Battlefield Turf: Preseason Week 1 : Crimson Monkey

Battlefield Turf: Preseason Week 1

Sunday, August 14 2011 - Battlefield Turf - by: trentstorm

Welcome one and all to the first edition of Battlefield Turf! The Lockout is over and we are weeks away from the 2011 NFL Kick-off! From now until February 2012, I will be discussing the NFL.

I'll share a little bit about myself. As a little kid growing up in southern Ohio, I had been a Cincinnati Bengals fan and I still recall Super Bowl XXIII where they lost to the San Francisco 49ers. Between that and the late 1990s, I really didn't pay attention to football, but I did watch the Super Bowl games. It wouldn't be until the 1997 season that I actually immersed myself in the sport.

1997 was quite a season that ended with the wild card Denver Broncos beating the odds, going through Jacksonville, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and ultimately Green Bay for the Vince Lombardi trophy and seeing John Elway win his first title.

As for today, I initially thought about creating this article with the aim of just having fun, making some predictions, sharing news and taking a look back at football history. Plus, with the Lockout, Athlon Sports and Lindy's weren't able to print out updated preview magazines. Now, I already have a few predictions in mind at the moment, but I will not disclose those until around the first week of September. I'd love to share them now but for the following reasons, there will be a delay:

Free Agency: Teams are still signing them and it keeps altering my team analysis.

Preseason: I would need to see how well the first string units perform during the preseason to get an idea of how well they work together.

And the biggest reason...Injuries!

I remember the 1997 preseason where Broncos Linebacker Bill Romanowski hit Panthers QB Kerry Collins in a head-to-head collision, breaking his jaw. Collins' injury may have had a major factor to why the Carolina Panthers went 7-9 in 1997 after an impressive 12-4 1996 season.

The other injury I recall was from the 1999 preseason where Rams QB Trent Green suffered a season ending injury when Rodney Harrison took out Green's knee. At the time, I thought the Rams were done. But, I was wrong. Which brings me to my next point.

Remember that any predictions I make are basically just wild guesses for the most part. What looks good on paper does not work in reality. I also can't take into account the human factor. Back to what I mentioned above, I thought the 1999 Rams were finished when Green went down. I did not expect the back-up, Kurt Warner, to emerge out of nowhere. The Rams ended up defeating the Tennessee Titans in a thrilling Super Bowl. So, despite what I say or predict, theoretically, any one of these 32 teams could potentially be the next Super Bowl champion.

This weekend was the kick-off of the NFL preseason. Over the years, there hasn't been as much thought into the preseason, but this year is different. Why? The Lockout. The Lockout has caused all the teams to jam several months of the off season into a matter of weeks. Incoming free agents have to cram their new playbooks as soon as possible, rookie players have been robbed of a proper orientation and must learn their new systems at an accelerated pace and any one else is caught in the whirlwind of training camp.

I know that people will question teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys for having little-to-no free agency signings, but I'm starting to see a small advantage to this unusual tactic. Most of the starters have been in their system for a few seasons and know what to do and what is expected, as opposed to teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, who had several new signings and must get their new team chemistry set within this month. It's an interesting tactic and come January, we will all see if it was a wise decision to stick with the familiar over bringing in new blood.

In the coming weeks, I will keep everyone up to date with injuries, signings and other news. And once I get a better glimpse of each team, I should have my predictions ready and if I agree with Lindy's on their prediction of a Ravens vs Eagles Super Bowl.

Scores:

Thursday, Aug. 11

Jacksonville 12 at New England 47

Baltimore 6 at Philadelphia 13

Seattle 24 at San Diego 17

Denver 23 at Dallas 24

Arizona 18 at Oakland 18

Friday, Aug. 12

Pittsburgh 7 at Washington 16

Miami 28 at Atlanta 23

Cincinnati 3 at Detroit 34

Tampa Bay 25 at Kansas City 0

San Francisco 3 at New Orleans 24

Saturday, Aug. 13

Green Bay 17 at Cleveland 27

New York Giants 10 at Carolina 20

Buffalo 3 at Chicago 10

Indianapolis 10 at St. Louis 33

Minnesota 3 at Tennessee 14

Monday Night Football

Aug. 15

New York Jets at the Houston Texans.

I'm curious to see how the addition of Cornerback Jonathan Joseph will help the Texans secondary, who were just an awful unit last season that cost Houston a few victories. As for the Jets, I'm not sure if new receivers Plaxico Burress and Derek Mason will be ready to play, but if so, I'd like to see how quarterback Mark Sanchez adjusts to them.

My thoughts on this week's games:

The good: Rookie quarterbacks Ryan Mallett (Patriots), Cam Newton (Panthers) and Jake Locker (Titans) all showed promise this weekend. It's especially good news for the Panthers and Titans. Browns quarterback Colt McCoy also looked good as well. I believe McCoy may be the deciding factor on if the Browns can make it to the postseason, or at least a .500 mark. And Sam Bradford of the Rams helped put up 17 points in four possessions.

The bad: Rookie QB Blain Gabbert of the Jaguars. Granted, he's a rookie, but when there is a talk of a quarterback controversy with David Gerrard, if Gerrard falters and Gabbert has to take over, this might be a very long season for Jacksonville. But at least the Jaguars have more going for them than the Cincinnati Bengals. If Mike Brown thinks that Andy Dalton and A.J. Green will be the starting quarterback and receiver, this will not be a pretty year. And finally, the San Francisco offensive line needs a major tune-up. Niner fans may grumble for a veteran quarterback, but if the offensive line can't stop the pass rush, it won't make a difference who is taking the snaps.

News:

The Carolina Panthers took a serious blow to their offense, as projected starting wide receiver, David Gettis, may have torn his ACL in training camp. If so, Gettis will most likely be out for the season. Brandon LaFell and former Charger Legedue Naannee are expected to battle for the open position.

The Baltimore Ravens traded for Buffalo Bills wide receiver, Lee Evans, in exchange for a fourth round draft pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The addition of Evans will help the Ravens replace Derrick Mason on offense. However, the loss of Evans will be devastating to the Bills, who do not have a lot of experience at receiver. It's been over a decade since the Bills have last been to the postseason and it looks like Buffalo fans may have to wait yet another year.

Speaking of the Bills, one bit of refreshing news is they have once again changed their uniform appearance. They will go into the 2011 season in retro jerseys (They wore these in the late 70s, early 80s),. For anyone who remembers their Super Bowl run, they had blue jerseys with red helmets. They went from white to red in 1985 since quarterback Joe Ferguson was color blind and their AFC East rivals, the Dolphins, Colts and Patriots all wore white helmets at the time. In 2001, the Bills changed to a much darker shade of blue but retained the red helmets. So, like the Jets, Chargers and Giants, it appears the Bills are hoping a retro look will improve their prospects. Their charging bison logo has been in use since 1974.

That's it for my opening football article, be sure to check me out over the next few months as I make my predictions, share my thoughts and have a few laughs. Next week, I will do a quick review of all 32 teams.