weak Titans O-line. Neither was able to tally a sack, but both harassed McNair and forced him to run for his life. Shelton Quarles missed a tackle on a 3rd down throw to fullback Jimmy Dixon. The 1st team defense lacked a real standout other than McFarland and Rice, but they managed to keep McNair from throwing downfield, forcing him to take the short pass instead. The 1st team Buc defense pitched a shutout on the Titans offense.

Anthony Becht showed that his hands haven't gotten any better since New York, dropping a beautiful pass from Simms that had plenty of touch and should've been an easy catch. 12 Bucs caught balls in this game, and Becht wasn't among them.

The Titans 1st team offense was crap. C-to-the-R-to-the-A-to-the-pee-pee-P. Steve McNair compeleted some short passes but seemed to have no clue where he was going at other times. This is a new offense and McNair definitely needs more time in it. He never looked decisive and you could see his head turning every which way, trying to figure out what's going on. He was intercepted on a throw into the end zone where he just didn't see strong safety Jermaine Phillips squatting in that zone (Phillips barely had to slide over to make the pick). Travis Henry started in place of Chris Brown was pretty ineffective, and left the game early with a hurt knee. The offensive line didn't open much in the way of running lanes, and left McNair to scramble quite a bit. Drew Bennett made one catch and fumbled the ball away afterwards, and dropped a pass from McNair later. Brad Hopkins killed a red zone opportunity with a false start penalty that put them in a hole, and McNair finished killing it with his end zone INT. Two early turnovers from the 1st team offense, and no running game. The Titans' new offense is stuck in 1st gear right now.

2ND & 3RD TEAMERS

Tennessee's offense got a lot better once the 1st teamers took the bench. Billy Volek is, as I've said, the best passer on the team. While McNair struggled and completed dump-offs, Volek found receivers downfield, including a 76 yard bomb to Roydell Williams for Tennessee's only offensive TD. He had a chance at another long score, but receiver Courtney Roby never bothered to look for the ball and turn on the jets. Volek threw sharp short passes, and his deep balls had great touch and were thrown only where the receiver could catch them.

Jarret Payton didn't post big numbers, but ran hard and wasn't getting much help from his offensive line. He bowled through small holes and made linebackers tackle him falling forward. He doesn't show top-end breakaway speed but he plays with his abilities well.

The 2nd team Titans offensive line struggled in blitz pickup as well as run blocking. It doesn't look like there's much help coming for the 1st team line from this group.

The Titans played a lot of 1st team players against the Bucs 2nd team offense. Hmm.

Chris Simms was more productive against the 2nd team Titans offense, when they finally took starters off the field. Though the team went to the run for much of Simms' time in the 2nd half, Simms showed great mobility and rolled out a lot. He also threw a TD to RB Earnest Graham on a play-action rollout play. RB Derek Watson also threw an awesome block on a defensive end on the TD pass play.

That 2nd team Titans defense was a nightmare. Simms carved them up, and RBs Derek Watson and Ian Smart both gouged them on the ground... Watson and Smart combined for 98 yards rushing, and Earnest Graham added 62 yards of his own, some in the 2nd half. None of the Titans defensive personnel could stop the run. It was hard to grade out the Bucs O-line when the competition was so green and hopeless. Tampa just lined up in 2 TE formations and pounded it - none of Gruden's fancy offensive calls, just line up and battering ram the castle gates. Complete 0wnage.

Tampa's backup defensive line hassled Tennessee QBs all night, but their pass coverage was less impressive. On Volek's long TD, the deep safety (Hamza Abdullah) failed to notice the sideline WR streaking after a stutter move, instead focusing on the inside WR running a shorter route. The commentators blamed CB James Patrick for blowing the coverage, who did bite down on the stutter, but Abdullah should have been on top of the receiver as well.

Luke McCown, FROM? ("Louisiana Tech!"), came out as the #3 QB and threw the ball around well enough. He certainly doesn't have a cannon, but he was pretty accurate and had a couple of throws dropped on him (one was by a receiver who was "bumped" as the ball approached and should have been flagged for pass interference). McCown's a good project who was wasted in Cleveland.

Tennessee's #3 QB, Gino Guidugli, did little to help his attempt to make the team, going 4-of-14 and nearly getting picked off by rookie Hamza Abdullah. The highlight of Guidugli's night was running for a 1st down on a 4th-and-5.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Will Allen made a great tackle in kick coverage, knifing through the Titans blocking and snagging the runner before he could come out towards the 20.

Tennessee's punt coverage was one of the highlights of the night, holding Tampa punt returns to almost nothing. That's easy to do, of course, when a punter like Craig Hentrich gives you long and high punts. Tennessee's returners, however, averaged over 10 yards per return, even though both of Tampa's punters really thumped the ball deep (especially Bidwell).

3 STARS:
1. Derek Watson (RB, Bucs)
2. Billy Volek (QB, Titans)
3. Earnest "Dodge Ram" Graham (RB, Bucs)
Honorable mentions: Bucs QB Chris Simms, Titans WR Roydell Williams, Titans RB Jarret Payton, Bucs DT Anthony McFarland

3 LOSERS:
1. Every offensive lineman on the Titans roster (oy vey) - can't single anyone out when the whole group sucked
2. Most Titans defensive linemen, other than Haynesworth and Starks - again, pretty much the whole group was terrible
3. Tony Beckham (CB, Titans)
Dishonorable mentions: Bucs TE Anthony Becht, Titans RB Travis Henry, Bucs S Hamza Abdullah

Good write up Legion. Hope we can keep running the ball every game!

Good write up Legion. Hope we can keep runing the ball every game!

Don't count on it.

I want to see that Tampa line against a more formidable opponent. My opinion right now is that they (at least the 1st team line) are not very good. I will give them a chance to show me otherwise.

Has Tom Brady always yelled "Go" instead of "Hike"? When he yells GO! I feel like I should do... I don't know... something. Maybe some pushups.

Nobody uses "hike" beyond playground or prep football.

"Go" is not uncommon. "Hut" is most common. Of course, there's also silent snap counts and quick counts (going on "set") and stuff to mix in.

Does he always yell "Omaha," too?

Doug Flutie should be the new starter, he's awesome.

Okay, so it isn't just Tom Brady that keeps yelling "Omaha;" Matt Cassel says it too, before every snap.

"Omaha" is probably an audible call (real, false, or otherwise). Just something in their offensive audible and cadence verbage.

Teams use colors, names, etc, for audibles. Sometimes you call two plays in the huddle, come to the line, and based on the defensive look, you yell out a name to choose one of the two plays.

It's very vindicating to read things in the press that I've talked about already:
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports New England Patriots QB Rohan Davey appears to be in danger of losing his roster spot. The Patriots reportedly are high on seventh-round draft pick QB Matt Cassell. Veteran QB Doug Flutie is expected to man the back-up spot to QB Tom Brady. That leaves Davey, who has struggled this preseason, the odd man out. Davey did not play Thursday night against the Saints, while Cassell was 7-of-11 for 69 yards.