[ad_1]
Every preseason, like clockwork, you’ll find fans and analysts overreacting to results. But how do NFL personnel look at the preseason? I’m in total agreement with the process that former scout and current NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah described in a conversation with former quarterback Chase Daniel about how to evaluate preseason production and film:
“You can absolutely help yourself and win jobs/roster spots,” Jeremiah said. “I’m saying it doesn’t provide any guarantee of regular-season success. Doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Guys like (Tony) Romo & Russell Wilson are two that come to mind. For every one of those, I could give you 10 guys that crushed preseason and didn’t do much in the regular season.”
Coaches use the preseason in combination with training camp to determine position battles and who makes the final roster. Scouts can see whether a rookie’s traits will translate in the league, but production has to be taken with context. With that in mind, let’s look at some notable rookie performances in the first round of preseason games and see what we can learn from the film.
Fernando Mendoza is his harshest critic in preseason debut
Sam Warren
(Since Fernando Mendoza was the No. 1 draft pick, we’ll spend more time on his film review.)
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Raiders
Mendoza checked several boxes debuting in the Las Vegas Raiders’ first preseason game. Kirk Cousins played the first drive, then Mendoza took over until the fourth quarter. Mendoza finished 10 of 16 for 97 yards and one touchdown pass, but the rookie looked poised, was smooth through his progressions and made aggressive throws downfield. Most importantly, he looked comfortable playing under center and showed refined footwork after playing almost his entire college career in the shotgun.
The good
Mendoza didn’t attack the middle of the field much, but when he did, it was good. Raiders coach Klint Kubiak’s offense is predicated on exposing this area of the field. Mendoza completed all seven of his passes between the numbers for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Preseason Week 1, 9:10 remaining in the second quarter, first-and-10
On first-and-10, the Raiders came out in 21 personnel (two backs, one tight end, two receivers) and had a play-action concept called with rookie receiver Malik Benson running a deep curl.
After Mendoza’s play fake to the running back, he turned around and saw both underneath defenders drop away from each other, leaving a window for Benson.
Mendoza threw the ball with anticipation as Benson was breaking. The window would have closed up if he had thrown any later. The pass got to Benson with zip and perfect placement for a 19-yard gain. Not every quarterback is comfortable turning their back to the defense, and again, it’s not something Mendoza did at Indiana, so it was encouraging to see him turn around and quickly decipher the defensive picture.
Mendoza’s best pass might have been his last of the day, which fell incomplete.
Preseason Week 1, 15:00 remaining in the fourth quarter, third-and-7
On third-and-7, Mendoza saw the safety rotate down to cover the tight end, meaning the defense had only one safety deep.
Mendoza saw the defense was in man and made an aggressive decision to throw to Deven Thompkins running a corner route. The offense only needed seven yards, and Mendoza could have settled on shorter routes, but I like the aggressive decision to look deep.
Thompkins was open but slowed down as the ball was thrown and couldn’t come down with the catch. This play was an example of Mendoza reading the coverage, understanding where the weakness lay and taking a shot at the end zone.
The bad
Mendoza was hard on himself after the game and said he let his team down. He didn’t make any major errors, but of course, there are things that he could clean up. There were a couple of plays in which he rushed through his reads or should have pulled the trigger.
Preseason Week 1, 6:44 remaining in the second quarter, second-and-15
On this play, it appeared that Jack Bech had an option route on Mendoza’s right, while Thompkins ran a backside dig route on the opposite side.
Mendoza looked to Bech first but saw the Arizona Cardinals’ underneath defender drop toward him.
Mendoza looked to Thompkins, but he hadn’t made his break yet. Instead of letting go of the ball and throwing with anticipation, Mendoza scrambled. He picked up seven yards but also ran head-up into a defender. There is no need to take that kind of hit, especially in the preseason. He has to learn to slide.
Later in the game, the Raiders called a similar concept, and Mendoza showed instant progress.
What we learned: Mendoza is further ahead with his footwork from under center and looked comfortable going from read to read. He was aggressive in throwing the ball downfield. However, he can be a little more patient with certain reads and be ready to pull the trigger a little faster at times. There will be pressure to play him, but the Raiders need to be sure their offensive line can protect him, and they won’t know until the regular season. Mendoza is starting to show he can run the offense capably. Cousins can fend Mendoza off if he keeps the Raiders in playoff contention.
Ty Simpson, QB, Rams
Jeremiah’s explanation of how to properly evaluate preseason was in response to Daniel saying Simpson had the most impressive outing of all rookie quarterbacks and that “it wasn’t close.” Simpson finished with an impressive stat line (21 of 25, 190 yards, two touchdown passes). He played well, but after a closer look, his performance was more in the good range than great, and there is nothing wrong with that. Simpson executed the plays called, made good decisions and was accurate.
However, much of his production came on keepers (bootlegs), and he checked the ball down a lot. He had six keepers called for him, and one of his touchdown passes was on a screen. He threw the ball short of the first-down marker in three third-down situations and only averaged 4.7 air yards per target.
The Rams only had six points going into the fourth quarter until Simpson started throwing the ball downfield. Several of his best throws of the day occurred in the fourth quarter.
Preseason Week 1, 8:05 remaining in the fourth quarter
Earlier in the game, Simpson hit a slot fade against cover 2 zone in the honey hole. On this play, the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense initially presented a one-deep safety look, which is a premium look to throw a slot fade.
However, after the snap, the defense dropped into cover 4 to the slot fade side and cover 2 to the opposite side. Simpson saw the coverage rotation and didn’t take the bait by not throwing the slot fade.
Simpson’s next read was receiver CJ Daniels running a crosser. Because of the coverage, Daniels was matched up against linebacker Kam Arnold. Arnold did a good job of rerouting Daniels, but Simpson trusted Daniels to get across his face, knowing that Arnold didn’t have safety help.
Simpson threw a perfect bullet with anticipation and placed the ball perfectly over Arnold. This was an excellent example of poise, accuracy and seeing the coverage morph.
What we learned: One of Simpson’s strengths as a prospect was his ability to execute “pro-style” concepts, including play action, and he did just that against the Chiefs. The downfield throws late in the game were impressive, though. Simpson isn’t challenging for starting reps anytime soon with Matthew Stafford healthy, but maybe he can push to be the primary backup over Stetson Bennett. Perhaps he’s earned enough trust for coach Sean McVay to take the training wheels off next game.
Drew Allar, QB, Steelers
Allar was talked about as a potential first-round pick before last season. However, he regressed before breaking his ankle in October, which ultimately led to the Steelers picking him in the third round. Allar has first-round physical traits, but his two biggest shortcomings are decision making and accuracy. Against the Green Bay Packers, Allar finished 10 of 13 for 154 yards, two passing touchdowns and another running.
The most encouraging part of his game was his accuracy. He didn’t have one off-target pass in 13 attempts. The less encouraging part was that the Packers’ defense played as vanilla as possible. On seven of Allar’s attempts, they were in man coverage, and on five of those snaps, they were in straight cover 1 (man-to-man with one deep safety) without any attempt to disguise it. Against man coverage, Allar was 5 of 7 for 98 yards and two touchdowns. To his credit, he hit his targets in stride, which allowed receivers to run after the catch.
What we learned from Drew Allar’s stellar preseason performance
Mike DeFabo
What we learned: Allar’s footwork and accuracy might have improved working with Mike McCarthy, who has a reputation for coaching up young quarterbacks on fundamentals. However, with how basic the Packers’ coverages were, it’s hard to make any more conclusions than that. Like Simpson, Allar isn’t challenging the starter. The Steelers’ other young quarterback, Will Howard, also played well against the Packers.
It will be interesting to see if Howard or Allar could make a push to overtake Mason Rudolph, with whom the team seems comfortable as their primary backup. The Steelers just invested a third-round pick in Allar, and Howard wasn’t McCarthy’s pick, so if Allar continues to play well in the final two preseason games, the team could prioritize investing in Allar. It’s very rare for a team to keep four quarterbacks on the roster.
Other notable rookie performances:
De’Zhaun Stribling, WR, 49ers
Stribling continues to keep the hype train rolling. After making plays throughout training camp, he caught seven of his eight targets for 63 yards in the first half against the Tennessee Titans. He displayed the strong hands, explosiveness and run-after-the-catch ability that made him such an intriguing prospect. But the 49ers offense is difficult for rookies to play in because of the details, precision and timing needed to execute.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said Stribling still has a lot to learn, and offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak reiterated that Stribling still has to work on improving things like lining up correctly and route running. I can see Stribling starting the season slowly before becoming a much bigger part of the offense later.
Jonah Coleman, RB, Broncos
Coleman looks like he can perfectly fill the role the Denver Broncos envisioned when drafting him. The Broncos’ running game fell off a cliff last season when J.K. Dobbins was hurt. Last year’s second-round pick R.J. Harvey spent too much time behind the line of scrimmage and hasn’t proven to be an effective between-the-tackles runner. Coleman is a tough runner with strong vision. After just four carries, coach Sean Payton saw exactly what he needed and took Coleman out.
Dobbins is already hurt in training camp. Though Dobbins should return before the season, with his injury history, Coleman could play a huge role for a team contending for the Super Bowl.
Chase Bisontis, G, Cardinals
Bisontis, a second-round pick, put together a highlight reel of pulverizing blocks last week in the Hall of Fame Game and continued his strong play against the Raiders before tearing his MCL. The Cardinals have an arsenal of weapons but need improved offensive play, and Bisontis looked like he was going to help in that department. Unfortunately, he’ll have to wait until next season, but I enjoyed watching him so much that he deserved a shoutout.
[ad_2]
Source link
