The 2014 preseason got underway for all of the teams in the AFC North this past weekend. The Baltimore Ravens were the only team in the division to win, but it’s not as much about the win as it is about finding play makers when it comes to the preseason. Here are your AFC North week one preseason standouts:
Baltimore Ravens
The most outstanding player for the Ravens last week was easily running back Lorenzo Taliaferro. He looked right at home in the Ravens offense. Taliaferro gained 71 yards on 13 carries against the San Francisco 49ers. The way that he was able to run behind his pads was very impressive. He proved to be the big back that many thought he was coming out of small Coastal Carolina. He ran a similar scheme while in college. Taliaferro said; “We ran a lot of zone in college but in the shotgun, more of a spread offense but I am used to the zone scheme.” Taliaferro hit the holes with authority and ran very hard between the tackles.
Taking part in game action is always good for the physical backs like Taliarerro. The way that he runs with such a physical nature is not something that shows as much in practice due to how practice plays stop on contact. Taliaferro spoke about how he was glad to get some live action in the preseason game. “It felt good to get out there and bang around a little bit. It’s always better when you are live, it felt good to just kind of get it downhill. A guy my size, that’s all they speak about is can you get the ball downhill. You can’t really do that too much in practice with limited contact. It had been since last fall when I really had real contact so it was good. ”
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals had an unlikely player standout in their high scoring game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Matt Scott came in for an injured Jason Campbell and had the best game out of all of the Bengals players.
The pocket collapsed on Scott during his first snap but he showed some elusiveness by spinning out of a tackle and gaining two yards. Scott was able to get out of trouble and get positive yardage whenever he faced pressure. He gained 68 yards rushing on six carries. Scott showed that he can be a dangerous runner in the open field and knew when to slide to avoid that big hit.
Scott also passed for two touchdowns, one of them was a laser in which he placed perfectly the ball into Connor Vernon’s hands on a slant. Throwing the ball with accuracy across the middle was something that stood out on two of Scott’s seven completions. The other touchdown came on a fade route to James Wright in the red zone.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns played well as a unit on both sides of the ball. Their preseason matchup against the Detroit Lions was the most watched preseason game in the history of the NFL. The obvious player that everyone was tuned in to watch was Johnny Manziel. He didn’t disappoint as he showed his ability to make something out of nothing.
The Browns looked to move the pocket for Manziel which took advantage of his ability to make things happen on the run. There was a good amount of read option as well as roll out passes. Manziel was pretty accurate on his throws especially on two deeper in breaking routes which normally gives Manziel some problems connecting on. He was able to get rid of the ball quickly by working a lot of three step drops. Unlike fellow quarterback Brian Hoyer, a good portion of Manziel’s 63 passing yards was not gained after the catch.
Manziel was also able to be a factor on the ground by slipping through running lanes that he saw when he got to the top of his drop. One of his runs was a 16 yard scramble in which he saw the middle open up and he took off up field. The brightest point for the Browns and Manziel was the fact that he was sure to slide before having to absorb a bruising hit by a defensive player. Stat wise Manziel didn’t have an outstanding game but it was a great opportunity to get some actual game time work in.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The bright spot for the Steelers was rookie Dri Archer. Most of his damage came on only one play but that play was exactly what they wanted to see Terrence West do. Archer caught a short pass and cut back across the field for a 46 yard gain. Archer showed how explosive he could be on that big play. The Steelers will use Archer in a variety of ways that will get their electrifying player the ball in space.
Archer was modest about his debut but is focused on getting better in the near future. He said; “I feel like I made a good impression, for my coaches, for my teammates, I just have to come out here and get better in practice. I just have to get in the playbook and get back to work. There is always room for improvement. It felt good to have a start like that and get my feet wet.”
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