Remaining Week 1 Preseason Notes

Hello! Due to unfortunate circumstances, I missed most of the live airings of the remaining Week 1 preseason games. Fortunately, I was able to re-watch portions of each game using another Game Pass free trial that allows for the viewing of 30-minute "condensed games" that feature only the plays from each broadcast. Here's the next in my series of WalterFootball-inspired notes pages on a few of the games that I managed to watch.

Falcons 31, Titans 24
- As usual, everyone is hyped up about Julio Jones' excellent performance. I'd advise you all to avoid getting too excited; it'll be miraculous if he manages to stay healthy.

- TJ Yates does not look like a quarterback who once started a playoff game. On the first drive he made a pair of horrible throws when the Falcons were in the red zone. On the second he waited way too long in the pocket on one play and threw into coverage on another. Even on the halftime drive that resulted in a touchdown run, Yates nearly missed multiple wide-open receivers and was bailed out by their athletic plays.

- Always thought Harry Douglas didn't get enough credit for his role in the Falcons playoff teams of a few seasons ago; it was nice to see that he's becoming a favorite target of Mariota already. It would be nice if a moribund team like Tennessee could get exciting players like Douglas and second-quarter scorer Dexter McCluster more involved in the offense.

- David Cobb (11 carries for 53 yards) looks like a promising runner who could see some playing time, considering the mediocrity of those above him on the depth chart.

Panthers 25, Bills 24
- It's very telling about the Bills quarterback situation that the GM referred to them being in "quarterback purgatory" as a positive thing. Cassel is consistently mediocre. Taylor is exciting but has zero starting experience. Manuel is just wasted potential. None of the three is good enough to prevent opposing teams from just keying in on McCoy every game.

- The Panthers receiving corps is absolutely terrible without Kelvin Benjamin, who was lost to a torn ACL in a recent practice. The second-team offense under Derek Anderson used recent draft pick Devin Funchess in a similar role, but it remains to be seen if he is capable of being a starter right away. Expect Cam Newton to be relied upon way too much to propel an offense with no consistent running backs or wide receivers.

- The Bills commentators actively cheered on their team throughout the game, yelling at the refs when a flag was thrown too slowly for a dirty tackle and saying "come on!" excitedly as EJ Manuel scrambled out of the pocket, searching for a wide receiver.

- I was under the impression former Viking Joe Webb had given up on playing quarterback, but I'm glad he didn't. He's still an incredibly fun player to watch who possesses remarkable mobility (which he likely developed in an attempt to convert to wide receiver).

Chiefs 34, Cardinals 19
- Is it bad that I can't think of anything other than bodies mouldering in the grave when I hear the name of a certain Cardinals second-year receiver?

- I've always considered Chase Daniel one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league; he's impressed me in a few appearances replacing Drew Brees and Alex Smith. He reinforced my feelings with an amazing stat line against Arizona's second-team defense, by far the best any quarterback has accumulated thus far this preseason: 17 of 21, 189 yards, three touchdown passes, zero interceptions. (He might even have had a fourth touchdown pass had Andy Reid not pulled him in favor of an ineffective Aaron Murray during a third-quarter drive.)A pair of deep passes to backup receivers Williams and Hammond on a quick drive right before the half showcased Daniel's accuracy. Like Green Bay's Scott Tolzien and New Orleans' Ryan Griffin, the Missouri product could be a potential trade target for quarterback-needy teams, if Kansas City considers Murray a viable developmental prospect.

- I pray that CBS sends its #1 commentary team to the October 18th Cardinals-Steelers game and the Cardinals' fourth quarterback somehow makes the roster so that Phil Simms has to discuss Phillip Sims.

- Following a garbage-time touchdown pass by Sims, the commentary devolved into awful filler about a 100-year-old woman in a wheelchair who visited the Cardinals camp and apparently was apparently "walking around" and talking to players. (They showed a shot of her shaking hands with some players, but I have to believe that was the exception, not the rule.) Ron Wolfley, the color commentator, who sounded like he had inhaled sulfur hexafluoride before the game, added some insightful commentary about the invention of the automobile, said the phrase "pomp and circumstance" four times in about a minute, and compared the extra point to having a parade after conquering a city.

As you may have noticed while reading this post, I pay a great deal of attention to backup quarterbacks.

Anyway, my apologies if I passed on a game for which you had expected analysis. I'm lucky to have been able to watch any of these given the limited time I had. Tomorrow I'll be making another post for the first pair of games of Week 2, with a potential format change — stay tuned!