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The 2014 NFL preseason is finally over. All 32 teams took the field on Thursday night, giving fans a nice capper to a surprisingly entertaining month of otherwise meaningless football.
There were some things to take away from last night’s action, too, despite a lot of starters resting. Let’s narrow it down to the top six as we try to calm our excitement down for week one – which is now less than a full week away:
Derek Carr is Ready to Start
Matt Schaub has been terrible this preseason and a convenient elbow issue had him sitting out last night’s contest. Carr started instead, and proceeded to fire in three passing touchdowns, while helping the Raiders to another drive that led to a score. He’ll have his ups and downs as a rookie, but he looks ready to start over the incompetent Schaub.
So is Blake Bortles
Ditto for Bortles, who started Thursday night and quickly fired a 57-yard touchdown pass. He didn’t play much, but he didn’t have to. We already know he’s a vastly superior talent compared to Chad Henne. He probably won’t start right away, but he should.
Johnny Was Being Johnny
Johnny Manziel had one more chance to show his stuff on Thursday night before he reverted to Johnny Clipboard on the bench behind Brian Hoyer. He only completed six of 17 passes, but he was fairly electrifying and even had three of his passes dropped. Part of his issues have to do with being a rookie and simply needing to learn reads and progressions, while he looked a little excited at times, as well. He put 55 yards on the ground with his legs and tossed a touchdown, while leading the Browns to 13 points. Overall, it was a successful outing and possibly a sign of good things to come.
The Giants Might Be Terrible
Eli Manning took the field again and was dreadful, completing just one of four passes for zero yards. Manning and the G-Men have been horrific on offense this preseason, and while some of it has to do with a vanilla scheme in games that don’t matter, everything we’ve seen suggests nothing has changed for the better.
Aaron Dobson is Ready to Rock
Dobson made his preseason debut last night and promptly pulled in a nice touchdown grab. Dobson added another reception and looked pretty sharp in limited action. With his bothersome foot issue behind him, he could quickly get his starting job back and develop into a problem for opposing defenses thanks to a nice size/speed combo.
Michael Sam Deserves a Roster Spot
Sam didn’t get a sack for the third straight game (he had two last week), but he looked hungry and balanced on Thursday night, en route to five solo tackles and one assisted tackle. Sam isn’t the biggest or fastest guy, but his work ethic is impressive and he’s shown an ability to be able to both put pressure on the quarterback and help against the run. He might not make the Rams due to their deep defensive line, but he should be playing in the league somewhere. He’s proven he belongs.
