It’s here—football has arrived and we can now all witness the sport we love so much. The preseason kicked off on Sunday with the Hall of Fame game, as the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills squared off. Now we enter the real action—the first week of the preseason when untested players and backups are battling on every snap for roster spots.
While the NFC North may have disappointed last season, it’s a new year and there’s been plenty of change for the positive. The Green Bay Packers are now healthy, the Chicago Bears vastly improved their defense, the Minnesota Vikings made upgrades everywhere and the Detroit Lions made some moves as well.
Now we take a look towards the first preseason action in the north and what fans should be keeping an eye on. While it’s still early, preseason games are important for young players to prove themselves under the lights to be more than just a great practice player.
Oakland Raiders @ Minnesota Vikings
Friday, August 8 at 8 PM EST
Quarterback Battles
The ongoing quarterback duel between Matt Cassel and Teddy Bridgewater rages on as the stage now turns toward in-game play. We’ve seen the two quarterbacks split first-team reps in training camp, now they will try and outdo each other against the Raiders.
The first preseason game is heavily dominated by backups—starters will get two series to just get their feet rest, while second and third-stringers spend the rest of the game on the field. This is good news for Bridgewater who could play for more than a quarter. He has already impressed coaches in training camp, especially OC Norv Turner. We are just over a month away from the opener and the Vikings’ quarterback job is up for grabs.
A strong showing from Bridgewater could lead to more confidence from the coaching snaps and more first-team reps going forward. We saw Russell Wilson take advantage of the preseason when he was a rookie, taking away the starting job from Matt Flynn. Now it’s Bridgewater’s time to do the same.
Zimmer’s Impact
While it’s only the preseason and the Vikings certainly won’t show their hand, fans should look forward to seeing a new intensity and style from their team. HC Mike Zimmer was a fiery, motivating coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals and should bring that same attitude to Minnesota.
Zimmer will not only mentor this defense and help young players like Harrison Smith and Captain Munnerlyn, but his intensity will reflect upon his roster as well. These men have spent hours with him and you are going to see a nastier, more physical defense on Friday night. Young players fighting for roster spots and redemption from last season, the Vikings won’t be lacking heart in games.
There is certainly plenty to look forward to with Zimmer’s game planning and just how he fares as a head coach. But for now, fans should be excited about Zimmer’s reflection by his players and the type of effort they bring when they take on the Raiders.
Philadelphia Eagles @ Chicago Bears
Friday, August 8 at 8 PM EST
Who is the Backup Quarterback?
While backup quarterback competitions are usually quiet, things are a little different in Chicago. Jay Cutler once again missed time last season and while losing a top quarterback would cripple most teams, the Bears stayed afloat thanks to Josh McCown. But McCown is now gone and the Bears must decide who is their insurance policy behind Cutler.
As of now, Chicago is currently running Jordan Palmer out with the second-team in training camp as Cutler’s backup. The 30-year-old has appeared in four games across his six-year career, completing 10 of 15 passes with two interceptions. But Palmer’s last snap came in 2010 with the Bengals and he doesn’t have a firm grip on the No.2 job. Jimmy Clausen is doing everything he can to make this team but currently sits behind Palmer on the depth chart. He has more experience than Palmer with 13 games in 2010—Clausen is splitting second-team reps with Palmer, so both should see at least a quarter each against the Eagles.
Depth on Defensive Line
After vastly improving their offensive line in 2013, GM Phil Emery adapted the same plan for the defensive line this offseason. While Lamarr Houston and Jared Allen were the big name signings and will start immediately, Emery found excellent depth for this front four.
The additions actually started during the 2013 season when Chicago signed defensive tackle Jay Ratliff. He was able to earn a starting job over the final games and was rewarded with a two-year contract in May. The Bears signed defensive end Willie Young to provide a very nice rotational end in pass rushing situations. Young is certainly a player who should see increased snaps during the preseason along with rookie defensive tackle Will Sutton.
Chicago has greatly improved their front four—not just their starters but added key depth that they can rotate and move around to increase the effectiveness. The preseason will just be the first glimpse of Chicago’s biggest improvements from last season.
Cleveland Browns @ Detroit Lions
Saturday, August 9 at 4:30 PM EST
Cornerback Battle
While the Lions made big additions to their offense during the offseason, they chose to let their present depth at cornerback compete for starting jobs and hopefully improve. A secondary that ranked 23rd against the pass last season trots out a very similar group with Darius Slay, Rashean Mathis and Bill Bentley.
The three jobs are pretty much locked down—Slay and Mathis will start on the outside, while Bentley will sit in the slot. It’s certainly a risk for the Lions—they are putting out a 34-year-old cornerback who seemed to find the fountain of youth last season, but will likely fall down a bit this year. Slay is entering his second season and showed signs last season of promise. Now he is being thrown into a starting role, but coaches expect a second-year jump from the 23-year-old. Bentley played 13 games last season but really didn’t provide a positive impact when he was on the field. The young corner struggled to stay with his man and gave up a lot of plays.
This is going to be a big test for the Lions moving forward—they have a strong defensive line and upgraded secondary, but are in a division with Rodgers and Cutler. This isn’t the right division to have suspect cornerback play and if these three can’t prove themselves, Detroit is in serious trouble.
Green Bay Packers @ Tennessee Titans
Saturday, August 9 at 4:30 PM EST
Sophomore Players
Last year’s rookie class was a mixed bag for the Packers—they found their star running back in Eddie Lacy but defensive end Datone Jones struggled and center J.C. Tretter missed the entire season. Meanwhile, Johnathan Franklin’s career was cut short by a neck injury, but cornerback Micah Hyde had an impressive season.
Now coaches want to see that big jump from year one to two. Lacy will once again be the workhorse and should see less eight-men boxes with a healthy Aaron Rodgers, while Hyde seems to be showing off quite well at safety. Hyde has done so well in fact during training camp, he has entrenched himself as the Packers’ top safety and punt return man.
Preseason will be a big testing ground though for Jones and Tretter, two players who need to prove themselves early. Tretter is penciled in as Green Bay’s starting center for the first preseason game but has had good and bad days in training camp. Jones has an opportunity to start alongside Mike Daniels and B.J. Raji but hasn’t earned the job so far.
One other player to watch is David Bakhtiari who started all 16 games at left tackle as a rookie. While he held his own under the circumstances, it was clear he needed to bulk up and continue to cut down on the holding penalties. Now we get to see how much improvements he has made.