No sleep will be lost over the outcome of Thursday night’s tilt versus the Pats. We won’t come away with anything concrete, especially concerning whether we will have a successful season or not. We will only get a glimpse, but it could shed some light on who will be counted on the most as the season actually starts. My guess is that we will still have plenty of questions, but maybe some of the questions we have will become a little clearer.
RB2 could get a little clarity. Not to the point of declaring a winner, but whoever is out there first may have the lead at this point. The depth chart indicates that it is Giddens and he may very well be on the field first, but who of the two looks better between he and and McGowen on 3rd down? Who looks better as a receiver, who misses a blitz pickup, or who makes plays on Special Teams, could fire the first shot towards winning the job.
My guess is that NWI will see a little action. You want your QB combatants to have a target with some experience, but I doubt Dulin plays, since his roster spot is secure even if he does not win the WR3 role. So, unless NWI really balls out, I would not assume that he is ahead of Dulin in their battle.
AR getting the start likely doesn’t mean much either. Leonard will get the nod in game 2, so they will have equal time with the 2nd string. They may not even announce a winner once the season starts? They can keep three QBs without too much roster discomfort, so as long as DJ is healthy, there is no need to announce the backup. AR is staying, unless Ballard’s price is met, so he could get the 2nd string designation as a bargaining chip. I don’t think they just cut him unless they need some cap relief to make a splash.
I’m curious to see how the LBs shake out. There may never be more than two on the field at the same time and it is not like that anyone has already won a role. Carlies could get a long look and we should see a fair amount of Weeks. He was a popular choice as a UFA, who could make the team. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Boettcher and Ajaike for the first couple of series.
Will any of the first string OL get a series? I expect to see Farmer at RG and for Freeland to be out there somewhere, but after that, you better have your program with all the jersey numbers. Rucci is another of those guys looking to make some noise after not being drafted. We will also get to see if Tucker can be the backup Center and how much he had to do with fumble snaps.
They say we have a kicking competition and we may see both, but I think Grupe has sewn this thing up. As always, the ability to cover a kick will get you noticed, so there will be some aggression. Hopefully it is not misplaced and doesn’t result in a penalty.
It is more likely that more information is gathered from the joint practices than the game, but these are some of things that I will be observing on Thursday night. Where will you be focusing your attention?
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