Preseason Observations from Saturday
Detroit 35 Cleveland 27 - Ladies and gentlemen, young Matthew Stafford has grown up. The second-year Lions quarterback has made noticeable strides from his rookie campaign and this season he actually has the weapons to take his game to elite heights. Stafford finished the evening 13 of 17 for 141 yards and a touchdown. I’m not saying the Lions are punching a ticket to the playoffs but don’t be shocked if head coach Jim Schwartz leads his team to six or seven wins. Some fantasy nuggets: Lions rookie Jahvid Best put a stranglehold on the starting running back job. First play for the Detroit offense: Best to the left for 51 yards. Second play for the Detroit offense: Stafford to Best for 10 yards. I don’t think he played another down after those two plays – the coaches had seen enough. Calvin Johnson caught two balls for 42 yards. Browns’ quarterback Jake Delhomme had a productive evening (20/25, 152 yards and 1 TD) though I’m not sure I’d have him on my fantasy roster.
Buffalo 35 Cincinnati 20 - The Bills lit up the scoreboard in Orchard Park due in large part to their rookie running back CJ Spiller. The Clemson product rushed 12 times for 52 yards and a pair of touchdowns, further cementing his role in the Buffalo offense. Some fantasy nuggets: Chad Ochocinco finally got on the board this preseason, hauling in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Carson Palmer. Bengals running back Cedric Benson (eight carries for 50 yards) ran the ball effectively. Finally, you want a deep fantasy sleeper? Bengals rookie tight end Jermaine Gresham continues to impress, hauling in four receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. There’s a lot of balls to go around in Cincy, but Gresham could end up being Carson Palmer’s security blanket quite a bit this season.
Jacksonville 19 Tampa Bay 13 - Not exactly a Super Bowl preview. Jags quarterback David Garrard went 24 of 31 for 211 yards, but couldn’t get the first-team offense in the end zone. The Bucs weren’t much better as starting quarterback Josh Freeman sat this one out with a broken thumb. Some fantasy nuggets: Maurice Jones-Drew has been shut down for the remainder of the preseason for “precautionary reasons.” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t know how effective Jones-Drew can be down the stretch this season carrying such a heavy offensive load.
Baltimore 24 NY Giants 10 - Domination. The Ravens took it to the Giants from jump and did most of their damage through the air. Joe Flacco put it up 34 times in just over a half of football! Clearly Baltimore was focused on fine-tuning the passing game as Ray Rice managed only five carries for 13 yards. The Ravens have looked sharp in all phases this preseason and appear to be ready for their Monday night showdown against the Jets in Week 1. Some fantasy nuggets: Giants running back Brandon Jacobs carried the ball six times for 41 yards, including a 29-yard run in the second quarter. Ravens tight end Todd Heap caught six balls for 69 yards and a touchdown — could be a late-round/waiver wire bargain if healthy. Still not sure what to make of Giants rookie wide receiver Victor Cruz, but the kid put up another monster game, snagging four balls for 76 yards and another touchdown. Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith have firm grasps on the starting jobs in New York, but keep Cruz on your radar.
Houston 23 Dallas 7 - After watching this game, I’m still not sure what the bigger story was – how good the Texans looked or how awful the Cowboys were? Matt Schaub (18/29, 183 yards and 1 TD) and company looked to be in mid-season form while the Tony Romo led Cowboy offense was alarmingly sloppy. Dallas’ O-line is a major cause for concern going into their Sunday night opener in Washington. Some fantasy nuggets: Texans running back Arian Foster put on a show, rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Foster is fantasy gold: you either stole him late in your draft last week or you’ll be fighting for him in the early rounds of your drafts this week. Andre Johnson caught seven balls for 79 yards and still remains the clear cut #1 wide receiver in fantasy football. The Cowboys’ offense was so abysmal, it’s really not worth mentioning anybody in this space.
Minnesota 24 Seattle 13 - Brett Favre is back! Kinda. The gunslinger saw extended time for the first time this preseason. The results? A pedestrian 16 of 26 passes completed for 187 yards and a pair of INT’s. We should note that one of those interceptions hit Bernard Berrian right between the numbers and bounced into the hands of Seahawks rookie safety Earl Thomas for a pick-six. Even at 40 Favre is amazing, but to expect him to duplicate his 2009 numbers is a tad far-fetched. Some fantasy nuggets: New Vikings receiver Greg Camarillo caught four balls for 47 yards. Adrian Peterson scored on a 24-yard run in the first quarter. The Seattle offense was inept most of the night. Hawks running back Justin Forsett rushed six times for 20 yards. Exciting, I know.
Carolina 15 Tennessee 7 – A snoozer of a game that featured a total of zero points in the first half. Some fantasy nuggets: Outside of wide receiver Steve Smith, who hasn’t played a snap this preseason, the only Panther players with real fantasy value continue to be DeAngelo Williams and Johnathan Stewart. Williams had nine carries for 13 yards while Stewart continues to be sidelined with a heel injury. Titans running back Chris Johnson had eight carries for 10 yards. We’re not worried, neither should you be.
Arizona 14 Chicago 9 - Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt has himself a quarterback controversy in the desert. Giving Derek Anderson the start against the Bears only made things harder for Whisenhunt to decide who will be under-center come opening day in St. Louis. Anderson played well, completing 7 of 12 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. Matt Leinert, sensing the pressure to perform, followed Anderson with his best performance of the preseason, going 9 of 10 for 84 yards and a touchdown strike to Steve Breaston. Decisions, decisions…good luck, Ken. Some fantasy nuggets: Cards running back Tim Hightower (eight carries for 62 yards) outplayed his backfield counterpart Beanie Wells (eight carries for 14 yards). Much like the Jamaal Charles-Thomas Jones timeshare in Kansas City, expect Hightower-Wells to aggravate fantasy owners all season long. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler went 10 of 20 with two picks. We know it’s preseason, but regardless of who the offensive coordinator is, Cutler’s going to throw interceptions.
San Francisco 28 Oakland 24 – The Raiders are looking less and less like the Raiders each week — and I mean that as a compliment. Oakland put together a very solid 9-play opening drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Michael Bush. Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell left the game in the second quarter with a shoulder stinger but should be OK come opening day. Campbell’s back-up Bruce Gradkowski filled in nicely, throwing a 74-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Louis Murphy and a 27-yard touchdown to tight end Zach Miller. Some fantasy nuggets: Frank Gore broke off a nice 49-yard run in the first quarter. The offensive line upgrades in San Fran should do wonders for Gore’s fantasy production this season. We mentioned Raiders running back Michael Bush; he left the game with a broken thumb and his status for opening day remains up in the air. Monitor that situation, especially if you were planning to use Bush as your RB2 or flex in Week 1.
