Thankfully, the first full weekend of NFL Preseason games are behind us. That’s good, since it means we only have three more weeks of preseason before we’re blessed with the real deal on Sep. 7. As it is, we’ll take what we can get.
This was a particularly interesting Week One of the preseason, with so many key rookies expected to have a serious impact making their debuts. We’ll look at a few I’ve not gotten to talk about yet as well as some other Week One observations.
Chicago Bears
As the weeks roll on, my guess is the Bears will find their final quarterback decision very easy to make. Supposed starter Mike Glennon (he of the three year, $45 million contract) posted a pathetic 0.0 quarterback rating in his first action with the team, tossing an interception for a touchdown on his second pass from scrimmage.
Meanwhile, rookie Mitchell Trubisky not only looked like the best quarterback on Chicago’s roster, but the best QB on the field in comparison to the Denver Broncos’ Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch and Kyle Sloter. The Bears brought in Trubisky to run a two-minute drive at the end of the first half and all he did was put a touchdown on the board. He led two more scoring drives in the game and looked like a seasoned pro, with a very accurate ball, the entire time.
Bears fans waking up like …. #Trubisky pic.twitter.com/peE287ewcZ
— ✶ Sports Mockery ✶ (@sportsmockery) August 11, 2017
Granted, it’s just one game, but the difference between Glennon and Trubisky was monumental. The kid is an NFL quarterback and there’s no question about it. People can make fun of the Bears trading up to No. 2 all they want to make sure they got their guy, but from this early look at Trubisky, they’ll be the only ones laughing in a couple of seasons.
Don’t feel too sorry for Glennon. He’ll likely play out the year and collect $16 million in the process. There’s no way in hell he’s on the roster next year, barring some kind of catastrophic Teddy Bridgewater-esque injury to Trubisky. You can set that in stone.
Lynch and Bennett are about to show you how much people really care about anthem protests
Regardless of what you read on your social media pages about Colin Kaepernick, make no mistake; the dude was not a starting level NFL quarterback. He has the talent to be a back up, sure, but he’s not a “starter in this league” no matter how thoroughly anyone wants to blow smoke up your ass.
You know who are starters in the NFL? Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch and Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett. That’s why both of those guys will have no trouble keeping their jobs after they were both spotted protesting the United States National Anthem during their team’s preseason games.
According to Lynch, he hasn’t stood for the anthem in 11 years and nobody has noticed before. Needless to say, Lynch wasn’t available for comment but his head coach, Jack Del Rio, was asked about it.
“(Lynch) said, ‘This is something I’ve done for 11 years. It’s not a form of anything other than me being myself,’ ” Del Rio said of Lynch sitting for the anthem. “I said, ‘So you understand how I feel: I very strongly believe in standing for the national anthem, but I’m going to respect you as a man. You do your thing, and we’ll do ours.’ So that’s a non-issue for me.”
"MARSHAWN LYNCH DISRESPECTS AMERICA" they will scream, the day after Nazis marched through the streets and killed law-abiding citizens.
— Mike Tanier (@MikeTanier) August 13, 2017
Bennett had no trouble expressing the feelings behind his choice to sit down (neither are kneeling) for the anthem. The news reports of the Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Va. and the callous murder of 32 year-old Heather Heyer by one of its members who plowed into a crowd of anti-Nazi protesters with his car.
“First of all, I want people to understand that I love the military,” Bennett said. “My father’s in the military. I love hot dogs like any other American. I love football like any other American. But I don’t love segregation. I don’t love riots or oppression. I just want to see people have the equality that they deserve. And I want to be able to use this platform to continuously push the message of that.”
Pro Bowl DE Michael Bennett says he sat during national anthem bc "I'm challenging you to be uncomfortable" with race in U.S. #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/SfXqoZSl4z
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) August 14, 2017
Bennett supported Kaepernick’s protest all of last season and, honestly, the fact that stars the statue of Lynch and Bennett are now protesting as well, should make it significantly easier for a team to bring in Kaepernick as a free agent to back up their starter. I’m looking at you, Baltimore Ravens. Stop screwing around.
“There’s a whole bunch of people sitting at home judging me, but they will never get to this point where they can be vulnerable,” Bennett said. “…I’m being vulnerable to show every person that no matter [what] you believe in, keep fighting for it. Keep fighting for equality. Keep fighting for oppressed people. And keep trying to change society. …There’s been guys who have criminal records, guys who have been accused of murder, guys who have been accused of rape and domestic violence who are still in the NFL. It’s crazy to see this guy not have an opportunity in the NFL. It’s just weird. I mean, some quarterbacks, as we all know, shouldn’t be playing, but they are, and this guy is sitting on the side. We all know why. It’s just hard to fathom that he’s not having a job this year.”
Los Angeles Rams
If you watched the Rams take on the Dallas Cowboys in their preseason opener Saturday night, you saw something that hasn’t been seen in horns for years, an actual NFL offense.
While the Rams just amassed 13 points, it mostly due to turnovers. Los Angeles seemingly fumbled on every drive, but the good thing is, before those fumbles everything looked pretty good. Jared Goff only played, we’ll say, two series and finished 3-of-4 passing for 34 yards. He should have had a touchdown pass, but wide receiver Robert Woods fumbled the ball into the end zone only for rookie wideout Cooper Kupp to fall on it for seven.
Coming soon to the 2017 season…@JaredGoff16 tossing TDs to @sammywatkins! 🙌 https://t.co/NTbGo6rSqd
— NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2017
While Todd Gurley didn’t get much going in his single series, the Rams were able to run the ball well all game when they weren’t dribbling the ball on the Los Angeles Colosseum grass.
But perhaps the most impressive sight was the defense that, from starters to guys who won’t make the team, were completely outstanding from the opening whistle.
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