Pausing the ADP-Performance analysis for a day to offer a few perspectives on last night's first preseason game of the season.
Gotta like how they call it the "Hall of Fame" game, as if unsuspecting casual viewers will be duped into watching a contest they think will feature a barrage of Sonny Jurgensen bombs to a streaking James Lofton.
As most readers know, normally I won't write much about preseason football. Last August's two best running backs were Roc Thomas and Ralph Webb, while Denver QB Chad Kelly looked NFL-ready. The only things I care about are (a) injuries, (b) rookie development, and (c) tight depth-chart battles.
With that in mind, three things jumped out for me last night. Camp murmurs that Drew Lock isn't ready to supplant Joe Flacco were reinforced. In fairness, if not for a dropped pass, he could have posted about 55 yards on an 8-for-11 line. But Flacco's job remains as safe as ever. And don't be surprised if Brett Rypien (yes, nephew to former NFL maintstay Mark Rypien) puts pressure on Lock to start the year as Flacco's backup. He was terrific at Boise State and is a technically savvy player, but went undrafted this year due to questions about arm strength and mobility. So simply put, the next preseason game should give us a better sense of which guy's ready to hold the golden clipboard.
Finally, you've known my feelings about Ito Smith for some time. Never understood why he earned such a significant complementary role last year alongside the more talented Tevin Coleman. Meanwhile, former fifth-rounder Brian Hill showed well on limited touches. Last night the gap likely closed a little further, as both guys picked up where they left off in 2018, with Hill producing an impressive 11-57 rushing line and a receiving touchdown, while Smith gave us a 3-6 perfrormance and a harmless six-yard reception. To be clear, this is only one preseason game. To be equally clear, it reinforces what I've been seeing and pushing since last September: Smith is not the answer, at least not yet in his career development. Next game the stakes will be higher, and anything close to a repeat of game 1 should make Smith fantasy-irrelevant to start the season.
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As most readers know, normally I won't write much about preseason football. Last August's two best running backs were Roc Thomas and Ralph Webb, while Denver QB Chad Kelly looked NFL-ready. The only things I care about are (a) injuries, (b) rookie development, and (c) tight depth-chart battles.
With that in mind, three things jumped out for me last night. Camp murmurs that Drew Lock isn't ready to supplant Joe Flacco were reinforced. In fairness, if not for a dropped pass, he could have posted about 55 yards on an 8-for-11 line. But Flacco's job remains as safe as ever. And don't be surprised if Brett Rypien (yes, nephew to former NFL maintstay Mark Rypien) puts pressure on Lock to start the year as Flacco's backup. He was terrific at Boise State and is a technically savvy player, but went undrafted this year due to questions about arm strength and mobility. So simply put, the next preseason game should give us a better sense of which guy's ready to hold the golden clipboard.
Finally, you've known my feelings about Ito Smith for some time. Never understood why he earned such a significant complementary role last year alongside the more talented Tevin Coleman. Meanwhile, former fifth-rounder Brian Hill showed well on limited touches. Last night the gap likely closed a little further, as both guys picked up where they left off in 2018, with Hill producing an impressive 11-57 rushing line and a receiving touchdown, while Smith gave us a 3-6 perfrormance and a harmless six-yard reception. To be clear, this is only one preseason game. To be equally clear, it reinforces what I've been seeing and pushing since last September: Smith is not the answer, at least not yet in his career development. Next game the stakes will be higher, and anything close to a repeat of game 1 should make Smith fantasy-irrelevant to start the season.
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Sign up for Pre-Draft Top 300 Rankings: http://www.fantasyfootballforwinners.com/
Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_FF4W