Are we over the initial “Football is back” stage? No? That’s alright, that is precisely the reason that the fantastic writers here at eDraft are for: To fill your every football need and desire. The AFC East, which is maybe the toughest division to predict, went 2-2 last week. Unlikely wins came from Buffalo at Carolina, and New York against the Indianapolis. The Patriots got smoked by the Skins, and the Dolphins got shutout in the second half against the Falcons en route to a 16-10 loss. Outcomes don’t necessarily matter in the preseason, but whenever Tom Brady loses, America wins right?
Miami Dolphins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7:30PMEST, August 16th
Big news out of South Beach currently is that Brady Quinn has signed with the team, and in return they have put Pat Devlin on waivers. Clearly the Dolphins front office is releasing a Brady-caliber quarterback for a Manning-caliber one instead.
In reality, this is an irrelevant move, or so the fans hope. Ryan Tannehill is the starter, but so far this training camp and preseason, you wouldn’t have guessed it. Miami back-up Matt Moore has been battling a shoulder problem. So, in a doomsday scenario, Quinn could see some actual playing time.
Another thing to watch in this game is the defensive backfield. The suspension of Reshad Jones has been the cause of major juggling in the secondary. Right now, the starting safety position is being occupied Jimmy Wilson and Cortland Finnegan has moved into the slot corner. The defense as a whole is a unit to watch, especially after the show they put on in the first preseason week. Matt Ryan picked them apart, completing all seven of his passes. This is a big week against a Tampa offense who is pretty solid across the board.
Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers, 7:30PMEST, August 16th
Another week, another week of talking about E.J. Manuel. Last week E.J. went 9-13 for 96 yards, a stat line that is pretty impressive. But watching the game, I still didn’t like what I seen. You can throw in any NFL-caliber quarterback in E.J.’s spot last week and could get the same results. Manuel takes the snap, drops back, and throws the ball to his first read. All his plays are drawn up to go to one guy, kind of like in little league football. Throw to that guy on this play, or don’t throw it. A team can simply can not win like that. To say that Manuel is making real progress, I need to see him consistently make progressions and go to his second or third receiver. It’s just what the successful quarterbacks do.
What to watch for in terms of players not named E.J., are again the running backs. Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown have looked extremely good this preseason. The wide receiver race is really starting to take shape. Sammy Watkins, Mike Williams and Robert Woods are roster locks. There are two, maybe three other spots on the team up for grabs. Chris Hogan is really pulling away with the fourth spot, as his play was far and away better than the other guys. Marcus Easley will most likely make the team because he is a special teams ace, really. Other than that, no one else has stood out. T.J. Graham has fizzled out, and none of the other invitees have shown anything worth noting.
Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots, 7:30PMEST, August 15th
Funny how one week changes the landscape of a position battle, isn’t it? Since draft day, it has been clear that Ryan Mallett will be Brady’s back-up, unless he gets traded. And second-round pick Jimmy Garappolo will be the third stringer, and clipboard man. With one week in the books, and a single game against third-string defenders, Garappolo is gaining steam fast. With that, it’s a very real possibility that Mallett may be cut if they can’t deal him. New England tends to keep only two quarterbacks instead of three. And it was actually Mallett who got Brian Hoyer cut when he was drafted to be the back-up.
If Mallett can’t prove that he deserves to be on this team, he could be out. This gives the Patriots and easy decision to move on from him. But, if he does well, he gains some trade value, and the Patriots win that way as well. It’s a win-win situation, which is weird for them since they haven’t won anything since Spygate.
New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals, 7:30PMEST, August 16th
What a mess this past week has been for the New York Jets. They are now without their top-three cornerbacks, in Dee Milliner, Dimitri Patterson and Dexter McDougle. The defensive backfield looks like an auto-generate create-a-team on Madden with names like Kyle Wilson and Ellis Lankster. Nonetheless, Rex Ryan can mold any defense to be solid enough.
But what he can’t control is General Manager John Idzik who gave him nothing to work with in the secondary to begin with. He let Antonio Cromartie walk, while also letting his family member Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie go down the highway a little bit and sign with the Giants. Darrelle Revis reportedly wanted to make a return, and Rex wanted that as well. For some reason that didn’t happen. Alterraun Verner was supposedly close to a deal with gang green as well, and then he signed with the Buccs. All these mishaps have fans less than pleased with Idzik, and he better hope Kyle Wilson becomes Richard Sherman in the next week or so. If not, he could be in trouble.