Despite the game cancellation fiasco of the Hall of Fame preseason game between the Packers and Colts, we’re still on schedule for a weekend packed with preseason football. You’ll get to enjoy 6 games on Thursday, 5 on Friday, 4 Saturday and one more on Sunday. There’s lots of story lines this summer and here are five to be paying close attention to:
1. The quarterback battle in Los Angeles and the return to the city
It seems like the L.A. Rams will go into the 2016 season with Case Keenum as their starting quarterback. They didn’t draft Jared Goff first overall to make him sit forever, though, or maybe even at all. While Keenum is penciled in to begin the season as the main guy under center, the door is open for Goff to impress so much in preseason that he could win the starting spot:
It’s a battle between Jared Goff and Case Keenum, who hasn’t lost it. He ended ’15 at 3-1. Caveat: Goff can changed minds in preseason games
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 9, 2016
The Rams host the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday and we should expect a heavy dose of both quarterbacks playing in this game. This will also be football’s grand return to the city of Los Angeles, which makes it even more compelling to watch.
2. How the Patriots manage Tom Brady in the wake on his upcoming suspension
The Patriots host the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night and this is another quarterback rotation to watch. Brady is clearly the undisputed starter when he’s not suspended, but it will be interesting to see how the Patriots manage the reps for him and backup Jimmy Garoppolo as they prepare to be without Brady the first four weeks of the season. Brady finally dropped his appeal and accepted the 4 game suspension this summer that’s been seemingly hanging over his head forever. But with Brady out to begin the season, how many reps do they want Garoppolo getting with the starters? Do they want to look at extended play with Garoppolo to get him ready, or do they want to limit his gametime action to reduce injury risk? Is the fact that Brady won’t play for four games enough to significantly limit his preparation? Lots of questions with how to properly manage this conundrum.
3. Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears
This matchup is particularly intriguing, even though it’s just preseason, because of the storylines involved. The Broncos will begin life without Peyton Manning as they start Mark Sanchez under center. Or will it be Trevor Siemian replacing Sanchez soon enough? Or will it be Paxton Lynch replacing both in short order? We know the Broncos are terrifying on defense and it allowed them to skate their way to a Super Bowl win with suspect quarterback play all season last year. But despite Manning’s struggles, quarterback feels even less secure with this trio. Either way, you know Bears’ coach John Fox would love nothing more than to stick it to the team that most feel unfairly fired him.
4. Not Joey Bosa
The 3rd overall pick is still not under contract with the Chargers. This is particularly frustrating if you’re a Chargers fan because the new CBA was supposed to slot contracts and prevent holdouts almost entirely. The squabble has gotten so toxic that Bosa’s mom went public with the quote: “I wish we had pulled an Eli Manning”. Yikes, I’m sure the Giants would be cool with this. The Chargers will play at the Tennessee Titans on Saturday but fans won’t be able to check out their shiny new elite pass rushing prospect.
5. Special teams
Remember that these games are called “preseason” for a reason and never should too much stock be put into any one performance. It’s really just when the 1’s play that you want to truly get a feel for how your team looks. Even then, the sample size is so small, it’s easy for a great unit to have a bad series and then sit for the rest of the game. And let’s be honest, a lot of guys get held out even if they’d be healthy enough to play a regular season game. The reality is that most of these games will feature players in the second half that are bubble roster guys and camp bodies throughout. In the second half, special teams are most significant because that’s how fringe players find their way onto the back end of a 53 man roster. These compelling roster battles are made and lost based on special teams performance.
