NFL 2014: Things We Learned From Preseason Week 2

The second week of the NFL preseason has concluded and it was another exciting week, where we were able to learn a few things about the teams all over the country. Obviously, it’s preseason, so we shouldn’t overrate the developments too much, but they are at least worth a look. Here are the things we learned from preseason week two:

The Patriots’ future is set

The New England Patriots drafted Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round in May to take care for the time when Tom Brady is gone and has retired. In the first preseason game the rookie already looked good, especially in comparison to his teammate Ryan Mallett, which was the reason that Garoppolo went into the game first after Brady on Friday. Once again, the 22-year-old looked like the real deal, quickly throwing two touchdowns and connecting six of his 12 passes for 72 yards. He looked like a veteran most of the time and proved that he can be the Patriots’ future star.

The Jaguars may even have two good quarterbacks

Before the preseason started we had thought that there was not even a single quarterback capable of starting for the Jaguars. Bortles is just a rookie and needs to develop, and Chad Henne … well, Chad Henne has never really lived up to his full potential. However, both of them actually played really good against the Chicago Bears. Henne threw for 130 yards and a touchdown, while Bortles threw for 160 yards. Maybe the Jaguars don’t even have an issue at quarterback. The only question is: Who should start?

Justin Hunter could be in for a big year

Are the Tennessee Titans the most underrated team in the league? That may be the case, as their offense looked explosive against the New Orleans Saints on Friday. Jake Locker and Zach Mettenberger broth spread the ball around, but the best player was Justin Hunter. The wide receiver seems to be in for a successful season, catching four passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns. The Titans want to see this level of performance from him and he has already shown his potential a few times.

Oakland is still bad

Yes, it’s just preseason, but what the first string offense of the Oakland Raiders showed in the first two weeks was just awful. Against the Detroit Lions, the running game was non-existent, and Matt Schaub’s performance was again so-so. On the defensive side, it looked a bit better, particularly since the new players showed promise. However, the 28-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Golden Tate alone proved that the Raiders still need to learn a lot. If you ask me, this team has a lot of potential, but is still one or two years away from contending.

Jadeveon Clowney is as good as advertised

We are just two weeks into the preseason, but the number one pick of the 201
4 Draft is already a superstar. On Saturday, he first destroyed Falcons’ running back Antone Smith and soon after that sacked Matt Ryan, both times giving his opponents no chance. With JJ Watt also on the defense, the Texans‘ D looks scary. If this could only be said about their offense as well …

The Buccaneers are already a Lovie Smith team

As a longstanding follower of the Chicago Bears, I have to admit when I look at the Buccaneers, I see a bit of the Bears team from a couple of years ago already. The defense held Chad Henne and Ryan Tannehill in check, and even though those two are far away from being elite quarterbacks, this is still a good sign. In the meantime – and that’s also typical for a Lovie Smith team – the offense is a bit of a question mark. Josh McCown looked good yesterday, but there’s still last week when nothing worked out for the offense. It will be one of the biggest questions going into the season, if Lovie Smith learned from his time in Chicago: that offensive success is important as well.

Ryan Shazier is the next big linebacker

It was a big disappointment for Steelers fans when Ryan Shazier didn’t play last week against the New York Giants. The expectations were high and in his first career game on Saturday, he eventually fulfilled all of them. He was all over the field, accounting for 11 tackles and even intercepted one of E. J. Manuel’s passes. As perhaps the best player of the match, Shazier showed all his potential.

The Vikings may not even have a quarterback problem

You can basically read the text about the Jaguars from above, just with Matt Cassell and Teddy Bridgewater instead of Henne and Bortles. The two teams are in a very similar situation and both Bridgewater and Cassell looked good on Saturday. The rookie even managed to win the game in the final seconds of the game. It will be interesting to see if the Vikings QB\'s are able to continue their good form in the regular season.