The title of this video is “White Guy Dunks ALL OVER Two People!!!” which is pretty comical by itself.
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There’s still one game left on the Week 1 preseason schedule (Jets vs. Texans tonight), but I’ve let these thoughts marinate for long enough. Here are some quick-hit observations from Week 1’s NFL preseason games.
– Jake Locker turned in the best performance of any rookie quarterback in Week 1. Locker was solid in the Titans’ preseason win over the Vikings on Saturday, completing 7-of-10 passes for 89 yards and a 45-yard touchdown to Yamon Figurs. Granted, he did fumble once and took a sack, but the key is that he looked poised and confident in the pocket. The Titans aren’t paying Matt Hasselbeck $7 million to sit the bench, so don’t count on Locker unseating the veteran this season. But the rook looks good early.
– Speaking of rookies, Julio Jones looks like the real deal. It’s way too early to know if the Falcons will receive a good return on their big investment from the 2011 draft, but Jones looks fantastic thus far. In his preseason debut against the Dolphins, both of his receptions went for 20-plus yards and he added one rush for 12 yards on an end-around. He basically affirmed what everyone has been saying: that he doesn’t look like a rookie. Again, it’s early, but the Falcons have to be thrilled with what they’ve seen.
– The Bears still have issues on their offensive line. Simply put, GM Jerry Angelo has not done a good enough job building his offensive line over the years. He has missed in the draft (Chris Williams), he has missed in free agency (Orlando Pace), and now he better hope that guys like J’Marcus Webb and Greg Carimi can settle in to their respective positions before quarterback Jay Cutler gets killed. The Bears gave up nine sacks in their win over the Bills on Saturday night, including four by the first-team unit. Granted, Caleb Hanie held onto the ball too long on multi occasions, which contributed to a couple of the sacks. But the bottom line is that Chicago’s offensive line looks poised to hold the Bears back in 2011.
– Shawne Merriman could be ready to resurrect his career in Buffalo. Of the nine sacks that the Bills recorded against the Bears on Saturday night, three of them came from Merriman. He absolutely abused J’Marcus Webb on a consistent basis, using the combination of speed, power and technique that made him popular in San Diego early in his career. He has always been a motivated player, so if he’s completely healthy he could be one of the few stars in Buffalo this season.
– The Panthers clearly want Cam Newton to start. Jimmy Clausen started Saturday night against the Giants, but Newton entered the game in the second quarter and played into the fourth. Ron Rivera hasn’t made the announcement yet, but Newton figures to start the Panthers’ second preseason game. As long as he looks respectable and isn’t a complete disaster, I think we’ll be seeing Newton as the starter come Week 1 against the Cardinals.
– Colt McCoy looks like a perfect fit for Pat Shurmur’s offense. Because they have an entirely new coaching staff and there’s so little time for the players to get up to speed before the regular season starts, the Browns could be one of those teams that is drastically affected by the lockout. Then again, if McCoy plays as well in the regular season as he did in his first preseason game, the Browns may actually be more competitive than people think. McCoy completed 9-of-10 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown versus Green Bay and while the game was meaningless in the standings, it was hard not to be impressed with the second-year QB’s play. He looked like he had been running Shurmur’s offense for two years – not two months. He’s a perfect fit for the West Coast scheme and thus far, Cleveland fans have to be cautiously excited about his development.
– It looks like Ted Thompson has struck draft gold again. Rookie Randall Cobb caught three passes for 60 yards in the Packers’ preseason opener on Saturday. He also racked up 58 yards on two kick returns, impressing the team with his speed and quickness. Aaron Rodgers could have yet another weapon in his passing arsenal this season.
– It wasn’t surprising to see the Vikings’ offense struggle as much as it did in Week 1. Minnesota fans seem eager about the potential that this unit has, which is understandable. With guys like Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin and now Donovan McNabb on that side of the ball, the Vikes’ O has the chance to be explosive this season. But it will take some time before everyone is on the same page with new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. Plus, while McNabb may be familiar with the West Coast Offense, it’ll take time before he gels with his receivers in this offense. Both of his series on Saturday ended in punts and his average pass didn’t travel past four yards. Fans might see more of that this preseason as McNabb and the rest of the Vikings’ offense gets acquainted with Musgrave’s system.
– It’ll take time before Sam Bradford is comfortable in Josh McDaniels’ system. Bradford was a little shaky in the Rams’ preseason opener on Saturday, completing 7-of-12 passes for 45 yards and a touchdown. He had great chemistry with tight end Lance Kendricks, but it was clear that Bradford will need a couple of games to play with confidence in McDaniels’ system.
Chad Henne is one of those quarterbacks who will torture his team’s fans. He has a great arm and he seems like a likeable and competitive guy. He’ll make some great plays and get you all pumped up, and then he’ll do his best Derek Anderson impersonation and suffer another mindless meltdown.
He was right back at it in his first preseason game against the Falcons:
The pass that never should have been thrown, the one that settled into the hands of an Atlanta defensive back, was simply one of those Chad Henne moments.
We’re all too familiar with those moments, right?
They make you yell at your television. They make you want to punch holes in walls. They make you do crazy things like pine for Trent Green, for goodness sake. These moments convince you Henne will never be a winning quarterback and make you wonder why the Dolphins front office or coaching staff haven’t figured that out yet.
When Brent Grimes caught Henne’s second interception of the first quarter Friday night, an errant throw following a miscommunication with receiver Davone Bess, that moment of truth arrived with a roar at the Georgia Dome.
He’s young, so there’s an argument to be made that he just needs time to develop. That’s fair. But as an Ohio State fan who had the pleasure of watching Chad Henne go 0-4 against the Buckeyes, I wouldn’t hold my breath that Henne is going to change.
Miami was smart to go after Kyle Orton, and the Broncos were almost stupid enough to let Orton go and try their luck with fullback backup quarterback Tim Tebow. I’m not sure what happened to that deal. maybe Orton wasn’t worth the money he was asking for. Who knows. But Miami is now screwed for 2011. Orton would have given them a chance to be a playoff team. I’ll be shocked if they go that far now with Henne.
We’ve been starved for football for so long that any news is exciting this time of year. Everyone is anxious for news on how rookies and other new players might fare on their new teams.
With Julio Jones, that attention is magnified given the huge bounty Atlanta paid to Cleveland for the privilege to draft Jones with the #6 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. It was a huge gamble, but Atlanta needed to be aggressive in order to help Matt Ryan and his teammates get over the hump.
The early returns are encouraging, and those who follow the Falcons are impressed. As Jeff Schultz explains in his blog, it’s easy to make too much of performances in early preseason games, but it’s also encouraging to see a stud receiver at least look like a stud receiver when he first starts to play. Jones has passed that test. The upside is significant, so Atlanta fans should be pleased. Jones looks like the kind of player that can elevate Ryan’s game and possibly put the Falcons in contention with the other favorites in the NFC.
Now that we’ve gotten a glimpse of how he can use his significant talent in the NFL, we’ll start to see if he can be consistent as well, and whether he can perform when defenses make it a point to stop him.
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