Everyone knows that Week 3 of the preseason is the most important week.  The starters play the longest and it’s the exhibition game which most resembles reality.

Final scores don’t matter and perhaps what we see in the first two or three quarters doesn’t matter either, but with that said….

Philly Looks Unstoppable

Teams like Philadelphia have an enormous advantage in preseason exhibitions.  Without a full week of game planning, the Eagles pace of play can simply be overwhelming to opposing defenses.

If you’re an Eagles fan, there’s plenty of reason to believe that this type of offensive dominance isn’t going to end when the regular season begins.  Sam Bradford has seemingly knocked the rust off  as he finished 10 for 10, 121 yards, with three touchdowns.  With an accurate passer under center and those weapons in that system, opposing teams will simply be hoping for a break of serve.

In the first half of the Eagles victory over the Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia quarterbacks completed 23 of 29 throws, for 271 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions and a 145.2 quarterback rating.

Eli Looks Uncomfortable

There’s no reason to worry about a two-time Super Bowl MVP, right?

Especially in preseason, right?

This may mean absolutely nothing, but New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning has not looked good all preseason and if he’s not playing at an extremely high level then the Giants are going to bad….last place bad.

After a miserable performance last Saturday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Eli followed it up with a rather uneven game in the Giants “Met-Life Bowl” loss to the New York Jets.

Manning’s numbers weren’t atrocious as he completed 12 of his 16 throws to Giants teammates.  His 12 completions only totaled 91 yards, a number that only Blaine Gabbert would be impressed by, and one of his four misfires fell into the hands of Antonio Cromartie who took it back 59 yards to pay dirt.

“He read it,” Jets head coach Todd Bowles said. “He’s been playing a long time. I think there was a little hesitation by Eli. He went to him at the last minute and Cro broke. He studies a lot of film.”

Another Weapon In The Emerald City

Tight end Jimmy Graham was clearly the Seattle Seahawks biggest offseason addition.  The 6-foot-7 former basketball player is nearly an impossible cover in the red zone, and if offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell feels the need to air it out near the goal line he’ll have a pretty good chess piece to do it with.

With that said, former Kansas State wide receiver/ return man Tyler Lockett has been a preseason star.  Lockett returned his second punt for a touchdown this preseason and he continues to look like a steal in the draft.

After this 67-yard TD, it’s time to put everyone on notice. DO NOT kick if to @TDLockett12. #SEAvsSD http://t.co/d40R6UAC4N

— NFL (@NFL) August 30, 2015

Steelers Defense Struggles

The Pittsburgh Steelers played their fourth preseason game and their defense seems to be getting worse and worse every game.

Pittsburgh is going to need it’s prolific offense to be firing on all cylinders this season as their defense doesn’t look like it’s going to offer much resistance at all.  Pittsburgh has a mix of guys past their prime (James Harrison); guys that are good, yet injured (Lawrence Timmons); talented, yet unproven (Ryan Shazier); and disappointments (Jarvis Jones).

“We continue to be slow starters and that’s disturbing,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said of a defense that went through a major offseason overhaul. “Some of those guys, quite frankly, look like the walking dead.”

This doesn’t look like something that’s easily fixable, such as guys in the wrong gaps.  They aren’t able to sustain much of a pass rush and their secondary is nowhere near good enough to make up for it.

E.J. Displays His Value

The Buffalo Bills decided to start E.J. Manuel in Saturday’s 43-19 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he probably had the best start of his professional career.

That’s the good news for E.J.

The bad news is that every Bills quarterback was equally impressive.

Manuel started the game and also played in the third quarter and completed seven of eight throws, for 170 yards, and a pair of touchdowns, including a 67-yard scoring strike to Charles Clay.

“I don’t know, we’ll see,” the Bills’ 2013 first-round draft pick said, when asked if he felt he’s done enough to be the Bills starting quarterback. “It’s coach’s decision. But I know I played well.”

Manuel’s main competition (we think), Tyrod Taylor, was also on point as he went 12 for 13, for 122 yards.

Veteran Matt Cassel worked the underneath game and went six for seven, for 38 yards.

As a team, Buffalo’s quarterbacks went 30 for 33, 386 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 142.9 quarterback rating.

So much for that new “Steel Curtain” defense.

Jameis Up, Jameis Down

After putting together a great start in Monday’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston struggled mightily on Saturday against the Cleveland Browns.

Winston completed just six of his 15 pass attempts, for 90 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.  He was also sacked four times.

“When they bring more than you can block, you’ve got to get it out,” Winston explained. “And they did a couple things where they picked our offensive guards where they couldn’t slide to get to the guys that were coming late. Like I said, it’s a learning experience and there’s a lot of teams that we’re going to be playing in the future that got those same type of blitzes. So when you make a mistake, especially on my part as the quarterback, I’ve got to put us in the right protection. Like, when I make a mistake like that, it’s always a learning experience. I’m like, I know I’m not going to make that mistake again because I can’t get hit like that.”

This is the life you live with a rookie quarterback.  He’s going to be up one week and then down the next.  As long as Winston learns from those mistakes, the Bucs will be able to endure the growing pains.

Fighting Words In Baltimore

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith, Sr. had perhaps  the most memorable preseason game in his illustrious, borderline Hall of Fame career.

Smith put in his work in Saturday evening’s loss to the Washington Redskins, catching four passes on four targets, for 95 yards, which included a 63-yard touchdown.

Then Smith traded barbs with his old foe, DeAngelo Hall, who he used to do battle with twice a year in the NFC South (Smith with Carolina and Hall with Atlanta).  He was part of a small brawl after Ravens wide receiver Kamar Aiken was body-slammed after making a reception.

The always constructive Smith, used part of his evening off to spend more time with his family, the reason he gave when he announced his retirement at the conclusion of this season.

https://twitter.com/peytondsmith/status/637790547781009408

Well done Senior!

Although the Smith-Hall fisticuffs were only an undercard to a “Management Main Event.”

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh walked all the way across the field and had some choice words for Redskins head coach Jay Gruden.  Officials had to offer restraint and guidance back to their respective sidelines.

‘It’s a preseason game, 90 guys on both benches, and it wasn’t getting calmed down very quickly,” Harbaugh said. “We get the memos and everything about the fighting, so I figured, `Let me go out there and get our guys back out of the way and it will be fine.’ That’s kind of how it worked out.”

If there is a rematch, perhaps it can be an all-coaching brothers tag team?  The Gruden’s versus the Harbaugh’s.  My money is on the Harbaugh’s.