Preseason week 3: Titans 27, Falcons 16

Having barely gotten started, PC2013 will wrap up with a preseason peek at the Rams' week two opponents, the Falcons. As a bonus, the Rams also play the Titans this season, so a little double-scouting here, but focus will be on Atlanta. When we last saw the Falcons, they had the best regular-season of any NFC team at 13-3 and claimed the #1 seed in the playoffs, but nearly got beaten at home by one NFC West opponent before caving in the NFC Championship to another. On its face, that tells you the Falcons need to get more physical to successfully finish off a run to the Super Bowl, so who do they add?

See above.

Let's see how that new guy fits in, then, and try to guess how much the Rams are going to miss him...

FIRST QUARTER
Steven Jackson immediately rumbles off left tackle for 12 yards and grinds out another first down off right guard after a short completion to Tony Gonzalez. Atlanta's running no-huddle, and Matt Ryan hits Julio Jones for 10 more. Roughing the passer by Bernard Karmell Pollard moves ATL all the way to the TEN33. Alterraun Verner's had tight coverage on Julio Jones but gets five yards for getting too tight. (Roddy White not playing in this game, btw.) After a 2-yard gain, Jackson gets a great fullback lead block by Mike Cox on a draw and gets 12 more. Imagine this, Jackson not getting met in the backfield every other play. ATL's down to the 6 after another Jackson carry and a screen. Only 7 Titans in the box. 3rd-and-3, Tennessee's first blitz of the night succeeds after the left guard misses his assignment. Sack by Moise Fokou, FG by Matt Bryant. 3-0 Atlanta

Even without White, that drive's the whole problem about playing Atlanta. You're going to have to be able to play man against their receivers, and even when that succeeds, you're going to have to gamble to get enough heat on Ryan.

Tennessee's big offseason offensive line investments don't pay off on their opening drive. Peria Jerry blows up a delay handoff to Chris Johnson, and Sean Weatherspoon strings out a sweep that the rest of the Falcon D is all over anyway. Third-and-long, the Falcons blitz Thomas DeCoud over RT and dog another safety over LT. DeCoud flushes Jake Locker, who gets blasted while scrambling and loses the loaf of bread he was carrying. Falcon ball.

Oh great, they have a defense, too.

Jackson avoids a tackle in the backfield but has enough room to bounce outside for 3. 35 yards for him already. Nice leaping catch by Harry Douglas for 15. Ryan getting luxurious amounts of time and hits Jones for 8 more on an out route. Just 7 in the box here but Tennessee stuffs Jackson on 2nd-and-2. Vernon holds Jones again for another penalty, but the Titans keep them out of the end zone again, with Coty Sensabaugh blanketing Douglas to break up a 3rd-and-goal pass. Front four got nice pressure on Ryan there to force the pass and the FG. 6-0 Atlanta

I'd feel better about Atlanta's red zone problems here, but Roddy White's been out, and Tony Gonzalez had just barely returned to camp at this point. The o-line has had a couple of hiccups in the red zone so far. Hardly a weak link, but it may be a chink in the armor.

RG Chance Warmack gets Johnson a nice gain by pancaking Jerry. Jerry helps string the next play out well but gets sent to the ground again at the end. Shonn Greene converts the 3rd-and-1; this time it was RT David Stewart wiping out Jerry. Hey, I think we've found a weak link. Tennessee's weak link, though, is still when they take to the air. 3rd-3, trips right, nobody gets open and a dog LB blitz gets Locker to force one incomplete in a crowd to TE Taylor Thompson. Punt away.

Falcons pick up a blitz pretty easily and Jones burns Vernon right off the line for a 40-plus yard gain. Atlanta back in FG range in a blink.

SECOND QUARTER
Back-to-back penalties, though, including on Jones for a push-off, send Atlanta back out to midfield. Jacquizz Rogers picks up a dog LB blitz to let Ryan hit Gonzalez for 11. Rogers' very nice blitz pickup the next play is wasted when Jones drops a sideline pass. 3rd-long, Jason Snelling leaks out wide open after BLASTING a blitzer to the ground, but he's too slow and the Titans close on him easily. Atlanta's camp leg Jeremy Shelley is wide right from 46; Titans ball. Still, the Falcons have one of the best backs in the league at picking up the blitz in Jackson, and don't even need him to do it!

Locker gets a blitz pickup from Johnson and hits Kenny Britt across midfield, followed by another nice gain to Britt down to the 30. Atlanta D has been French vanilla at best. From my notes from last postseason, I know I wasn't very impressed with their interior line, and I'm still not. That's also the new Tennessee interior line flexing its muscle. Johnson explodes down to the ten with the fullback sealing Kroy Biermann off nicely and Thompson stoning a linebacker. Play-action draw on 2nd-and-goal sets up Nate Washington to beat rookie Robert Alford on a post slant for a TD. 7-6 Tennessee

The Falcons can still be run on. In my limited scouting, the Seahawks and 49ers did it in January, and the Titans are doing it here.

Toss left to Jackson for 3; nothing really special about it, but that play usually only got about a yard for him in St. Louis. Next play is a pass to Steven in the flat that gets nothing; pretty sure good edge rush from RT forced Ryan's hand there. Titans only rush 4 on third-and-long, but they're all really firing. Strong edge rush forces Ryan to try to step up, but Derrick Morgan sacks him and Jurrell Casey strips the ball out for a fumble that Ed Hochuli disallows because Ryan was ruled in the grasp. Justin Blalock getting beaten on the play at LG really broke down the pocket.

Locker to Thompson for a pretty easy 15 with only late rush in his face. Thompson got open underneath the zone from out of trips formation. Greene gets a big hole for 8 as Thompson pins Jonathan Babineaux and Warmack mauls a LB on the pull. Andy Levitre pulls on 2nd down and Greene bangs out the 1st. Play action to Greene gets Washington open on the sideline for 16. Locker has all night to throw from the ATL41 after play action again, but has no one open and slides for 3. The whole Falcon d-line wins on 2nd down and Biermann trips Greene up for 1. Locker's 3rd-down throw is wild and out of bounds with everyone covered again, but it's first down Titans after a late hit by Jerry. Peria or pariah? Thompson splits wide and is all alone for a 5-yard comeback. So now that Jared Cook is gone, the Titans are using the TE a lot? Weatherspoon and Biermann help stuff another Greene carry, and the Falcons sack Locker on 3rd-and-4 with everybody covered yet again. That started as a 3-man rush with Biermann dropping back, but he closed in when Locker tried to scramble and got the sack. Titans settle for a chip shot FG. 10-6 Tennessee

Tennessee's approach really does look like the way the Rams are going to have to attack the Falcons, so it's good to see it working thus far. They finally got it going on offense with successful physical running that set up play-action.

Jackson gets about 4 off right tackle. Nothing special there, but that was usually a 2-yard play in St. Louis. 4-man rush gets nowhere and Ryan hits Jones for 15. Jackson and the fullback leaked out on the play and both looked wide open, too. Falcons using less play-action than I'd expected; I thought they usually loved that. Jason McCourty has Jones covered on 2nd down, but Jackson turns a checkdown into a first down at the TEN45 at the 2:00 warning. Falcons had everyone else going deep there. That's all the farther they got; a Drew Davis drop was followed by a sack and an incompletion. Both pressures came over RT Lamar Holmes. Morgan, who looks linebacker-fast, whipped him on 2nd down for a sack, and a stunt on the right side surged into the backfield and flushed Ryan on 3rd down. Holmes, who's replacing now-Dolphin Tyson Clabo, is just a 2012 third-round pick who didn't play last year. Took long enough, but I believe we have found another weak link.

Washington beats Alford deep; Alford was one of my favorite corners in this year's draft, but right now, he's a weak link. The next play, though, either Warmack screwed up an assignment or Stewart thought he had a blocker behind him who wasn't there, and Biermann pretty easily cruises up the B gap and sacks Locker before he knows what hit him. Quick out to Britt beats Alford again and puts Tennessee in long FG range. Alford breaks up a deep end zone pass for Britt to force a long Rob Bironas FG. 13-6 Tennessee

The Titans, who blitzed on their last sack of Ryan, do so again after the kickoff and get Ryan again to end the half. Holmes got whipped again on the outside, and Ryan had nowhere to go because Mike Martin put Blalock on the ground, and kept coming to get the QB.

So the Falcons surprisingly head into halftime with only six points. White's absence and Gonzalez barely having been in camp are certainly big factors; the receivers behind them did pretty much squat and had Ryan constantly looking for Jones. Jackson contributed about what you'd expect. Their main issue looks like the right side of the offensive line, which could be a lot bigger than everybody on the Falcon bandwagon realizes.

THIRD QUARTER
Starters are staying in and keeping me out of speed mode. Another big seal the fullback on Biermann springs Johnson for 20 to midfield on a 3rd-and-1. That pull to Biermann's side has worked every time the Titans have tried it. Corey Peters finishes off a big series by blowing up a 2nd down screen and sacking Locker on 3rd down after steam-rolling Warmack. The whole Falcon d-line won on that play, even Osi Umenyiora, whose name has barely been called tonight against Michael Roos. Calling Jake Long!

After a couple of Jackson runs for about 6 yards, pass protection officially becomes a concern in Falcon country as Casey gets to Ryan easily for Tennessee's fifth sack. Just a 4-man rush, but Holmes and RG Garrett Reynolds couldn't handle a stunt and Casey split them. Again, the reduced options at receiver for Ryan this game are a significant factor, but Atlanta can still expect that right side to get attacked relentlessly all season.

The entry of Ryan Fitzpatrick into the game with 9:00 left in the 3rd officially puts us into speed mode...

* Fitz's first pass, though, is a 56-yard bomb to Michael Preston inside the 5, burning Alford with Atlanta's first-string D still on the field. Alford also gets beaten for the TD, so maybe don't ask me in the future about who'd be a good corner to draft. 20-6 Titans. Then again, I also liked Coty Sensabaugh a couple of years ago, and he looked good all night. After another Falcon FG made it 20-9, Alford got brief revenge when Fitzpatrick threw a terrible interception right to him on an attempted slant pass.

* Rogers continued to stand out in blitz pickup, springing Dominique Davis for a 40-yard scramble in the 3rd. The Falcon linemen are bigger liabilities in blitz protection than their backs are.

* Tennessee's got a nice up-and-coming young secondary, but looked pretty awful as Darius Johnson waltzed through them for a 41-yard TD off a simple drag route to make it 20-16. Corey Lynch looked so bad blowing the tackle on that play it's easy to understand how he ended up on the waiver wire at the end of camp.

* Alford topped off an awful night by getting beaten on a slant for a TD again, for our final score of 27-16, this time by the 6'5", 213-lb Preston, who went on to make the Titans' main roster. He was signed as a free agent out of Heidelberg University in 2011. (The one in Ohio, not the one in Germany.) He spent all of '11 and most of '12 on Tennessee's practice squad. Hey, maybe practice squads do develop future prospects.

* Ryan was only 11-for-19 with an 80.6 passer rating; Locker was 11-for-13, 134.9.

* With 5 tackles and officially a sack and a half, Jurrell Casey noses out Preston for POTG.

* Expect attacking Biermann with pulling-guard plays and attacking the right side of the Falcon o-line to figure prominently in the official RamView preview of the Rams-Atlanta game. And if Alford's on the field, you're throwing at him almost automatically.

* The Titans' biggest deficiency right now is clearly their new jerseys, which have the unfortunate effect of making them all look like they have massive pit stains. That was probably the NFL's worst uniform even before the sweat effects were added. Time to re-design that uniform; the helmet has always been awful.

-$-

Preseason Week 2: Arizona 12, Dallas 7

As you can see, still not that much shaking with PC13, so we'll stick with the Big Dead, hosting their longtime rivals from Dallas in their preseason opener. PC13 was pretty impressed with Arizona's new passing game, and their defense threw a shutout, in game one; let's see if they can continue to show that, hold up on the offensive line, and do much of anything on the ground, where I'm certainly not convinced by them right now.

FIRST QUARTER
That running game performance will be especially telling for this game because Rashard Mendenhall will get the start. Arizona has two blockers pull right on the opening play and Dallas stuffs him for a loss anyway. Inauspicious! TE Rob Housler brutally drops a wide-open sideline pass on 2nd down. Michael Floyd gets jammed well at the line and Carson Palmer overthrows him by a mile on third down! In. Aus. Pish. Us!

Dwayne Harris, the Dallas third-string WR the Rams absolutely could not stop last preseason, then fumbles away the punt. INAUSPICIOUS! Arizona recovers pretty much in the red zone. Justin Bethel, one of RamView's favorite draft sleepers from last year, stripped it out.

Mendenhall gets a good block from Housler in a two-TE set and gains 5. Palmer hangs tough in the pocket on 2nd down and hits Andre Roberts in the flat for a first down just before the pocket slams shut. Another Alfonso Smith middle run, though, another loss, with George Selvie (!) blowing up the backfield for Dallas. Palmer looked for Smith, who split wide and ran a comeback route to the goal line, but Brandon Carr broke the pass up. Palmer could have thrown that a lot better, but he is markedly less accurate when you get pressure on him. Arizona settles for a Jay Feely chip shot. 3-0 Arizona

Arizona's blitzing from the very first play, as Yeremiah Bell trips up Demarco Murray for no gain. Looks like Honey Badger's already starting? He makes the tackle on 3rd down, but Jasper Brinkley got 15 for leading with his helmet on a hit on Tony Romo. Dallas splits the Big Dead Sea and gets Murray 9 on a draw, but on 3rd-and-1, with rookie Terrance Williams beating Jerraud Powers badly on a likely stop-and-go, Romo overthrows him badly to force a punt.

Arizona got Larry Fitzgerald iso'ed on a LB for a big gain, but Levi Brown held Demarcus Ware to knock them back to their own 5. Ware then nearly gets Murray for a safety; think a TE blew the block there. 3rd-and-3, Arizona goes 5-wide and Fitzgerald beats Carr for a 1st down on a quick slant. Mendenhall gets a strong block from Brown and bounces outside for 7. Quick screen to Andre Roberts for 6. Deep dig to Fitzgerald for 25 across midfield. Quick screen to Kerry Taylor gets then down to the DAL25. Again, that'll work well against the loose zone coverage the Rams seem to favor. They pound down to the 15, and run another quick screen, this time to Patrick Peterson, before bogging down. Quick screens are a staple of Bruce Arians' offenses. Michael Floyd fumbles around the 5. Arizona recovers and goes for it on 4th-and-2, but middle pressure forces Palmer into an awkward low throw that an open Mendenhall can't dig out.

SECOND QUARTER
Cowboys pick up a blitz and Romo's back-shoulder throw to Dez Bryant, covered by Peterson, is good for 25. Drag to Miles Austin gets them quickly near midfield. The Big Dead then get what industry experts often phrase as "shit lucky". Murray takes a dumpoff, turns Brinkley inside out, and is off to the races for what looks like a 50-yard TD, but Bell clips him at the ankles around the 10, and Murray loses the ball while trying to regain his balance. The guy who got burned on the play, Brinkley, recovers the fumble. Well, that wasn't exactly football justice. Get that play in the opening week game plan, though, Schotty.

Backed up on the goal line again, rookie Jonathan Cooper gets Arizona out of the hole by springing Mendenhall for 10 with a pull block. Mendenhall finishes the run nicely by running over a Dallas DB. Palmer fires three straight blanks after that, though, and I really can't explain any of them. Arizona has yet to take a deep shot. Maybe they're already happy with that part of their game after last week?

With Powers consistently leaving him 6-to-10 yard cushions, Bryant exploits him for three downfield catches to get Dallas quickly to the Arizona 30. Except at the end of that last catch, Powers strips it out, though I think Bryant may have been down, and Brinkley collects his second fumble recovery of the quarter. To Arizona's credit, you make your own shit luck sometimes. They really tackle with a turnover in mind.

Referee Clete Blakeman reviews the play and doesn't agree with me, so Arizona will keep it. All the while, Arizona color man Ron Wolfley, who sounds like a slow-witted cartoon character to begin with, babbles insanely about "blood farmers" and "pig farmers" and has me a little concerned about the safety of Arizona's play-by-play guy. Hopefully he'll survive the rest of this recap, which goes into speed mode now that Drew Stanton has entered the game...

* Certainly noteworthy that Arizona forced FIVE first-half turnovers this week and pitched 7 shut-out quarters against Green Bay and Dallas. Dallas finally scored in the 4th, with QB Alex Tanney engineering a 16-play, 89-yard drive, scrambling twice to convert 3rd downs and hitting TE Gavin Escobar twice to convert two others, including a short TD pass. Tanney (14-19-136) looked pretty good, actually. Strong-armed, throws well on the move. Driving for a potential game-winning TD, though, Dallas committed a delay of game after a dead ball and Tanney followed it with a bad interception.

* Also notable were Arizona's struggles in the red zone, settling for three chip-shot FG attempts and getting stopped another time on 4th down. They haven't shown the reliable power-running game or a go-to receiver besides Fitzgerald to succeed down there.

* Not confidence-inspiring play from the other backup QBs. Kellen Clemens, er, Kyle Orton threw two TERRIBLE picks before halftime. Forced one into coverage and floated a bad long-ball attempt that the Arizona DB ran under easily. That second gaffe set up Feely's third FG. Stanton was also picked off at the goal line, badly overthrowing a checkdown.

* Jay Feely hit a 53-yarder to make it a 6-0 game, but bafflingly missed a 30-yard attempt right after that. Selvie beat Nate Potter for a sack to stall that drive. Late in the game, though, Selvie overran a play that rookie Andre Ellington turned into the game's longest run, a 24-yarder. That and a drag route Charles Hawkins ran off with for 34 set up the last FG.

* Dallas' edge blitzes were effective, both with corners and linebackers.

* Kevin Minter's looking like a heck of a good draft pick for Arizona. Always around the ball. I don't note that he's been exposed to the amount of play-action and passes to the tight end in two weeks that Alex Ogletree has, though.

* Arizona's middle running game was still fairly ineffective with Alfonso Smith and Stepfan Taylor. They're going to have to rely pretty heavily on Mendenhall, who still looks like he's got juice.

* Jaron Brown's a big, Brian Quick-type receiver who's had some hands issues. Put an end-around on the ground in this game. He, Hawkins and Kerry Taylor (4-83), this week's leading receiver, give Arizona some intriguing young receiver depth, though, but maybe too young? Nobody besides Fitzgerald's anywhere close to being an established threat or a reliable go-to.

* PC13 game ball goes to Tony Jefferson, who had a first-half interception that set up a FG and intercepted Tanney in the final 2:00 to stop Dallas' chances of a late-game comeback.

* Play-by-play man Dave Pash did survive the game without being eaten by Wolfley, who also screamed non-sensically about minors in bars, tomatoes in blenders, Immodium A/D (?), meat grinders and sausage, centaurs, throwing Spam in a can... OK, I may have to steal that last one. Still, he's insane.

-$-

Preseason Week 1: Arizona 17, Green Bay 0

At long last, it's time for the odds-on favorite to be the worst year of the Preseason Challenge in history to rear its ugly head. Didn't even have time to get a non-Rams game in during the first two weeks. With the Rams' opening day opponent being the Big Dead, PC2013 will focus on their games first. When we last left the Big Dead, they started the season flying high at 4-0, including an improbable-to-say-the-least win at New England, then came to St. Louis, where they usually win, but got bitch-slapped instead and collapsed into a 5-11 heap. New head coach Bruce Arians and Carson Palmer are supposed to solve problems for what was the worst offense in the NFL last year, but it's still fair to ask if there's anybody on that side of the ball to worry about besides Larry Fitzgerald, and whether a change in defensive coordinators will help or hurt what has been a pretty tough unit to go up against.

OK, I promise not to be that long-winded with these. Assuming I get any more done. Let's go over Arizona's preseason opener in Lambeau Field...

FIRST QUARTER
One last note: I'm banning the use of the rewind key when watching these. Pause is OK but no rewind. Part of what takes me forever to do a game. That and being way too wordy. 

Arizona starts Alfonzo Smith at RB, not Rashard Mendenhall, who did not play. After a quick sideline strike to Michael Floyd for 18, they stall out, with Smith getting stuffed twice up the middle and a deep pass for Andre Roberts getting broken up. Packers stacked the box like they did against the Rams. Having drafted guard Jonathan Cooper in the first round, Arizona has to be hoping for better run results than that, though pass protection is good early on.

Big Dead weren't any more ready for the Packers' no-huddle than the Rams were, rushing only two on the second play of the game, with a lineman coming in late off the bench. Aaron Rodgers takes the opportunity to go deep and draws a hold on Patrick Peterson. Arizona blitzes on a 3rd-and-1, leaving the slot receiver all alone for an easy first down. Feel free to do that all you want opening week, guys. They don't blitz on the next third down, and wish they would have, as James Jones burns Antoine Cason for 50 inside the 10. Plenty of time for Rodgers to throw that. Third and goal, Arizona boldly blitzes a five-receiver set, and Rashad Johnson breaks up a goal line pass to Jermichael Finley. They stuff James Starks on 4th and goal to get the ball back. Strong play by Frostee Rucker to put the freeze on Starks.

Sorry I didn't spoiler alert the heading: you already know the Packers' challenge of the play failed. Arizona starts from inside their own 1 but immediately take advantage of soft coverage on the outside again as Fitzgerald gains 18 on an out route. That's going to eat the Rams' similarly-soft coverage, though they're using that less than usual so far in preseason. Smith gets stuffed up the middle for a third time, and Palmer bombs away on 3rd-and-short another time, incomplete for Floyd.

NFL Network skips ahead a couple of minutes and treats us to Graham Harrell throwing an interception directly to Peterson. Rich Gannon says his receiver went the wrong way then proceeds to blame Harrell for the turnover anyway. Huh.

Next play, Palmer goes deep yet again and hits Roberts with a perfect 38-yard TD pass. Beautiful route by Roberts, who gets late separation on Davin House (who the Rams couldn't do anything against in week 2) and tracks the ball in. Arizona 7, Green Bay 0

How many long throws could the Big Dead even attempt last season with the clown show they had at QB? Looks like Palmer/Arians already changes them a lot.

And hey, I said these were going to be shorter. That might be all that's worth talking about, as both teams had gone pretty heavily to the backups by the end of the first quarter. Instead of play-by-play from there, how about I just go for some short notes...

* Cardinal rookie LB Kevin Minter got in on a lot of tackles.

* Arizona's secondary doesn't tackle any better than the Rams' right now, and they didn't tackle well last year, either. They did cover very well, and forced at least a couple of coverage sacks. I'm not sure I'd gush about the Arizona D the way the game recap does. Rodgers was in the game for one drive and quickly had the Packers inside the 5. But they bear watching.

* Not sure why the game recap gushed so much about Stepfan Taylor averaging 3.2 yards a carry. He's elusive enough to be called "quicker than fast", except he's not fast.

* Seems noteworthy that the vaunted Packer offense had one TD through two preseason games, doesn't it?

* Cardinals continue not to be shy about blitzing, though more shy than the Packers were in St. Louis. Looked like a lot of edge blitzing in Green Bay. Didn't see the Packers blitzing a lot at all in this one, which didn't hurt Arizona's pass protection efforts any.

* In case you're wondering where John Abraham ended up, he's in Arizona. Struck at the beginning of the 2nd, beating Marshall Newhouse for a sack/fumble/turnover.

* That turnover set up Arizona's next TD, a 1-yarder from Drew Stanton to big Jaron Brown on an end zone flare route. They quick-snapped and the Packer DB never caught up. They had tried a handoff up the middle and play-action to the tight end before that. Big play on the drive was Stanton hitting somebody named Charles Hawkins for 36. He burned House with a double move. The deal with House will need further explanation from somebody. He's Justin King one week, Darrelle Revis the next.

* Backup QB Drew Stanton is better than anybody the Cardinals had starting at that position last year, and Ryan Lindley looks sharper than he ever did as a rookie. The offensive line only gave up one sack, and no QB was under pressure much. And this isn't an offense looking to get the ball out really quickly. Seems like things are looking up for Arizona's passing game.

* Honey Badger blitzed in untouched for a sack in the 3rd. He also had a 23-yard punt return in the 4th, weaving nicely through tight traffic. Also got credit for a late pass breakup that should have gotten a holding penalty. He didn't start in any capacity. Javier Arenas returned punts in the first half, and Hawkins got a late look there. With a couple of 30+ yard catches, Hawkins bears watching. Kevin Harlan called Honey Badger and Hawkins Arizona's defensive and offensive stars of the game.

* In case you're wondering where Matthew Mulligan ended up, he's in Green Bay. Beyond that, I've got nothing.

* Bombing away again, Lindley went deep for Nicholas Edwards in the 4th, and he drew a DPI inside the 5. And Arizona failed to punch it in, with Alfonzo Smith still in the game. I'm not seeing a team at all here that can bang it out on short-yardage downs. That and kicking (1-for-4 on FGs) looked like this game's Achilles heels for the Big Dead.

* The Packers have a player named Charles Banjo. That is all.

* Going all the way back to the first quarter, my MVP goes to Palmer. TD, passer rating of 149.3, threw well, and with competent quarterbacking, this offense has a whole new look if they can keep him protected.

Photo: ESPN.com

-$-

Preseason Challenge 2013

Courtesy once again of Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times-Union, apparently the only living person capable of compiling this information and making it available online, unlike the very network that broadcasts all of it, here's the 2013 NFL Network schedule of NFL preseason live games and replays.

As has been traditional, RamView will attempt to recap as much of preseason as possible. Just a weird thing I've been doing since the summer I was unemployed 9 years ago and watched all 65 preseason games. I really need to dig all that stuff out of the archives one of these days.

Rams games will of course be on the RamView main page. Beyond that I will focus on NFC West and early-season opponents, but don't hold me to anything. I'll update the main page as I add recaps here. Don't look for anything epic from me (once again) in 2013; besides being blessedly busy with work, I'm also under the gun to get new transportation this month. If I get ten recaps in besides the Rams games, I'm having a big year.

All times are Eastern. These are only the times the games are shown on NFL Network and don't include live broadcasts by the other networks.


HALL OF FAME GAME
Wednesday, Aug. 7
8:00: Dallas vs. Miami (at Canton, Ohio)

WEEK 1
Thursday, Aug. 8
11:00: Seattle at San Diego (joined in progress)
2 a.m.: Denver at San Francisco
Friday, Aug. 9
7:30: New England at Philadelphia
10:30: Dallas at Oakland (joined in progress)
1 a.m.: Arizona at Green Bay
Saturday, Aug. 10
7 a.m.: St. Louis at Cleveland
10 a.m.: Baltimore at Tampa Bay
1:00: Kansas City at New Orleans
4:00: N.Y. Jets at Detroit
7:30: N.Y. Giants at Pittsburgh
Midnight: Houston at Minnesota
3 a.m.: Cincinnati at Atlanta
Sunday, Aug. 11
7 a.m.: Miami at Jacksonville
10 a.m.: Chicago at Carolina
1:30: Buffalo at Indianapolis
5:00: Washington at Tennessee

WEEK 2
Thursday, Aug. 15
Midnight: Atlanta at Baltimore
Friday, Aug. 16
1:00: Detroit at Cleveland
4:00: Carolina at Philadelphia
Midnight: Oakland at New Orleans
3 a.m.: San Diego at Chicago
Saturday, Aug. 17
1:00: San Francisco at Kansas City
4:30: Dallas at Arizona
7:30: Jacksonville at N.Y. Jets
10:30: Denver at Seattle (joined in progress)
1 a.m.: Tampa Bay at New England
4 a.m.: Oakland at New Orleans
Sunday, Aug. 18
10 a.m.: Minnesota at Buffalo
1:00: Miami at Houston
4:00: Green Bay at St. Louis
3 a.m.: Tennessee at Cincinnati
Tuesday, Aug. 20
Midnight: Pittsburgh at Washington

* Note: no replay of the Colts-Giants game, 7 p.m. August 18 on Fox, is listed. Not sure why the Raiders-Saints game is listed twice.

WEEK 3
Thursday, Aug. 22
Midnight: New England at Detroit
Friday, Aug. 23
11:00: Chicago at Oakland (joined in progress)
1 a.m.: Carolina at Baltimore
Saturday, Aug. 24
4:30: Buffalo at Washington
11:00: San Diego at Arizona (joined in progress)
1 a.m.: Kansas City at Pittsburgh
4 a.m.: Seattle at Green Bay
Sunday, Aug. 25
7 a.m.: Tampa Bay at Miami
10 a.m.: N.Y. Jets at N.Y. Giants
1:00: Cincinnati at Dallas
Midnight: Philadelphia at Jacksonville
3 a.m.: St. Louis at Denver
Monday, Aug. 26
4:00: Cleveland at Indianapolis
8:00: Atlanta at Tennessee
Tuesday, Aug. 27
Midnight: Minnesota at San Francisco
Wednesday, Aug. 28
8:00: New Orleans at Houston



WEEK 4
Thursday, Aug. 29
7:30: N.Y. Giants at New England
10:30: San Francisco at San Diego (joined in progress)
1 a.m.: Arizona at Denver
Friday, Aug. 30
10 a.m.: Jacksonville at Atlanta
1:00: Baltimore at St. Louis
4:00: Green Bay at Kansas City
8:00: Houston at Dallas
Midnight: Oakland at Seattle
3 a.m.: New Orleans at Miami
Saturday, Aug. 31
7 a.m.: Detroit at Buffalo
10 a.m.: Washington at Tampa Bay
4:00: Philadelphia at N.Y. Jets
8:00: Tennessee at Minnesota
Midnight: Arizona at Denver
3 a.m.: San Francisco at San Diego
Sunday, Sept. 1
TBD: Cleveland at Chicago

Let the roster battles begin!

-$-