Tag: NFL Preseason Week 2

WATCH: Texans DE Charles Omenihu sacks Cowboys QB Cooper Rush

Houston Texans defensive end Charles Omenihu managed to get two sacks against the Dallas Cowboys in NFL preseason Week 2.

Houston Texans defensive end Charles Omenihu is entering the 2021 season as the consensus pick for a player on the verge of a career year. And against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, the University of Texas prodigy is showcasing the reason why.

With 1:26 left in the first quarter, Omenihu recorded his first sack on Cowboys’ quarterback Cooper Rush, which led to a three-and-out for Dallas. Omenihu would record another sack on Rush, this time, to open the second quarter.

The Texans and Cowboys have been in a defensive war throughout the first half of preseason game No. 2. At the time of this writing, the Texans and Cowboys remain tied at seven to seven late in the second quarter.

WATCH: Texans DE Jacob Martin strip-sack leads to Mark Ingram TD

Houston Texans DE Jacob Martin got a strip-sack, DE Charles Omenihu recovered, and RB Mark Ingram got the rushing touchdown.

Nothing makes Houston Texans’ defensive coordinator Lovie Smith smile more than turnovers. And nothing makes first-year head coach David Culley smile more than ending a drive with a touchdown.

The Texans jumped out to an early 7-0 lead against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday at AT&T Stadium. Running back Mark Ingram scored on a 2-yard rush for the Texans’ first touchdown of the night in Dallas. Ingram, who signed with the Texans on a one-year contract in March, is making his unofficial debut.

The Texans had great field position on their first offensive drive thanks to their improved defense. On the Cowboys’ third play of the night, defensive end Jacob Martin committed a strip-sack on quarterback Garrett Gilbert. The fumble was the Texans’ fourth forced turnover of the preseason.

Jaguars vs. Saints 2021 live stream: Time, TV schedule, how to watch online

Here’s everything you need to know to watch Jacksonville’s preseason opener against the Saints on Monday night.

With their 2021 preseason debut behind them, the Jacksonville Jaguars are set for their second preseason matchup of the season as they will travel to New Orleans and take on the Saints. It’s a game where many are anticipating to see more of the starters and No. 1 overall selection Trevor Lawrence is the quarterback who is “likely” to take the field first, according to the staff.

This will mark the Jags’ second consecutive preseason matchup against an opponent that previously went to the playoffs. And while Drew Brees is no longer the quarterback for the team, their defense, which was a top-10 group mostly remained in place. That said, the Jags should have a challenge on their hands depending on how the Saints utilize their starters.

As for the Jags’ defense, they will be looking to improve against the pass, specifically the screen game. The Jags allowed 319 passing yards overall against the Browns and will be up against a hungry quarterbacks group the consists of Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill.

While it’s just a preseason game, there are many exciting elements to it, and as a result, it will be nationally televised on ESPN. Here is all the other information fans will need to tune in to it.

When: Monday, Aug. 23 at 8 p.m. EDT

Where: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Watch: ESPN

Listen: WJXL AM 1010 / FM 92.5

Live Stream: NFL app (cable login required), fuboTV (try it free), NFL Game Pass (try it free)

Bears have bigger issues than Mitch Trubisky that need answers vs. Bills

Mitch Trubisky is nothing more than a distraction from what the Bears really need to accomplish in Preseason Week 2 vs. Bills.

The Chicago Bears will welcome Mitch Trubisky and the Buffalo Bills to Soldier Field in Saturday’s second preseason game of the summer, and while Trubisky’s return will steal the initial headlines, there are more important issues Bears fans should be paying attention to.

Most notably is the current situation at offensive tackle. Rookie Teven Jenkins’ back surgery has him shelved for at least the first part of the 2021 season, and while veteran Jason Peters brings All-Pro experience to Chicago’s roster, he’s 39 years old and a shell of his former self.

Peters will be a starter, and even at 60% of what he was, he’ll be fine…as in, he’ll be Charles Leno or Bobby Massie fine. But at his advanced age and with the risk that his wheels completely fall off this year, the Bears need quality options behind him.

That leaves names like Larry Borom, Elijah Wilkinson, Lachavious Simmons, and Arlington Hambright to prove not only that they belong on the Bears’ active roster, but that they’re capable of starting at either tackle position — remember, Germain Ifedi is still out with a hip injury.

It isn’t a fun or sexy ‘thing to watch’ in a preseason game, but if the Bears’ offensive tackle position goes sideways in 2021, the entire offense will fail to reach even a competent level.

Chicago has a deep roster battle going at wide receiver, too. The top of the depth chart is set with Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, Marquise Goodwin, and Damiere Byrd locked into the final 53-man squad. The Bears will keep, at most, six wideouts on the final roster, leaving players like Dazz Newsome, Riley Ridley, Javon Wims, and Rodney Adams to fight and claw for (maybe) two spots.

I’m a fan of Adams’ game and think he has an edge over the other guys in that bucket of WR5/6. He had the second-highest Pro Football Focus grade of all Bears offensive players against the Dolphins and seems to have a nice chemistry building with Justin Fields.

But the draft capital spent on Ridley (fourth round in 2019) and Newsome (sixth round in 2021) can’t be overlooked. If the end-of-camp evaluations are close, the tie will go to the draft pick(s).

We also have an interesting storyline brewing at inside linebacker, where Alec Ogletree has incumbent starter Danny Trevathan against the ropes. In fact, the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs said Friday that Trevathan could be a surprise cut at the end of camp; this wouldn’t be in any range of outcomes if it wasn’t for Ogletree’s impact plays in practice and against the Dolphins.

Then there’s cornerback, where the starting position opposite Jaylon Johnson remains unsettled. Kindle Vildor has the inside track over veteran Desmond Trufant, but I expect that battle to heat up as the weeks march on, assuming Trufant can get (and remain) healthy.

Finally, we have the whole quarterback situation. Andy Dalton remains the starter despite Fields’ incredible debut last week, and while most fans are clamoring for the Fields era to begin, it makes sense that coach Matt Nagy is waiting for at least one — maybe two — more preseason games before giving in to the inevitable.

Dalton has a chance to hold Fields off for a few more weeks and into the regular season if he makes a strong statement against the Bills. If he leads Chicago’s offense on a few scoring drives in the first half, he’ll maintain his veteran lead over Fields for Week 1.

Bears fans should be excited if Dalton thrives under that kind of pressure. It’s as close to real-time game pressure that a player can experience in an exhibition contest. His individual performance has as much — if not more — pressure than any quarterback in the league entering preseason Week 2, so if he rises to the occasion, it’s a good sign that he is, in fact, ready to lead the Bears (at least early on) in 2021.

Trubisky’s trot onto Solider Field and the crowd’s reaction is going to go viral on Twitter. Fans will argue with each other on their timelines about who’s to blame for his failures in Chicago. But at the end of the day, none of that matters. The 2021 Bears have pressing issues that need to be resolved, in part, against the Bills.

None of which have anything to do with Trubisky.

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Here’s the Jags’ unofficial depth chart for their second preseason game vs. Saints

There weren’t many big changes on the unofficial depth chart for the Jags as they prepare for the Saints, though we took note of a few minor differences.

With their roster being trimmed down to 85, the Jacksonville Jaguars have released an unofficial depth chart for their second preseason game of three, which will be against the New Orleans Saints.

There was only one change in terms of starters from the first unofficial depth chart, and that was Damien Wilson being named the No. 1 at MIKE linebacker. All of the other changes were very limited and tied to bubble players.

The updated unofficial depth charts for the offensive, defensive and special teams units are as follows:

Offense

Position Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7
WR DJ Chark Laquon Treadwell Collin Johnson Jeff Cotton Jr. Tavon Austin
LT Cam Robinson *Walker Little
LG Andrew Norwell Ben Bartch Derwin Gray

C Brandon Linder Tyler Shatley KC McDermott
RG A.J. Cann Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms Austen Pleasants
RT Jawaan Taylor Will Richardson Jr. Garrett McGhin
TE Chris Manhertz James O’Shaughnessy *Luke Farrell Ben Ellefson

*or

Tyler Davis
QB Gardner Minshew II

*or

*Trevor Lawrence

 C.J. Beathard Jake Luton
RB James Robinson

*or

Carlos Hyde

 *Travis Etienne Jr. Dare Ogunbowale Devine Ozigbo Nathan Cottrell
WR Laviska Shenault Jr. Jamal Agnew Pharoh Cooper

*or

Josh Hammond
WR Marvin Jones Jr. Phillip Dorsett II *Jalen Camp Tevin Jones

Defense

Position Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7
DT Malcom Brown Dawuane Smoot *Jay Tufele
NT DaVon Hamilton Doug Costin Daniel Ekuale

DE Roy Robertson-Harris Adam Gotsis Taven Bryan *Kenny Randall
OLB Josh Allen Jihad Ward Aaron Patrick
MIKE Damien Wilson Shaquille Quarterman
WILL Myles Jack Chapelle Russell Quincy Williams Dakota Allen
OLB K’Lavon Chaisson Lerentee McCray *Jordan Smith
CB Shaquill Griffin Tre Herndon CJ Henderson Chris Claybrooks Jameson Houston
CB Sidney Jones IV

*or

*Tyson Campbell

 Luq Barcoo *Corey Straughter Lorenzo Burns
FS Rayshawn Jenkins Andrew Wingard Daniel Thomas

*or

Brandon Rusnak
SS Josh Jones

*or

Jarrod Wilson

*or

Rudy Ford

*or

*Andre Cisco

Specialists

Position Player 1 Player 2 Player 3
Kicker Josh Lambo Logan Cooke
Holder Logan Cooke
Long snapper Ross Matiscik
Punter Logan Cooke
PR Jamal Agnew Pharoh Cooper Corey Straughter
KR Jamal Agnew Pharoh Cooper

Takeaways and notes

  • The Jags still have yet to name Trevor Lawrence their QB1 (Gardner Minshew II is slotted there with him), but one would think that could come after Monday’s game.
  • It’s interesting to see Laquon Treadwell as high as he is on the depth chart as the Jags have him listed ahead of Collin Johnson still. Treadwell, who tried out for the Jags in mid-June and earned a contract, has certainly worked hard to earn a spot on the team. Regardless of who has been the quarterback behind the center, Treadwell has been a reliable target and it’s hard to see him not making the team.
  • At tight end, the Jags once again listed Chris Manhertz as the No. 1. With James O’Shaughnessy being a better receiving threat, it’s likely a sign that the Jags value blocking tremendously at the position. That would also explain why Luke Farrell is the No. 3 tight end, too.
  • Also at tight end, it appears a battle is going down between Ben Ellefson and Tyler Davis for the TE4 position. Davis caught a touchdown pass in the Jags’ first preseason game, while Ellefson had a drop. That said, the team will be watching both closely and the player who looks the worst could be waived soon.
  • The Jags previously had Jeff Cotton listed with the slot receivers and on the perimeter, but he’s just listed on the outside now.
  • The Jags now have Damien Wilson as the top MIKE linebacker. Joe Schobert was there last time but was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. It’s also worth noting that the Jags didn’t list Shaq Griffin to the No. 1 spot with Wilson, which could mean they’ve settled in with the former Kansas City Chief as their No. 1.
  • CJ Henderson is still listed as a No. 3 cornerback despite being a standout in the Jags’ game against Cleveland. However, Tre Herndon is dealing with a knee injury, so Henderson really is the No. 2 by technicality. Regardless, fans should expect Henderson to be a starter come Week 1.
  • The Jags have the most competition at the safety spot opposite Rayshawn Jenkins as Josh Jones, Jarrod Wilson, Rudy Ford, and rookie Andre Cisco are battling to be the No. 1. Of the group, Cisco may have the most momentum after having a strong training camp and first preseason game.
  • Safety Daniel Thomas has been activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list, but it’s not known if he will be able to play Monday. With little time left before more roster cuts, it would help if he’s able to take the field and outshine Brandon Rusnak for the No. 3 safety role.

Storylines to watch during week 2 of the NFL preseason

Week 2 of the NFL preseason kicks off Thursday night. From QB battles to rookies vying for more playing time to even some potential NFL history, what are the storylines to watch for?

Week 2 of the NFL preseason is upon us, with the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles getting the party started on Thursday night. Over the next few days every team will be in action as organizations look to finalize rosters and, in many cases, starting lineups.

What are the major storylines to watch? From position battles taking shape throughout the league, rookies looking to earn more playing time, veterans looking to hold down starting spots, and more, here is everything to be on the lookout for over the next slate of preseason action.

Here are the storylines to watch during week 2 of the NFL preseason.

Texans cut WR Isaiah Coulter, former 2020 fifth-round pick

The Houston Texans have cut former 2020 fifth-round receiver Isaiah Coulter.

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans made their first of numerous roster cuts on Monday following their preseason victory against the Green Bay Packers. According to Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790, the Texans released wide receiver, Isaiah Coulter.

After the Texans drafted Coulter during the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft (No. 171), the 6-foot-3 wideout from Rhode Island did not see the field much amid his rookie season. He sustained a neck injury during training camp that placed him on injured reserve through the first five weeks of the last season.

The only time Coulter saw the field as a rookie came during the Texans’ Week 11 loss to the Chicago Bears.

As a second-year wideout from Rhode Island, it was not Coutler’s talents that prevented him from making the roster — but the tough competition did. Heading into training camp, Coulter was one of 11 receivers trying to find their niche on Houston’s 53-man roster.