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NFL Preseason Preview
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Author: Big Al McMordie - Thursday, September 02, 2010
September 2 - The preseason has given us insight into many changes that have
taken place, as well as key injuries that will have an impact in
September.
There's a significant one in Oakland, as new Raiders' quarterback
Jason Campbell was carted off the field against San Francisco on
Saturday. It's not serious, as he was hit with a blindside sack that
left him writhing on the turf. "It felt a lot worse at the time that it
happened, but they don't think it's going to be really serious,"
Campbell said. It's more of a deep stinger, a serious welt. Still, it's
unlikely the Raiders would use him in Thursday's Week 4 with nothing at
stake. That means you will see more of Bruce Gradkowski, Kyle Boller and
Colt Brennan for Oakland. Gradkowski is coming back from surgery and
made just his first appearance of the preseason this past weekend, even
though he's the No. 2 QB.
The Baltimore Ravens added two potentially important wide receivers to
upgrade their passing attack in Anquan Boldin and Donte' Stallworth.
However, Stallworth broke his foot in Saturday night's game against the
New York Giants and will likely be out for two months.
The Miami Dolphins haven't been able to run the football in preseason
because of injuries on the offensive line. Injuries to center Jake Grove
and left guard Nate Garner have hampered the offensive line's progress
and there seems to be a lack of cohesion on the line, with three new
starters between tackles Jake Long and Vernon Carey. They had just 241
total yards (2.6 yards per rush) in Saturday's 16-6 home loss to
Atlanta. For the second week in a row, quarterback Chad Henne forced a
throw when inside the opponents' 10. The Dolphins have an average of
2.63 yards per carry this preseason. Miami is playing at Dallas this
week and is 9-2 under the total in preseason under Coach Tony Sparano,
and a sizzling 9-2 SU, 7-3-1 ATS.
This is the fifth game for the Cowboys, having played in the Hall of
Fame game. You would think at this point Dallas would be sick of the
preseason and just want to stay healthy and get it over with. However,
they played so bad in Saturday's 23-7 loss at Houston that the coaching
staff hinted at more time for the starters for the preseason finale.
"I'm not ruling out that we won't play our guys," an agitated Wade
Phillips said. "We have to evaluate this." In the locker room, he kept
the door closed longer to chew the Cowboys out, telling them they are
not ready for the regular-season opener Sept. 12 at Washington. "He made
some valid coaching points," said Alex Barron. "He said some things that
we needed to hear."
They had just 239 total yards, and were outrushed 173-13! The
three-back combination of Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice
combined for nine yards on nine carries. Barber and Jones, the top two
backs in this arrangement, have combined for 44 yards on 24 carries in
exhibition play. Jones also did not pick up a Romo audible in the second
quarter and was not in position to take a pitch. It was enough to upset
the mild-mannered Phillips, which means it was really bad.
The Cowboys' defense allowed scoring drives of nine, 12 and 17 plays.
The run defense vanished, as the Texans averaged 4.8 yards per carry.
The mistake-ridden performance moved Wade Phillips to consider something
he has not done in his previous three seasons in this job: Giving the
first-teamers some playing time in Thursday's final exhibition against
Miami. "Emotion is a lot of the game," added Phillips. "Flying around
is a lot of the game. I didn't see a lot of that."
The Cowboys also haven't cared, generally, about preseason results
with Coach Wade Phillips, going 6-9 SU, 5-10 ATS in his four years at
the helm.
And when is Kansas City going to win a preseason game? The rebuilding
Chiefs are 0-7 SU/ATS in preseason under Coach Todd Haley, while
averaging 14 ppg (6-1 under the total) the last two years. Some good
news is that the Chiefs sacked Philadelphia quarterbacks five times last
Friday. Linebackers Demorrio Williams and Andy Studebaker had two sacks
apiece, and defensive lineman Dion Gales added one. So the defense is
getting better, but the offense is still way behind. They get their
final chance to get their first preseason win since 2008, hosting the
Packers Thursday. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.
Related Articles:
- Week 2 NFL Preseason Review And A Look Ahead to Week 3
- NFL Preseason Betting Notes - Week 1
- NFL Betting - The Good Bad and Ugly Teams
- MLB Handicapping Key To The Stretch Run - Pitching
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