The first two weeks of the NFL preseason have been filled with excitement and outrage. The games themselves have been sloppy and filled with turnovers, that was expected, but what we couldn’t account for was the 2018 Draft selections settling in right away and the new rules altering the outlook of each game.
We have seen all five 2018 first-round QB’s perform very well, including Baker Mayfield’s opening night performance against the Giants where he threw for over 200 yards and two touchdowns. He made plays with his feet to pick up first downs and avoided the rush like he did at Oklahoma. His second preseason game was solid as well. He took care of the football and helped to put 6 points on the board on his final drive of the game against Buffalo after a perfectly thrown fade to the corner of the end zone was reversed after replay. He still needs some time to learn the system and Tyrod Taylor deserves to, and will start Week 1 for the Browns. But Baker is the future and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he starts in Cleveland this fall.
I have expressed this before in my NFL articles that I write–Josh Rosen will be the best QB in this draft class. The Arizona Cardinal is the most NFL-ready, he has outstanding mechanics and is the best pocket passer out of this class. The one downside to his game is his injury history, but I would argue that it stems from his poor offensive line at UCLA. Sure Mayfield and Sam Darnold had more wins in college, but USC and OU recruit better and have a reputation of consistently turning over talent year in and year out. He looked sound in this weeks match up in NO, throwing for 107 yards on 10/16 passing, while delivering a bullet on the move for his only score of the first half. Like Baker, Rosen will not start Week 1, but the only man in his way is Sam Bradford–the definition of injury prone.
Josh Allen (BUF), Lamar Jackson (BAL), Darnold (NYJ), Mayfield and Rosen have all had their shining moments thus far, but let’s not overreact. It still is just the preseason and many starters are resting while backups are fighting for a roster spot. Pump the brakes, the real competition is still a few weeks away!
Rookie talent aside, the NFL is changing through the new helmet-to-helmet contact rule. Every preseason the NFL will add altered rules to either make the game more efficient and/or safer, and this year was for safety. If a player lowers his head and initiates contact with another player it is a penalty. Now, fast forward to the first two week’s of the preseason and we have a dilemma.
Normal tackles are being flagged and sacking the quarterback has, at times, been called for unnecessary roughness. New SF corner back Richard Sherman tweeted out that the rule is ruining the game and that the NFL is going to turn into flag football soon. Others have expressed disbelief as well.
It is clear that the NFL is an offensive league. The fans love it, fantasy football owners love it, quarterbacks love it, sports gamblers love betting the over and shootouts make for great TV!
The NFL has the right mindset as the game does need to be safer. The preseason is where you make a call, the rules committee compiles a list of a large sample size (preseason week’s 1-4) and determines what should and should not be called in the regular season. The idea is there, however, if some of these calls are in fact flagged in the regular season, then it is going to impact a lot of key games in both September and December. Defense is already hard enough and the new rule change will make it even more challenging to adjust.
Welcome to the New NFL!