NFL Preseason Week 1 Notes – 49ers vs Saints. Statistics below are for when both full/partial 1st string offenses. No Marques Colston.
QBs
- Alex Smith – Barely had time, and when he did the passes were too low, behind, etc. Terrible.
- Drew Brees – Under some pressure. Had time on one deep ball that was perfect, but dropped.
- Chase Daniels (NO) – Short, quick QB. Had a nice run outta pressure for a 1st down.
- Colin Kaepernick (SF) – Rookie. Looked better than Smith, but that’s not saying much. Has crazy speed and running ability, but was very inaccurate when passing the ball. Threw two INTs too.
RBs
- Joique Bell (NO) – Has some speed, Tough to bring down…moving piles, etc. Fun to watch.
- Anthony Dixon (SF) – Runs: 4, Targets: 1 – Looked average
- Frank Gore – Runs: 4 – Like always, ran well with defenders draped over him
- Kendall Hunter (SF) – Really Quick. Ran better than Dixon.
- Marc Ingram – Runs: 1 – Had sweet TD with 2nd string.
- Darren Sproles – Runs: 1
- Pierre Thomas – Runs: 5, Targets: 1 – Got a few yards here and there and stuffed. Yawn.
WRs
- Braylon Edwards – Targets: 2
- Lance Moore – Targets: 1
- Robert Meachem – Targets: 2 – Had a bad drop
TEs
- Vernon Davis – Targets: 2
- Jimmy Graham (NO) – Targets: 2
Def/ST (1st string)
- 49ers – Pass: Great, Run: Great
- Saints – Pass: Excellent, Run: Good- Blitzed like crazy and rattled Smith. Had Punt Return for TD.
Offensive Play Calling (1st string)
- 49ers – 5 Drives, Runs: 8, Passes: 9
- Saints – 4 Drives, Runs: 7, Passes: 8
Offensive Lines (1st String)
- 49ers – Pass Blocking: Awful, Run Blocking: Average. Both QBs got pounded
- Saints – Pass Blocking: Average, Run Blocking: Average
Tags: The Fred Zone
NFL Preseason Week 1 Notes – Steelers vs Redskins. Statistics below are for when both full/partial 1st string offenses. No Torain, Cooley, Heath Miller or Hines Ward.
QBs
- Rex Grossman – Did a good job of making quick passes under pressure. Almost all short-to-mid range passes…surprisingly very accurate. Great TD pass after muffed snap. Potential sleeper!
- Ben Roethlisberger – Terrible protection so couldn’t stay up long enough to make good passes.
RBs
- Tim Hightower – Runs: 10, Targets: 2 – Just like in Arizona, doesn’t have awesome speed or strength, but knows how to run between the tackles and defenders. With the fantastic O-Line blocking, Hightower looked like a sweet RB2.
- Rashard Mendenhall – Runs: 1, Targets: 1 – Looked good on only rush attempt.
- Isaac Redman (PIT) – Starts slow after the hand off, but picks up steam and when he gets through the D-Line, gains huge yardage. Big dude had some nice rush attempts. A must have if Mendenhall ever got hurt.
- Evan Royster (WAS) – Runs: 2, Rookie
- Darrel Young (WAS) – Targets: 1 – Sweet run after catch…spinning, juking, etc.
WRs
- Anthony Armstrong – Targets: 4
- Terrance Austin (WAS) – Targets: 1
- Antonio Brown (PIT) – Targets: 1 – Caught everything and looked like the best Steelers WR on the field
- Jabar Gaffney (WAS) – Targets: 5
- Donte Stallworth (WAS) – Targets: 1
- Mike Wallace – Targets: 1
- Santana Moss – Targets: 9 – Caught TD – Seemed to be Grossman’s #1 target and caught everything catchable thrown his way
TEs
- Fred Davis (WAS): Targets: 2 – Had bad drop
Def/ST (1st string)
- Redskins – Pass: Great, Run: Average – Kept the pressure on Roethlisberger
- Steelers – Pass: Below Average, Run: Below Average
Offensive Play Calling (1st string)
- Redskins- 5 Drives, Runs: 12, Passes: 24
- Steelers- 1 Drives, Runs: 1, Passes: 4
Offensive Lines (1st String)
- Redskins – Pass Blocking: Average, Run Blocking: Great – O-Line made huge holes for Hightower. Grossman had tons of time when he rolled out.
- Steelers – Pass Blocking: Below Average, Run Blocking: Great
Tags: The Fred Zone
NFL Preseason Week 1 Notes – Jaguars vs Patriots. Statistics below are for when both full/partial 1st string offenses. No MJD, Brady, Ocho Cinco, and Gronkowski.
QBs
- Blaine Gabbert
- Brian Hoyer (NE)
- Ryan Mallett (NE) – Made some great passes, but others were off. Went through projections well.
RBs
- Rashad Jennings – Runs: 6 – Ran strong with good speed.
- DJ Karim (JAC)- Runs: 2, Targets: 1
- Stephen Ridley (NE) – Run: 2, Rookie, 1 yd rushing TD. Smaller RB, but runs yard and claws for yardage. Had two more TDs (rushing and receiving).
- Danny Woodhead – Runs: 5. Always gained positive yards and looked good.
WRs
- Jarek Dillards – Targets: 1
- Julian Edelman – Targets: 2
- Jason Hill – Targets: 3. Looked good.
- Taylor Price – Great back of end zone stretching catch. Has blazing speed and great hands.
- Mike Thomas – Targets: 2, dropped easy one
- Tiquan Underwood – Targets: 1
TEs
- Zach Miller: Targets: 2
- Aaron Hernandez: Targets: 4, Lost fumble, and fumbled again. When he didn’t fumble, made great catches and YAC yards.
Def/ST (1st string)
- Jaguars – Pass: Average, Run: Good. 2 Fumble forces
- Patriots – Pass: Great, Run: Average. Got coverage sack.
Offensive Play Calling (1st string)
- Jaguars – 4 Drives, Runs: 8, Passes: 11
- Patriots – 4 Drives, Runs: 6, Passes: 6
Offensive Lines (1st String)
- Jaguars- Pass Blocking: Average, Run Blocking: Good
- Patriots- Pass Blocking: Great, Run Blocking: Good
Tags: The Fred Zone
NFL Preseason Week 1 Notes – Ravens vs Eagles. Statistics below are for when both 1st string offenses and defenses are playing.
QBs
- Kyle Boller – The few passes he made were way off.
- Tyrod Taylor (BAL) – Awful pass directly to defender. Threw a pick in the end zone. Stinks.
- Mike Vick – Stayed in pocket and still looked like a top of Tier 1 QB this year.
- Vince Young – Looked ok. Had awesome play shaking defenders and making long pass
RBs
- Ronnie Brown – Got tons of 2nd string carries. Wasn’t super fast, but very elusive to get the extra yards.
- Dion Lewis (PHI) – Rookie – Smaller RB, but has some nice speed, followed blockers well, and was shedding defenders.
- LeSean McCoy – Runs: 1
- Jalen Parmele (BAL) – Bigger RB with some speed. Impressive.
- Ray Rice – Runs: 5, Targets: 1 – Looked good
- Owen Schmitt (FB) (PHI) – Run: 1
WRs
- Anquan Boldin – Targets: 1
- Jason Avant – Targets: 2
- Chad Hall (PHI) – Targets: 1 – Caught everything thrown his way. Little guy like Wes Welker.
- Riley Cooper – Targets: 2 – Great jumping catch
TEs
- Dennis Pitta (BAL): Targets: 2, Made awesome, reaching over defender catch!
- Brent Celek: Targets: 2, Dropped one, Caught 3 yd TD
Def/ST (1st string)
- Ravens- Pass: Average, Run: Great
- Eagles- Pass: Excellent, Run: Great, Got a coverage sack
Offensive Play Calling (1st string)
- Ravens- 2 Drives, Runs: 5, Passes: 7
- Eagles- 1 Drive, Runs: 2, Passes: 7
Offensive Lines (1st String)
- Ravens- Pass Blocking: Average, Run Blocking: Good
- Eagles – Pass Blocking: Excellent, Run Blocking: Average
Tags: The Fred Zone
NFL Preseason Week 1 Notes – Seahawks vs Chargers. Statistics below are for when both 1st string offenses and defenses are playing.
QBs
- Tavaris Jackson – Runs: 2, Ran really well out of the pocket, but pressured alot and sacked twice due to poor blocking and great coverage. Only threw two long ones which were both inaccurate.
- Philip Rivers – Had only one bad pass, the rest were perfect. Looked like a Tier 1 QB. Led the NFL in pass yardage last year.
- Charlie Whitehurst – Passed better than Tavaris, but it was against the 2nd string Chargers defense
RBs
- Thomas Clayton – Target: 1
- Marshawn Lynch – Runs: 3 – Ran hard, looked good
- Ryan Matthews – Runs: 2, Targets: 1
- Mike Tolbert – Runs: 2, Targets: 1, Receiving TD
- Leon Washington – Runs: 5 – Appeared to look better than Lynch due to run blocking scheme
WRs
- Chuck Baldwin (SEA) – Targets: 1, Rookie
- Vincent Jackson – Targets: 3, BEAST!
- Golden Tate – Targets: 2, returned Punts too
TEs
- Corey Sperry (SD): Targets: 1
- Zach Miller: Targets: 2
Def/ST (1st string)
- Chargers – Pass: Excellent, Run: Below Average
- Seahawks – Pass: Below Average, Run: Excellent
Offensive Play Calling (1st string)
- Chargers – 1 Drive, Runs: 4, Passes: 6
- Seahawks – 2 Drives, Runs: 10, Passes: 8, One run was supposed to be a pass play but QB ran b/c of excellent coverage
Offensive Lines (1st String)
- Chargers – Pass Blocking: Excellent (Rivers was untouched), Run Blocking: Below Average (got real positive yardage once)
- Seahawks – Pass Blocking: Below Average (without Okung), Run Blocking: Great (consistently got positive yardage), Lost LT Okung and replacement stunk
Tags: The Fred Zone
Just like they’ve done the past few years, the NFL Network will be airing all of the 2011 Preseason games…schedule is here.
Tags: The Fred Zone