With the second full week of the 2019 preseason officially in the books, let’s look at 11 things that stood out.
And speaking of officials…
The NFL’s new rules adjustments make no sense.
In March, the NFL’s Competition Committee made modifications to the rules against blindside blocks. Now, such a block “is a foul if a player initiates a block in which he is moving toward or parallel to his own end line and makes forcible contact to his opponent with his helmet, forearm, or shoulder.”
That’s a switch from the previous foul, which came when a player was hit in the head or neck area. And it’s a good idea on punt and kickoff returns, but the letter of the law seemed to get in the way of the spirit of the law on this play from last week’s Texans-Lions game.
It’s hard to see what the issue is here whcn a guard doubles back to protect his quarterback. As one former NFL player and coach, and current ESPN analyst said…
We’ve already discussed the issues with reviewable pass interference when the technology doesn’t quite match up. Let’s not get silly about what should be legal blocks in the pocket.
Daniel Jones has shown his good side.
When the Giants selected Duke quarterback Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft, I was unimpressed. Jones was capable of the occasional splash play in college, but he wasn’t consistent, and his efficiency took a major nosedive when he saw pressure and had to adjust.
That said, Jones has done well through his first two preseason games, completing 16 of 19 passes for 228 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
He’s thrown into tight windows…
…and he’s made nice throws to the boundary.
What we haven’t yet seen is what Jones will do when he’s got defenders in his kitchen, and he has to throw under pressure. Per Pro Football Focus, Jones has been pressured on just two of his 20 dropbacks, and he’s had fumble issues. Jones is on a “so far, so good” track, but the regular season will reveal more.
The Eagles have their next franchise left tackle in Andre Dillard.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is one of the NFL’s most astute personnel executives, so when he made the call to move up in the first round of the 2019 draft to select Washington State offensive tackle Andre Dillard with the 22nd overall pick, it perked up a lot of ears. Philly has veteran left tackle Jason Peters under contract through the 2019 season, and Peters is still great… when he’s healthy. Ideally, Roseman and his staff want a younger guy they can plug in as right tackle Lane Johnson’s bookend for the next few years.
So far, Dillard has fit the bill. He hasn’t given up a single pressure in 70 preseason snaps, and he’s been a far more powerful and consistent run-blocker than one might expect from a graduate of the Mike Leach set of schemes. With his combination of power and agility, Dillard looks every bit a franchise blind-side protector.
Ryan Finley may be giving Andy Dalton nightmares.
Andy Dalton hasn’t thrown more than 25 touchdown passes since the 2013 season, and it’s fair to say that any thought of Dalton ever becoming a top-tier quarterback went out the window years ago. He’s a game manager at his best, and a random turnover generator who’s hard to trust at his worst. Dalton is in the penultimate season of the six-year, $96 million contract extension he signed in 2014, and if rookie quarterback Ryan Finley has anything to say about it, Dalton may have to worry about his starting role in 2019 and beyond.
The North Carolina State alum, selected in the fourth round, has looked very comfortable distributing the ball in Zac Taylor’s offense. Finley isn’t an estimable deep thrower, but he’s consistent in reading the first-opens and favorable route combinations the Bengals are calling with a new coaching staff. It’s early yet, but if you start to hear about a quarterback controversy in Cincinnati, don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Kyler Murray’s progress is a process.
So… the Kyler Murray thing hasn’t gone so well, so far. Through two games, the first overall pick has completed just nine of 15 passes for 56 yards. He’s had just one deep attempt–an odd constraint for the best deep passer in college football last season–and he’s missed open receivers at times. Murray would like everybody to back away from the ledge, though.
“We didn’t look as good we would like to look, but it’s the preseason, and this is why it’s the preseason,” said Murray after completing three of eight passes for 12 yards against the Raiders. “It’s tough because we’re not playing the whole game. I don’t want to say it’s not real, but it’s not the regular season, and we’re not doing everything that we’re going to do.”.
Before we judge Murray as a product of Lincoln Riley’s Oklahoma offense and a washout in the NFL, we should remember that Murray isn’t playing series after series to get him into a rhythm, and it’s patently obvious from watching this team in the preseason that, for better or worse, they’re not showing everything they will in the regular season.
“The games, we’re trying to keep it close to the vest, obviously,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury recently told Peter King of NBC Sports. “We’re trying to get our players used to playing with each other. But … it’s interesting for me, because this is the NFL, and I’ve never called a game in my life where I wasn’t in straight attack mode. Kyler and I are adjusting to that.”
Murray is also dealing with a substandard offensive line, and he’s getting into rhythm with new targets. It’s going to be a transitional phase in the Valley of the Sun.
Sam Darnold’s torrid preseason builds off a promising 2018.
On the other hand, Sam Darnold has taken the December of his rookie season, when he threw six touchdown passes to one interception and had a passer rating of 99.1, and thrown all that into the 2019 preseason. The third overall pick in the 2018 draft has looked like it so far in 2019, completing nine of 12 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown in limited action. Behind an offensive line still finding its feet, Darnold has shown escapability to throw, completing three of four passes under pressure. When the regular season starts, Darnold’s potential for continued development will be a major story.
Josh Allen might have turned things around.
Big guy, big arm. That was the book on Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen in the 2018 draft, and Allen’s ability to throw downfield was a primary reason the Bills took him with the seventh overall pick. Allen led all quarterbacks who took at least 20% of their teams’ snaps with a 19.7% rate of throws of 20 or more air yards, but he completed just 18 of his 63 deep passes for 580 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. More effective as a runner than as a passer through most of his rookie campaign, Allen may have grasped more nuances of the quarterback position in the offseason. Allen has fit the ball into tighter windows on time this preseason, and the Bills certainly hope that continues when the regular season starts and defenses throw more things at him.
Christian Wade is this preseason’s feel-good story.
Talk about an NFL debut. This was Christian Wade’s first run from scrimmage in an NFL uniform–a 65–yard touchdown against the Colts in Week 1 of the preseason.
The former English rugby star, who had been training with former Browns, Redskins, and Ravens running back Earnest Byner and came to the NFL via the International Pathway Program, is trying to get the hang of toting the rock across the pond, which explains why his teammates were so thrilled with the run–and why Wade had to be told to get off the field to the Bills could kick the extra point.
No fluke, Wade also did this against the Panthers in Week 2.
As he tries to make the Bills’ final 53, the 28-year-old Wade is studying smaller running backs like Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara. The 5’9″, 196-pound fireplug has a chance in the NFL if he can work the little things out. So far, he’s shown that he can blast right by NFL defenses.
Bad offensive line play might put Matt Ryan out of commission.
The Falcons went 7-9 in 2018 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015 as their defense fell apart due to multiple injuries. With Keanu Neal and Deion Jones healthy, hopes are high for a turnaround.
However, a new issue has reared its ugly head, and Matt Ryan is going to pay the price in a big hurry if the team doesn’t get it turned around–Ryan’s offensive line has been an absolute sieve this preseason, and that applies to a first-team line that includes left tackle Jake Matthews and center Alex Mack. The Jets blitzed Ryan more than you’d usually see in a preseason game, but even against basic fronts, Ryan was running for his life–he was sacked three times in just 18 dropbacks, and over the first two preseason games, Atlanta’s various offensive lines have allowed 47 total pressures–by far the most in the NFL. Yes, there’s one additional game in there as Atlanta played in the Hall of Fame game, but even with that one taken out, the Falcons still lead the league with 31 pressures allowed.
Ryan isn’t the NFL’s most mobile quarterback, and at this rate, he won’t be standing upright at all.
Daeshon Hall could be part of the Eagles’ pass-rush plans.
Selected in the third round of the 2017 draft out of Texas A&M by the Panthers, Hall was cut after a rookie campaign in which he saw just nine snaps before a knee injury put him on ice. The Eagles signed him off the Texans’ practice squad last season, and he’s been transitioning from an outside linebacker’s build to a stouter defensive end in a four-man front.
“I’m comfortable (in the scheme) and I’ve just been practicing real hard and taking my practice habits to the field,” Hall recently said. “Coach Phil (defensive line coach Phillip Daniels) and all the old guys have been working on my fundamentals and I’m doing it on the field. I feel like this is my best football since I’ve been in the NFL. My body is good, my weight is where I want it, and my strength is good. I worked a lot on that in the offseason, and it’s paying off.”
So far, it really is. Through two preseason games, Hall has three sacks, eight total pressures, four tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. He’s shown both power and slipperiness to get to the quarterback (ask Jaguars backup Gardner Minshew and left tackle Ben Ijalana about that), and 2019 could be a breakout year for the formerly star-crossed pass-rusher.
New England’s rookies showed off against the Titans.
Reams have been written about the personnel acumen of Bill Belichick’s Patriots staffs, and rightly so. The 2019 Patriots draft class could turn out to be one of Belichick’s bigger triumphs if the preseason stars are able to capitalize on things once the regular season rolls around.
Last Saturday against the Titans, fifth-round defensive tackle Byron Cowart demolished Tennessee left guard Rodger Saffold for a sack of Marcus Mariota. And third-round edge-rusher Chase Winovich, fresh off a highly productive career at Michigan, high-stepped his way through Tennessee’s line for a series of quarterback harrassments. Winovich leads all preseason pass-rushers with 12 total pressures, and his hustle has been off the charts so far.
Not to be outdone, second-round cornerback JoeJuan Williams has allowed just three catches on eight targets for 18 yards and two pass breakups, third-round running back Damien Harris has 80 rushing yards on just 14 carries, fourth-round quarterback Jarrrett Stidham has looked comfortable in the pocket, and undrafted receiver Jakobi Meyers–who moved from quarterback to wideout during his time at North Carolina State and caught 92 passes for 1,047 yards and four touchdowns in 2018–is the only receiver in the 2019 NFL preseason with more than one touchdown catch (he has two). Meyers also leads the league in receptions with 12, which he’s taken for 151 yards.
“They’ve worked hard, they’ve tried hard, they’ve got a long way to go,” Belichick said of his rookie class after the 22-17 win over the Titans. “They’re working at it and I respect that. They’ve improved and that’s a good thing.”
Touchdown Wire editor Doug Farrar has also covered football for Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, the Washington Post, and Football Outsiders. His first book, “The Genius of Desperation,” a schematic history of professional football, was published by Triumph Books in 2018.
