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Camp is over. Football is back. We finally made it.
This week was a weird one so we’re leaning into it.
AB did AB things.
Malik Willis is weird.
Aaron Rodgers is an honorary blackbelt.
It was a doozy.
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Before we get to all of that though, there are some important notes of business. WE’ve gotta recap camp and touch on the best performers from Week 1 of the preseason, with an eye on the rookies.
Oh, and Randy Gradishar is undeerappreciated.
As always, read the parts you want and skip the rest. There’s a lot of girth. I believe in you, though.
Let’s Ride.
Broncos Camp Winners
1) Montrell Washington
The biggest winner of camp was Montrell Washington, who established himself as a real receiving threat instead of just a returner. The rookie still faces an uphill battle for playing time—three receivers are clearly ahead of him and Kendall Hinton probably is, too—but at some point this season, the rookie’s time will come.
2) Damarri Mathis
Another rookie comes in second in these rankings. Mathis was solid throughout camp but became a stud in the second half. He had one of the plays of camp with an interception on a crosser. Don’t be surprised if Mathis moves in front of Michael Ojemudia on the outside cornerback depth chart early in the season.
3) Pat Surtain II
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The second-year stud was tough to place on this list; he was awesome, but we expected him to be awesome. Surtain was so sharp, though, that it’s tough to come away thinking anything other than “this guy is an all-pro.” So he’s definitely a winner.
4) Eric Saubert
The veteran tight end was the loudest performer in camp in each of the first three days of camp. His performance tailed off a little bit as the grind wore on but there’s still plenty to be excited about. Saubert is still sitting in fifth on the tight end depth chart but I think he’s done just enough to make the roster.
5) Baron Browning
The second-year linebacker didn’t put together many massive days—the preseason game doesn’t count in these rankings—but he was consistently good throughout camp. The good production and great flashes make him No. 5 on this list.
6) Jonas Griffith
The loudest plays from the 25-year-old linebacker came early in camp when he was outstanding as a blitzer. He locked up the starting linebacker spot in camp, which makes him a clear winner, but the injury in the preseason game and subsequent signing of Joe Schobert have already eaten into his success.
7) Quinn Meinerz
The second-year guard wasn’t perfect but he did enough to lock up the starting right guard job. Like Griffith, that makes him a winner.
8) PJ Locke
The Broncos brought in a few safeties to compete for depth spots—Dellarin Turner-Yell through the draft, J.R. Reed in free agency, we can even count Jamar Johnson who came back from injury—but Locke held all of them off easily and seems to have a firm hold on the No. 2 free safety job behind Justin Simmons.
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9) Mike Purcell
While the veteran nose tackle could’ve been a cap casualty, he’s likely safe after a solid camp. He was one of the Broncos’ most consistent defensive linemen and he capped camp off with two huge tackles for loss against the Cowboys in the joint practice.
10) Josh Johnson
The 36-year-old quarterback started slowly but picked up his game as camp wore on. He held off Brett Rypien for the backup quarterback job. He’d be higher on this list if we included the preseason game.
Randy Gradishar
The centerpiece of the Orange Crush defense isn’t in the Hall of Fame.
At least not yet.
Three senior candidates out of the current group of 12 will be named Tuesday to be considered for election in the 2023 class. In other words, Randy Gradishar is two steps away.
The case for Gradishar’s inclusion in the Hall of Fame is easy to make.
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Ignore his five All-Pro nods in 10 NFL seasons.
Ignore his seven Pro Bowl appearances.
Here’s all that matters:
Randy Gradishar record 2,049 tackles in 10 seasons.
That’s more than 200 per year.
Just one 200-tackle year is an astounding achievement. There can’t be more than five guys who have done it.
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And Gradishar AVERAGED more than 200 tackles per year.
Plus, his first four seasons in the league were only 14 games.
As Gradishar told reporters last week: “Just look at the stats.”
Week 1 Stock Report
STOCK UP
Aiden Hutchinson (Lions) — The No. 2 overall pick looked like he should’ve been the No. 1 overall pick in his first action. (He should’ve been.)
Geno Smith (Seahawks) — After the game head coach Pete Carroll said Smith could’ve been 10-for-10. Drew Lock was solid but probably lost a little ground in Week 1.
Kenny Pickett (Steelers) — The rookie quarterback took the field to a crowd chanting his name and lived up to the hype. He completed 13 of his 15 passes, got the ball out quickly and scored two touchdowns. One of those touchdowns came at the end of a game-winning drive. That’s a solid bounceback from a rough camp.
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Jalen Hurts (Eagles) — The second-year quarterback completed all six of his passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Maybe the Eagles are good?
George Pickens (Steelers) — The hype was massive for the second-round pick who fell because of injuries. He caught three balls for 43 yards and a touchdown. He also made this block:
The Lions OL – Everybody wants to fall in love with the Hard Knocks darlings. I don’t blame them. There might even be a good reason. The offensive line was incredible in Week 1. If it keeps up, there’s no reason Jared Goff can’t play at his peak (which is not high) and the running game can’t take off. The defense is an issue but the Lions have a true strength. Maybe .500 is within reach.
Brian Robinson (Commanders) — The rookie back from ‘Bama was productive for the Commanders. He has a chance to steal the starting job from Antonio Gibson, who fumbled in Week 1.
Isaiah Pacheco (Chiefs) — The seventh-round pick only gained 11 yards on three touches, but he was pulled from the game early. He’s part Kansas City’s plans this season. The running backs have been bad recently and the door is wide open for Pacheco to take a starting job.
Qadree Ollison (Falcons) — The fourth-year running back started for the Falcons in Week 1.
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JaQuan Brisker (Bears) — The rookie out of Penn State was a stud in his first work (which came with the starting defense) including the sequence below.
Khalil Shakir (Bills) — The fifth-round pick was targeted five times, caught five passes and gained 92 yards, the fourth-most in the league. His longest catch was 25 yards. He was consistently making big plays with Matt Barkley, maybe the best quarterback in Week 1.
Lance McCutcheon (Rams) — The big-bodied receiver was the only weapon in the passing game for Montana State last season (three times as many yards as anybody else) but I never thought he was any good because Montana shut him down. Odds are, I’ll never think he’s any good. But a lot of people do now because he caught half of the Rams’ completions this week for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Don’t listen to those people. Once a Little Brother, always a Little Brother.
Matt Araiza (Bills) — Never draft a punter. Unless it’s Matt Araiza. He can flip the field from anywhere.
wtf!?
The Bills don’t recognize Case Keenum
Four years ago, Case Keesum signed a $36 million contract to be the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos. Now his own teammates barely recognize him.
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How the mighty have fallen.
Tony Jefferson is wearing glasses
Apparently Ravens safety Tony Jefferson hasn’t been wearing his glasses. Plenty of people have been bashing him. I’m going to take his side.
Back in 2019 I was covering a CU game against Nebraska. The Buffs won. The students stormed the field. My glasses were in my shirt pocket when I got caught up in the mosh pit. They broke. I haven’t fixed them. I’m productive of it.
Seeing is for nerds.
Mac Jones is traumatized
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Mac Jones’ rookie year ended with a 47-17 loss to the Bills. He printed a picture of the event and hung it in his locker.
The move is short-sighted: He won’t have space to hang a picture every time the Bills beat him.
Aaron Rodgers is proud
What is success for a quarterback?
Super Bowls?
MVPs?
Apparently there’s one more piece to the puzzle.
Kyler Murray calls plays
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Last week I wrote about Kliff Kingsbury making quarterback Kyler Murray call plays in the preseason so he sees how hard it is.
Then, the Cardinals led the league with 36 points in Week 1.
But Murray’s two series of play-calling in the fourth quarter were both three-and-outs.
Trey Lance slid
San Francisco’s new starting quarterback ran for a seven-yard gain in a game against Green Bay this week. The run ended in a slide. Lance said that was the first slide of his football career.
This stat from last week is even better, though:
Jimmy G disappeared
Peter King had an awesome tidbit—as usual—in his Football Morning in America column this week.
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After Jimmy Garoppolo signed his $137 million contract with the 49ers in 2018, Garoppolo disappeared. He didn’t return calls or texts from coaches or the front office for “weeks and weeks.”
Real News
Roughing the passer is drying up
The NFL is going to relax the roughing the passer calls this season, when the contact is incidental and not forcible.
Somehow, this was still called.
Illegal contact is expanding
On the flip side, expect to see more illegal contact penalties this season, as this will be an emphasis for referees.
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According to ESPN, refs called 15 incidental contact penalties in the first week of preseason. They called 36 during the 2021 season.
Deshaun Watson is back
The quarterback took his first snaps with the Browns in Week 1 of the preseason. They didn’t go well.
He completed one of his five passes for seven yards.
Maybe these fans got in his head.
Zach Wilson is out
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The second-year Jets quarterback underwent surgery for a knee injury sustained during Week 1 of the preseason. He may be ready for Week 1, despite tearing his meniscus.
Head coach Robert Saleh shined some more light on the situation.
The fields are bad
No we’re not talking about Justin Fields… well not yet.
We are talking about Chicago and in particular the poorly-groom grass at Soldier Field this weekend. Apparently Elton John recently played a show there.
Apparently this is a common issue in Chicago. So common that kicker Cairo Santos stopped kicking at the high school field he usually worked out at in Florida because the grass was too nice. Instead, he found an overgrow soccer pitch.
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The surface in Vegas receiver poor reviews this weekend too.
Best Bets
Some people say only degenerates bet on preseason football. But only a degenerate wouldn’t want free money.
1) Bet on the Ravens
Baltimore has won 21 preseason games in a row. The Ravens are -250 this week against the Cardinals. That’s fine. Bet on them anyway. They’re 19-2 against the spread in this run. Taking them -6.5 is a smart play, too.
2) Take the Seahawks
The Bears’ starters are bad. Really bad. Poor Justin Fields took a beating this weekend and he was hardly out there. That offensive line is the worst in the league. The Seahawks, meanwhile, have two near-starting-caliber quarterbacks and they’ll both get a bunch of run. Seattle is -195 or -4.5.
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3) The Pats will bounce back
New England is a two-point underdog and it’s easy to see why; the Panthers have Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and PJ Walker taking turns before handing the reigns over to Matt Corral. Here’s the play: wait until the Panthers get a decent lead and make a live bet on the Pats. Corral struggled last week and I’ll be surprised if that changes. New England struggled too, but a lot of that can be chalked up to the Giants sending complex pressures. They won’t see those again this week. Brian Hoyer and Bailey Zappe will shine even brighter.
4) Fade the Vikings
Kellen Mond is not good. At all. Bet against him. Plus, even if Kirk Cousins plays, he’ll be coming back off a stint on the Covid list. The 49ers are 5-point underdogs and the +185 money line could be tempting too.
4) Ride the Broncos
Buffalo looked good last week. A Josh Allen-Case Keenum-Matt Barkley rotation is about as good as you’ll find. But the Broncos looked solid last week, too (other than the running game). Denver shouldn’t be a five-point underdog. Take the points.
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Tweet of the Week
I was torn between two this week, so we’re going with both.
First, Titans rookie quarterback took to Twitter after his stellar debut to make a Spongebob joke.
Second, Antonio Brown posted the most Antonio Brown message so far.
Comments of the Week
This week was a clean sweep for Mr. for Mullens.
My favourite news from this article is that Isaiah McKenzie is so good, he’s taking two starting slots on the Bills (see “Who’s in?”)
Gonna play it safe and say Jimmy G ends up in Cleveland.
Looks like this week is a great opportunity to extend my lead. Rest of y’all are scrubs.
Cullin’ for Mullens
I believe you give points to the top three comments. Can I be all three and get extra points?
Cullin’ for Mullens
Here’s number three. Appreciate all your work Hank (pandering points pls)
Cullin’ for Mullens
Leaderboard
Mr. Mullens is building an insurmountable lead. The consistency is unmatched. Numbers can’t reflect his dominance.
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