Here are some notes related to the games I focused on from last weekend.
Jets 30, Falcons 22
- The Falcons' passing offense continues to amaze. While Atlanta is experiencing similar running back problems to Buffalo's, forcing them to use a fourth-stringer named Terron Ward, Matt Ryan's performances have been more than enough to carry the team so far. A nice throw to Collin Mooney left Jets linebacker Quinton Coples flat-footed and set up a 59-yard gain, then Julio Jones drew a pass-interference flag on Darrelle Revis to set up Ward for the easy touchdown. Ryan is even making mediocre players like Leonard Hankerson, scorer of the second touchdown appear competent.
- The Jets' first-team offense, on the other hand, is totally devoid of excitement. Not a single player is fun to watch. Chris Ivory showed some good vision on a touchdown run late in the first half, but the New York offense was entirely stagnant otherwise, as they were against Detroit. I foresee an awful inaugural season for Todd Bowles.
- TJ Yates, in limited playing time, managed to both take a safety and throw a costly interception. Perhaps there is a correlation between the fact that Yates was remarkably terrible both this week and last and the fact that Renfree experienced an increase in playing time. Who knows?? (Apparently Renfree has also been taking second-team reps in practice since last week.)
- The Falcons commentators thought it was hysterically funny when Jeremy Kerley tried to convince the officials that he had completed a questionable catch. They kept calling him a "litigator" and inexplicably chuckled a great deal when one of them said "Okay, it's time for you to stop being a litigator and go back to being a football player!" Also: "[Hester] simply emasculated that coverage team!" later in the game.
- There was a bit of debate between the commentators as to whether or not Bryce Petty would be able to develop quickly enough to serve as the primary backup to Ryan Fitzpatrick (following the Matt Flynn signing). Judging by this game, he has a long way to go. Every throw of his, at least on the drive I watched all the way through, seemed to be a risky deep pass; every once in a while one paid off, and it looked like a brilliant throw, but most of the time Petty missed by a wide margin.
Panthers 31, Dolphins 30
- The Panthers' play-by-play announcer had a strange habit of referring to quarterbacks by their full names. I thought it was strange enough when he introduced "Ryan Timothy Tannehill III," but it wasn't a one-time thing, as he also mentioned "Cameron Jerrell Newton."
- Carolina's first-team offense was just as terrible as I had anticipated. Jonathan Stewart is, and always has been, a mediocre running back, and Cam Newton started out 0 for 4 with an interception before completing a few passes against a Miami unit that, as it was the second quarter, may have contained some reserves.
- Newton's sheer mediocrity was especially noticeable because of how good Ryan Tannehill, and Miami's first-team offense as a whole, was in comparison. In general, this game followed a similar pattern to the Falcons-Jets game, in that one team completely dominated the first quarter, but comparatively mediocre backups squandered the lead.
- I'm a little irritated by the constant attempts to avoid overtime in preseason games. I understand that the quality of play isn't as high in general, but wouldn't a team want as much time to evaluate its personnel as possible, in as many different game situations as possible? In 2014 there was even a vote to eliminate overtime from preseason games completely. This game was a good example of a team, Miami, losing out on an opportunity to give more playing time to borderline prospects like riches-to-rags Josh Freeman, because they decided to go for two in a situation in which they never would in the regular season.
Vikings 20, Raiders 12
- I was glad to finally have the chance to watch my team in action. Unfortunately, their performance was pretty disappointing. The starting offense at least got into the endzone, with the help of a toe-tapping catch by Amari Cooper (notable because as the commentators pointed out, he's a rookie, and in college, receivers only need one foot down), but the backups were stifled by an endless stream of penalties. Oakland has been constantly criticized for receiving exorbitant amounts of penalties in the past, and clearly Jack Del Rio has not done much to address that issue.
- There was a strange moment from the commentators, who were otherwise fairly competent, when an Oakland defensive back was called for unnecessary roughness on a touchdown, and the referee announced that the penalty would be assessed on the kickoff. When Minnesota lined up to kick off, a color commentator asked, "Why are they kicking from the 50?" Beth Mowins, the play-by-play woman, explained fairly clearly that the 15-yard penalty would move the kickoff from the 35 to the 50. The color commentator responded, in a tone reminiscent of a frustrated second-grader, "I still don't get it." After a moment of silence, Mowins moved on as if nothing had happened.
- Another preseason convention that bothers me: backup kickers and punters on teams that don't need any sort of competition. Case in point: Giorgio Tavecchio for the Raiders. It's not like Seabass is getting cut any time soon.
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