Carolina Panthers vs. New England Patriots
This week when the Panthers travel to New England you can expect to see the starters for at least a half which is the norm for week two of the pre season. You will usually see starters into the third quarter to get them used to the feel to playing majority of the game. But because of the short week Coach Ron Rivera will not play his guys past half time.
All eyes will again be on quarterback Cam Newton as he continues to return from his off season ankle surgery. Newton will need to improve on a couple things in his second game back. He looked good on his repaired ankle when he scrambled out of the pocket a three times, good news for fans watching but Coach Rivera saw it a different way. This week he wants to see Newton make better decisions with the ball and throw the ball away and not run as much. He also needs to get on the same page with this new receiving core. Last week Newton was off target on a couple passes and it would be nice to see him and rookie Kelvin Benjamin get on the same page.
Even with a couple key departures on defense with a leader like Luke Kuechly the defense shouldn’t drop off too much from last season. In the third preseason game all eyes will be on this offense. It will be a great test for Newton and his new receiving core to test themselves against one of the top defensive backfields in the NFL. If the Panthers passing offense can shine against New England it will confirm they are still the playoff team from last season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Buffalo Bills
The Bucs new head coach Lovie Smith will give his starters a lot of time in the third preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. The third preseason game is usually a teams “dress rehearsal”, so expect to see the starters into the third quarter. So far there hasn’t been much to complain about from the new look Buccaneers. The starters played well last week holding the Miami starters to just three points.
In each week for Tampa you want to see a couple things get better. One of the big things especially in this first week of extended play you want to see running back Doug Martin continue to improve after his injury shortened season last year. Martin will be a key part of this offense and they’ll need his production going forward, this third game will be a good gage of what we can expect from him in the regular season.
Also the important to the success of the offense is the line that will open wholes for Martin and keep quarterback Josh McCown off his back. The starting line had a rough start to the NFL pre season in Jacksonville but some what redeemed themselves against the Dolphins. Now its all about this group of guys staying consistent to keep the offense moving forward.
Finally you want to see the young players like Mike Evans and Mike Glennon to continue to improve in these practice games. They both played well against the twos last week, but now at least in Evans case its time to perform against starting NFL talent.
Tennessee Titans vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons were one of the best teams in the league two years ago and most thought they would compete for the division championship. But injuries held them back last year and a very talented team landed a top 10 draft position. Even though this team remains one of the most talented teams in the league they struggled in last weeks game against the Texans. Quarterback Matt Ryan a good young player trying to become an elite quarterback. Ryan is one of the best quarterback in the league and the key franchise piece for the Falcons, but we need to see better than 3 - 7 passing against a bad team like the Texans. This week we need to see him get together with his star targets Roddy White, Julio Jones, and Eric Ebron.
The biggest concern this week however will be the defense after they looked pretty bad against Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Houston Texans. As much as Roger Goodell and Fantasy fans would like to think, defense is still a key part to the game of football. We saw the proof last year as the best offense in the league was put to sleep by the best defense in the Super Bowl. As talented as this team is on offense they won’t go anywhere with the defense playing the way the did last week.
The goal in this game should be to get the offense and all the talent they have on the field as much as possible. These guys are too talented not to turn in a good game against the Titans. Expect to see White, Jones, Ebron, and Devin Hester put to work early and often.
New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts
The Saints are one of those teams you don’t have to worry about in the preseason no matter what its looking like, they’ll be ok. They have a very talented team a veterans and young players that should be the favorite to win this division and maybe the NFC. In the preseason teams like the Saints will look to their younger players to show their ready to step up and play key roles in the offense.
This year they have a lot of young players that will contribute on offense. Kenny Stills, Brandin Cooks, and Mark Ingram will need to be top contributors in this offense. All these young players will get plenty of chances in this dress rehearsal to prove they are ready to help this team in a playoff push.
The offense will really have to worry about now is the penaties the team has been racking up. Now every coach in the league is upset about all the penalties called this preseason (a record 700+ already), but the Saints have had a couple bonehead penalties as well. For example tight end Jimmy Graham dunking the ball twice and getting the team penalized each time is unacceptable. Nobody likes all these new rules Roger Goodell is handing down, but you can't hurt your team in protest.
All eyes however will be on the defense that has looked inconsistent so far this preseason. Just like the Falcons the Saints have an extremely talented offense one of the best in the league. But they also should have a decent defense as well with acquired talent like Jairus Byrd at safety. If this defense can lock it down in this weeks game against Andrew Luck and his Colts offense it can be a sign of things to come for the Saints.