Thursday Pre-Season Football Recaps
Philadelphia Eagles 13 Carolina Panthers 9
The headline for this game was rhythm. Both Michael Vick and Nick Foles have been doing a great job with the new system. Both quarterbacks combined for a total of 28 points in the two games that each of them had played in. Vick was sensational; he was 9 of 10 for 105 yards, while Foles was 6 of 8 for 53 yards with one interception. Vick ran for a 20 yard dash. Can we say the old Vick is back? Not to take anything away from Foles, but Foles does not seem to have that athleticism on the ground like Vick. Outside of the offense, the defense looked horrible. There were a lot of missed tackles that led to more yardage down the secondary. The defensive line seemed to be out of sync, and could not create that push that we are so accustomed to. Week 1 and 2 show the Eagles mean business and are improving every week. Each week we learn something new about this Eagles organization.
Where is Cam? Ever since his rookie season, Cam has not been the same. He has been under some serious criticism about holding the ball too long, and even though it is preseason the, problem hasn’t changed. Cam Newton was 11 of 23 for 128. Throughout the first half, at times he read the defense well, and made pin point passes to his receivers. Other times he looked confused, and tried to do too much. Carolina had way too many mistakes on both sides of the ball. Defensively the Panthers looked in shape, and had caused a lot of trouble in the back field. If they play consistent, maybe we could see them making a charge of an 8 an 8 team.
Detroit Lions 6 Cleveland Browns 24
Even though Cleveland had a great win, many injuries could be their downfall this season. Rookie linebacker Barkevious Mingo was said to have bruised Lung, and Dion Lewis had broke his leg. This was not really a win for the Browns tonight. Outside of all the injuries Brandon Weeden looks to be the starter. The browns defensively shut the high flying Lions down. The Lions looked like they just could not get the offense clicking. As the Browns go into week 3, their receivers look very healthy, and the plays that the coach has been dialing up, have been working for them. Keep up the good work!
The Lions just couldn’t create any type of positive play. Matt Stafford was 11 of 16 for 74 yards. Stafford didn’t even have Calvin Johnson in the line up. Johnson has a bruised knee, and hopefully will be back in the line up next week. The Lions secondary was getting torched by Weeden. They were biting on the pump fakes, which lead to big plays down the field. Even though this is preseason you can not make big mistakes. This is the second week where the Lions offense did not show up. What will it take to get them back on track?
Atlanta Falcons 23 Baltimore Ravens 27
The Ravens took on the challenge of this back and forth scoring game, and had put up more points than their opponent. Over the years the Ravens were built just on defense, but Joe Flacco had improved his team, and the way that they have been playing. He was 7 and 9 for 118. He had threw a 77 yard bomb to the speedster Torrey Smith. The Ravens linebackers could use a little more improvement. They like to bite on the play action plays, which will lead to a big play or score, and they are giving their defender way too much space to operate. Other than that, The Ravens look to continue their quest for another title.
What is wrong with the Chargers this preseason? It seems like everybody is still getting used to the new system. Phillip Rivers was 5 of 9 for 50 yards and had a turnover. The organization has the right formula to get this team in the right direction, but it seems like they can not finish the fourth quarter. What came out of this loss, was the way they marched down the field on a defensive that causes turnovers. Back up Charlie Whitehurst was 6 of 9 for 69 yards and a touchdown. It seems like the Chargers need to work on their pass rush. Their pass rush could not get to any of the Bears Q.B to cause any type of disruption.
Jay Cutler was saved by his defense once again. Cutler went 4 of 5 for only 38 yards, and a touch down. Cutler only targeted Brandon Marshall. He needs to find other open receivers, and stop going for his first read. This has always been a problem for Jay. On a good note, the Bears special teams was amazing. Devin Hester and Michael Ford combined for 145 yards, and ripping apart whatever the coverage was down the field. The Bears cant keep relying on defense, they need a healthy Jay Cutler.
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