Week 1 of the preseason is in the books, so let’s
take a look at whose stock has soared and whose has plummeted.
The Winners
Andrew Luck (Indianapolis Colts)
When the
first pass of your NFL career is a 63 yard touchdown, you know you are on
the right track. The comparisons to
Luck’s predecessor, future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, are eerily similar
as the first pass of Manning’s illustrious career was also a dump pass that broke for a 48
yard touchdown back in 1998. Luck struck
again with a 23 yard strike to Austin Collie to put the Colts up 14-0, thus setting the stage for their 38-3 blowout of the visiting Rams. The first overall pick in this year’s draft
wound up with two TD’s, 188 passing yards and a league leading 142.7
quarterback rating. Colts fans are
certainly happy to have Luck on their side.
For what
it’s worth, Luck’s backups performed admirably as well with Drew Stanton
completing 8 of 11 with no interceptions and last year’s final pick in the draft, Chandler Harnish, a.k.a. Mr. Irrelevant, tossing a 33 touchdown pass to Jeremy
Ross and ending the day 3 for 3 passing.
Ryan Tannehill (Miami Dolphins)
Miami’s top
choice in this year’s draft Ryan Tannehill looked the part when he completed 8
of 9 in a touchdown drive that culminated in an 11 yard TD pass to tight end
Charles Clay. Tannehill ended his
professional debut, completing 14 of 21 passes for 167 yards, one touchdown and
a 106.6 quarterback rating.
Tannehill
was listed as 3rd on a very fluid depth chart, but an injury to
starter David Garrard elevated the heir apparent and increased his time on the
field. It’s precisely what the Dolphins
coaching staff hoped they would see, and it appears he will get plenty more
looks going forward.
Curtis Painter (Baltimore Ravens)
Painter
won’t be supplanting Baltimore starter Joe Flacco anytime soon, but he did look like he was ready for primetime, tossing three touchdown passes en route
to a 31-17 victory over the host Atlanta Falcons.
Joe Flacco
looked solid himself, going 9 of 12 for 88 yards, including a 9 yard touchdown
toss to Ed Dickson which began the comeback.
The Ravens, always counted upon to be one of the most punishing defenses
in the NFL, will be a force to be reckoned with if this offensive showing is a
foreshadowing of things to come.
William Powell (Arizona Cardinals)
The second
year running back out of Kansas State has plenty of competition in the
Cardinals backfield and will be relegated to backup status once Beanie Wells gets
back on the field. However, he electrified Cardinals fans when he blazed his way
out of Arizona territory for a 67 yard scamper that set up his 2 yard touchdown
run a few plays later.
Powell won’t
be a name Arizona fans will hear unless Wells reinjures himself or completely
breaks down. But, added depth in the
backfield with a game breaking runner is always a nice luxury to have.
Losers
Panthers, Cardinals & Steelers offensive lines
All three
teams allowed 7 sacks each in their opening preseason game, which doesn’t bode well
for the health, safety and welfare of their quarterbacks. Sure, it’s only preseason and the rust needs
to wear off, but that is an ominous beginning, particularly for the Steelers who
will go nowhere fast if Big Ben gets flattened early and often.
Ryan Fitzpatrick (Buffalo Bills)
The Bills presumptive starter did not have an
impressive start to his preseason campaign, going 6 of 14 for 61 yards, while the
entire offense was out of sync.
The
Bills as a team committed 14 penalties for 134 yards; the Bills defense, however, with new prized free agent signing Mario Williams in the fold, looked sharp, limiting the Redskins and their newest shiny toy RG3 to only seven points.