The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: NFL Preseason Week Two

By Joey Alibro

Twitter: @joeyalibro

First edition of a weekly column discussing the good, bad, and ugly from the previous week in the NFL.

The Good

1) Jameis Winston & Co. showed up ready to ball last night against the Bengals. In minimal action, Jameis showed why he was the number one overall pick in this year’s draft after completing 8 of 13 passes for 90 yards along with a one yard rushing touchdown off of a bootleg. The rookie QB’s night ended when he appeared to hurt his ankle when he was sacked, but in his second pro start, Winston definitely opened some eyes around the league.

2) As I mentioned in my most recent Rumor Roundup last week, Tyrod Taylor is on the cusp of winning the starting job in Buffalo. Certainly his performance this week put him firmly in the lead of the Bills’ not-so-terrific trio of quarterbacks. Taylor played the entire first half completing 7 of 10 passes for 65 yards while also rushing for 41 yards on 4 carries. He impressed with his legs by making something out of nothing and appeared calm on the pocket all game long. It’s now up to Rex Ryan to pencil him in as the starter for the opener.

The Bad

1) The Giants offense has struggled mightily in week 1, and it didn’t get much better this week. Granted, the offense has a slew of injuries along the line as well as to starting receivers Victor Cruz and Reuben Randle. Eli Manning was 4-14 for 46 yards in about a quarter of action. He targeted star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. six times to no avail. Towards the end of the quarter, Beckham was visibly starting to get frustrated with the struggling offense after his catch was reversed on a Jags’ challenge. Hopefully, the Giants will get their act together and get some players back in week 3 against the Jets.

2) RGIII was obliterated by the Lions as you can see in the video above. The Subway spokesman suffered head and shoulder injuries. Jay Gruden was criticized for leaving him in for as long as he did, and a former coach said, “It looked personal.” Well, Redskins fans, buckle up, it’s going to be a long season.

The Ugly

1) The injury bug needs to be researched by the CDC. Of course injuries are just a part of the game, but they definitely hit hard this week. Injuries to big time names like Jordy Nelson (torn ACL) and Maurkice Pouncey (broken ankle) definitely hurt their respective teams who are both contenders this year. Teams like the Giants, who I mentioned previously, are definitely suffering from the injury bug as well. 15.5% of the Giants roster (14 players) was out against the Jags on Saturday, which is pretty ridiculous. These injuries have raised questions about the importance of preseason games, but that’s for another time.

tagged with ,