Tag: Preseason week 1

Chiefs’ Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes pleased with results of preseason Week 1

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes felt good about what they saw in the preseason opener.

The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t get the win in preseason Week 1, but just about everything else went according to plan.

There is only so much you can do during training camp practices. For Chiefs HC Andy Reid, there are simply no substitutes for just getting out there and playing football.

 “It was good to get a game in under our belt here,” Reid told reporters after the game. “I thought the 1’s on both sides of the ball did well. The 2’s did a good job.”

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes felt pretty good about what he and the rest of the starters were able to accomplish on Saturday.

“We did what we were supposed to do,” Mahomes said. “We went out there. We were able to spread the football around, get a lot of different guys involved, and found a way to get in the end zone. That was what our goal was, to come out here and score touchdowns, and we did that. It was definitely a good day, and something we can build on.”

The starters will build on what they accomplished in preseason Week 1, but many of the backup players will be getting an earful from the coaching staff about their performances. Reid stopped short of commending the play of his third and fourth string, who surrendered a 14-point lead.

“I thought it was a great experience for the 3’s and the 4’s to get in there and get some experience,” Reid said with a grin. “We’ve got plenty to work on there, and we’ll do that.”

The good news is that Reid felt the young and inexperienced players that the Chiefs will come to rely on this season managed to perform well. From here on out, it’s just going to be about stacking those good performances.

“Some of the young guys that had a chance to play today with the ones and the twos are guys that we’ll be asking to play this season,” Reid said. “So, I was happy with their production there.”

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Key takeaways from first half of Chiefs vs. Bears preseason opener

Here are a few things we learned about the #Chiefs in the first half of the preseason opener:

The Kansas City Chiefs’ first preseason game of the year is underway as they face off against the Chicago Bears in the Windy City. The first half of the game is officially in the books, with the good guys winning 14-0. It was a good start to the preseason for Kansas City, with the starters on both sides of the ball looking sharp.

Here are a few quick takeaways from the first half of play:

Lions defense blistered by Falcons’ mobile QBs, lack of containment

The Lions defense was woeful against the Falcons mobile quarterbacks in the preseason opener

One of the primary takeaways from the Detroit Lions preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons was the rousing success the visiting Falcons had with the quarterback run. The Lions defense was consistently blistered by runs from starter Marcus Mariota and rookie Desmond Ridder, who played most of the game for Atlanta.

Mariota ran three times for 23 yards in his one series, a drive he capped off with a 6-yard touchdown run around the left end. Ridder led the Falcons offense with 59 rushing yards on six attempts.

Most of the runs came off the same basic action. Atlanta bootlegged off a play-fake and the Lions defense was woefully out of position to contain or defend it.

After the game, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith noted that none of the plays were designed runs for Mariota or Ridder.

“None of them, we didn’t have any designed runs,” Smith told reporters. “We had plays that – we’ll continue to evolve there, but it’s preseason, we’re not going to show our hand in a lot of other stuff. But, when you have athletic quarterbacks and you’re able to move the pocket, they’re going to be able to extend plays.”

And extend plays they did. Mariota and Ridder also found some wide throwing lanes off misdirection or stepping around the initial rush beyond the times when they tucked and ran, too.

Lions coach Dan Campbell showed his frustration with his defense’s inability to defend the mobile quarterbacks after the game.

“Yeah, I mean sometimes you got to see it – you to see it live full time,” Campbell said. “That’s why I say our guys don’t do that. We haven’t worried about it. We don’t run, read, run. We will mix some stuff in, but so no that hasn’t been an emphasis. And we didn’t work that for Atlanta either. And it wasn’t something they were doing read-run; it was the allusion of read-run. I talked to Arthur (Smith), but still when you’re in the gun and some of these things – no, it’s a pass, and it comes time I’m just making a play as a quarterback you got to be disciplined in the rush.”

The backside containment on the rush was often egregious from the Lions. And it wasn’t just one individual player abandoning the contain ship. Pretty much every Lions EDGE was victimized, as noted in the Twitter highlight (lowlight?) thread here:

As noted in the root tweet there, the Lions defense doesn’t get to practice against this sort of thing. Jared Goff is not a runner, though he too has chewed up some serious yards in practice by tucking and running when the defense leaves him a huge opening. Tim Boyle is athletic but not really a runner, and David Blough is no ground threat either.

It’s an issue the Lions need to iron out with more reps in practice and in more preseason situations. Perhaps using nifty WR Tom Kennedy or utilizing the freakish agility of rookie WR Kalil Pimpleton as a mobile practice QB can help. It’s definitely something defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn needs to work at with his EDGEs and slot corners with several mobile QBs on the regular season schedule, including Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1.

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4 Chiefs on the roster bubble who need a strong preseason Week 1

These four #Chiefs players need to have strong performances vs. the #Bears in preseason Week 1.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to face the Chicago Bears in preseason Week 1.

This is one of the more competitive 90-man offseason rosters that the Chiefs have fielded in recent years. There are plenty of players who are talented enough to make the 53-man roster, but they aren’t all yet locks to make the team. Several players who are on the roster bubble will need a strong performance in the preseason in order to make their case. That will all start against the Bears on Saturday, in a game where the starters are expected to play their least amount of snaps of the entire preseason.

Here’s a look at four players on the roster bubble who need a strong performance against the Bears in preseason Week 1:

Dan Campbell ‘not displeased’ with Lions backup QBs despite ‘bitter taste’ from loss to Falcons

Lions coach Dan Campbell offered a mixed and pointed assessment of backup QBs Tim Boyle and David Blough after preseason loss to Falcons

There were no issues with the starting quarterback in Detroit’s preseason opener, a 27-23 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Jared Goff was 3-for-4 in leading a 10-play touchdown drive on the opening series, and the incompletion was a drop by RB Jamaal Williams.

The backups behind Goff, however…

Tim Boyle and David Blough both had their moments. Boyle authored a nice scoring drive that he capped with a beautiful fade throw to TE Devin Funchess in the back corner of the end zone. Blough escaped pressure several times and made some pinpoint throws, many to WR Tom Kennedy.

8 quick takeaways from the Lions preseason loss to the Falcons

But the game outcome turned on critical mistakes from Blough and Boyle. A bad INT from Boyle set up the Falcons for a short field goal. Blough botched a shotgun snap as the Lions were trying to bleed out the clock late, a costly giveaway that led to Atlanta’s go-ahead touchdown.

Head coach Dan Campbell weighed the positives and negatives of his two reserve QBs after the game.

“Both of them, I thought made some really good plays, man. But then there’s a couple of these plays that leave a bitter taste in your mouth,” Campbell said succinctly.

The coach continued on the backup battle,

“Certainly, the interception that Tim had, he didn’t quite lay out in front
enough. And then the snap – the exchange there, the critical play there in the red zone by Blough. Those two hurt you man and that’s kind of what all this is about at the end of the day, you know. You do a lot of good things, but those will bite you.

But look, I thought they ran the huddle well, I thought they made some really good throws, I thought they found a way to improvise a little bit at times, and they had command of the huddle. So all of those were good and certainly something to build off of. I’m not displeased with those guys, at all. You just wish you would have had those couple plays and so do they that’s the reality. But it is certainly something they can build off, we can.”

During the week in training camp, Campbell left open the possibility that the Lions could keep just two QBs instead of three. He and QB coach Mark Brunell also declared the No. 2 job still open for competition. After the mixed bag that was the first preseason game, it’s tough to see any change in the status with Boyle and Blough.

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Top photos from the Lions first preseason game

A look at some of the top photos from the Detroit Lions first preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons

Football returned to Ford Field on Friday night. The 40,000-plus fans in attendance saw a spirited exhibition game between the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons.

The visiting Falcons prevailed, 27-23, after a late touchdown. The game featured lead changes, impressive scoring drives and a few big plays. Detroit’s starting offense was fantastic in its one drive, and rookie Aidan Hutchinson made a couple of plays that showed he’s ready for the NFL.

Here are some of the top photos from the action in the Lions’ preseason opener.

Chiefs slight favorites over Bears in preseason Week 1

Both the #Chiefs and the #Bears have said they’ll give their starters snaps in preseason Week 1.

The wait is nearly over. After a long offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs are set to suit up for their first live game action since the AFC title game loss last year. They’ll head to Chicago to face the Bears at Soldier Field on Saturday, boasting a roster full of fresh faces.

According to our friends at Tipico Sportsbook, Kansas City will be just a half-point favorite over Chicago against the spread. The over/under point total is 37.5 points scored. The Chiefs’ Moneyline is currently listed at -112, while the Bears’ Moneyline is -108. That gives Kansas City an implied win probability of 52.83%. A $100.00 bet on the Moneyline for the Chiefs would payout $89.29 in profit.

It’s a bit surprising to see this game so close in terms of the point spread. Andy Reid has already confirmed that his starting units will get roughly the first quarter of play. Bears HC Matt Eberflus says that Chicago will play their starters anywhere from 15-20 snaps. The Bears are in their first year under a new head coach and with former Chiefs exec Ryan Poles as their new general manager.

Kansas City has quite a few new faces on both sides of the ball through their roster, but still plenty of the pieces that have contributed to their success over the past four years. To bank on Chicago having a deep enough team and mastery of a new offensive system to compete through four quarters of a preseason game seems bold.

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Referee Tra Blake assigned to work Chiefs-Bears preseason game

The #Chiefs are getting a rookie referee for the preseason opener against the #Bears.

Rookie referee Tra Blake has been assigned to officiate the Kansas City Chiefs preseason opener against the Chicago Bears according to Football Zebras.

Blake enters his third season as an official in 2022. He was promoted from umpire to referee in order to replace the recently-retired Tony Corrente. He’s the first official to be promoted to a referee role since Land Clark was promoted to the referee role back in 2020.

As an umpire in 2021, Blake was part of Carl Cheffers’ crew. He officiated the Chiefs’ preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills and the Week 13 win over the Denver Broncos.

Obviously, it’s the preseason. These exhibition games don’t count toward anything and are played in an effort to get players and coaches prepared for the regular season. The same can be said of referees and their crews, who need to get in the swing of things in terms of which penalties must and mustn’t be called. We already know that the NFL intends to crack down on illegal contact penalties in 2022, so we can expect a few flags to fly during preseason Week 1.

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How to watch, stream, and listen to Browns vs. Jags Week 1 preseason game

It’s game day Duval and here’s how you all can catch the action as the Jags take on the Browns!

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ first home game will take place on Friday as they will take on the Cleveland Browns at TIAA Bank Field. Both the teams have plans to play their starters for limited snaps throughout the process, which could give certain bubble players limited opportunities to make a last impression before Tuesday’s roster cuts.

For the Jags, Friday’s game will give fans an opportunity to see most of the first-team offense together for the first time under new coach Doug Pederson. That includes quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who sat out of the Hall of Fame Game Thursday. Fans will also get a preview of running back Travis Etienne, who has been a star at camp after missing the full 2021 regular season with a Lisfranc injury.

The Jags hired Pederson in February to help get Lawrence and the offense on track after a disastrous 2021 season under Urban Meyer. So far, the changes that have come with Pederson have helped the culture drastically and Lawrence has looked significantly better due to being able to focus on his performance more. However, due to construction at the Jags’ facility, fans haven’t been able to personally watch the team this offseason, making Friday’s game one that’s been heavily anticipated.

There will be a lot for fans to watch on the defensive side as well. Free agent additions like defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi and linebacker Foye Oluokun will be making their 2022 preseason debuts after sitting out last week. The Jags signed both to long-term deals this spring and Friday will give fans a chance to see how both players could bolster the defense, which ranked 20th last season.

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Breaking down the Lions 1st unofficial depth chart

Breaking down the 1st unofficial Lions depth chart for the preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons

One of the sure signs that football is back is the release of the first depth chart by the Detroit Lions. The team produced the unofficial depth chart in advance of Friday’s preseason opener in Ford Field against the Atlanta Falcons.

I cannot emphasize the “unofficial” part of the depth chart enough. This is more of a reflection on what the team’s PR department and media team sees than anything with real input from the coaches. That’s not just a Lions thing; every NFL team has someone other than actual coaches concoct these weekly depth charts.

Having said that, there’s not a lot of distortion from reality here. In fact, on offense there are only two minor listings that do not mesh with the player order at the positions in the last few days of practices:

  • At TE, Garrett Griffin and Shane Zylstra should be on the same line
  • WR Quintez Cephus is injured and Maurice Alexander has taken over his spot on the second-team at one of the three WR spots

Keep in mind FB Jason Cabinda remains on the PUP list. He would be listed as a starter at fullback, and the team doesn’t really have a second-team FB. Griffin has filled that role when called upon, which is why he belongs on a higher line than the third-string offense.

Defensively, there are a few points of note:

  • Julian Okwara and Levi Onwuzurike are both injured and are not expected to play
  • John Cominsky has played above both Bruce Hector and Eric Banks throughout training camp but is listed behind both
  • Rookie LB Malcolm Rodriguez has primarily been with the second-team defense and has taken a few first-team reps, but he’s listed with the fourth string.

It’s interesting that there is no differentiation between DE and DT. All the linemen are listed as DL, period. Given that several of the players (Aidan Hutchinson, Michael Brockers, Jashon Cornell, Cominsky) all play multiple positions regularly, it makes sense.

The return specialists do not list either Kalil Pimpleton or Maurice Alexander, but both have consistently repped ahead of Tom Kennedy in both punt and kick return drills. It would be stunning to see Amon-Ra St. Brown play on special teams in the preseason, too. But that reinforces why it’s an unofficial depth chart.

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