Week 2 of the preseason is upon us. One week closer to the regular season, but there’s still a lot of position battles and roster spots that need to be worked out. The teams in the NFC West will all be looking to put on a better performance and get closer to regular season form. Here’s a look at the games this weeked.
Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers, Sunday 4PM ET
The San Francisco 49ers will be looking to have a much better performance than they had in Week 1 of the preseason against the Baltimore Ravens. The aspect that needs to improve the most is their defensive line. Last week they were playing without Justin Smith and Ray McDonald due to small injuries, Glenn Dorsey who will be out for the year, and Ian Williams who was recovering from a major knee injury sustained last season. Smith and McDonald will most likely get some more time this week and Williams has been activated off the PUP list and might get some work as well. Backups Mike Purcell, Tony Jerod-Eddie, and Lawrence Okoye all need to show improvement.
On offense, right guard Joe Looney will also need to show improvement. He did not have a good showing against the Ravens and as long as Alex Boone is holding out, Looney is the starting guard.
Also look for quarterback Colin Kaepernick to get an extra series or two this game. Head coach Jim Harbaugh doesn’t want to put him out there too long and risk injury but he also knows the importance of Kaepernick getting use to game speed and getting into a good rhythm.
The wide receiver position is another one to keep an eye on. Guys to keep an eye on are rookie Bruce Ellington, Quinton Patton, and Steve Johnson. Also if Brandon Lloyd plays, watch how he does if the 49ers make any trips into the redzone.
Green Bay Packers at St. Louis Rams, Saturday 4PM ET
The most important thing for the St. Louis Rams in their preseason game against the Green Bay Packers is the performance of their wide receivers. Second year receiver Tavon Austin will need to show the most since he has a had a slow training camp and new addition Kenny Britt will look to get more accustomed to the new offense. Going hand in hand with the wide receivers is how starting quarterback Sam Bradford performs. This could be Bradford’s last chance as the starter for the Rams and this year he will have the most weapons he’s had since coming into the NFL.
The Rams’ secondary is also a question mark with new starter Trumaine Johnson and young players Janoris Jenkins, T.J. McDonald, and Rodney McLeod. The secondary is a unit that needs a lot of reps together to fire on all cylinders, especially with a such a young group. I expect them to get a lot of snaps on Saturday and they will need to show improvement.
Going back to offense, the Rams will see how each of their running backs do in different situations. The running backs they expect to get the most snaps this season are Zac Stacy, Benny Cunningham, and Isaiah Pead and they added Tre Mason through the draft. There aren’t enough snaps to split between four backs so someone will be phased out through the preseason. Look for all of the running backs to run hard every touch because they all know it might be them losing snaps.
Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings, Saturday 8:30PM ET
The Arizona Cardinals have a few rookies that will look to showcase their skills Saturday night. One is quarterback Logan Thomas, who ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski touted as the best rookie quarterback so far this preseason. Thomas is a big, physical quarterback with raw skills. With offensive mastermind Bruce Arians as his head coach, he has been getting some very good training. Look for him to show even more improvement from last week.
The other rookie is wide receiver John Brown. A lot of people didn’t know who Brown was around draft time but I think once the season gets started and he starts getting more snaps people will know his name. Even starting wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has said how good Brown has been this training camp. Brown will get some action at receiver and will also make some returns most likely.
With all the experience starting quarterback Carson Palmer has, I don’t expect him to play much on Saturday. But when he does play, it will be important to see how he does. He needs to make sure he gets a good rhythm with new wide receivers Ted Ginn and Brown.