Football is back! The first week of pre-season is in the books. Let’s take a look at some highs and lows around the North.
Detroit 24 Indianapolis 10
The Good
The Lions won the game and dominated most of the day (as is custom in pre-season). Jake Rudock looked great and Kenny Golladay stole the show with two TDS on some great catches.
The first team offense moved the bell with a nifty juke by Abdullah and good pocket presence by Stafford allowing him to throw a strike to TJ Jones for 22 yards.
The Colts didn’t score until the last play of the game. Lions got good pressure on defense with good coverage. They moved the ball well. Andrew Luck didn’t play, however, so take the Lions dominance with a grain of salt.
The Bad
Stafford was picked when a slant bounced off Marvin Jones with Vontae Davis in tight coverage. The ball bounced high and was intercepted by OLB John Simon. This one was on Jones.
The Lions had poor guard play as well. Graham Glasgow, Joe Dahl and Laken Tomlinson all struggled. Tomlinson is buried on the depth chart and may not make the roster.
The Ugly
There was some bad news on the injury front. Kerry Hyder tore his Achilles and will be out for the year. This is a huge blow to the Lions already injured pass rush. The top four defensive ends are hurt for the Lions (Ansah/PUP, Washington/ankle, Bryant/knee and Hyder/Achilles). This is completely unfair. The Lions will look for free agent scraps. The good news is Anthony Zettel, Alex Barrett and Jeremiah Voloaga have been playing really well at defensive end. They will need to step up big time if everyone is hurt. Dwight Freeney, Jared Odrick and Mario Williams are possibilities if Ansah and Washingotn’s injuries linger.
Green Bay 24 Philadelphia 9
The Good
The Packers won 24-9 despite some early struggles. Nick Perry had a sack and the Packers got some pressure. Green Bay had a 4th down stop in the red zone against Matt McGloin.
The Bad
Ty Montgomery fumbled the ball and Jamaal Williams only had 3.5 YPC. Green Bay must continue to work on that running game. Brett Hundley didn’t look like the superstar backup I was told he would be.
The Ugly
Green Bay missed sack opportunity (Clay Matthews) allowing Kevin King to get beat by undrafted rookie Noah Hollins. The undrafted rookie stiff armed Quentin Rollins and scored a TD from the Carson Wentz throw.
Damarius Randall (CB) and Malachi Dupre (rookie WR) got concussion on illegal hits from Jim Schwartz’s defense. Don Barclay hurt his ankle.
Minnesota 17 Buffalo 10
The Good
The Vikings defense was stifling with good coverage and intense pressure. They will be a top 5 unit in 2016.
The Bad
Trae Waynes injured his shoulder. He finally earned the starting CB job outright over Newman and he got hurt. Hope he recovers.
The Ugly
The Vikings offensive line was terrible. They offered no holes for rookie Dalvin Cook and allowed 2 early sacks. Mike Remmers and backup Rashod Hill allowed sacks.
Denver 24 Chicago 17
The Good
Mitch Trubisky looked good in his rookie debut. He had good command of the Bears offense and made some real nice throws.
The Bad
The Bears gave up a field goal drive with some mental mistakes (DPI and two roughing the passers). The Bears defense looked improved but needs to tone it down a notch.
The Ugly
Mike Glennon threw a pick 6 on a terrible decision. He had 0 QB rating. If Glennon wants to keep his job over Trubisky, he must play a lot better.
We move on to Week 2 of the pre-season and hopefully stay healthier.