The riveting conclusion to my week 1 recap is coming a little late with week 2 already gearing up, so let’s get to it.
The big story is Andrew Luck 188yds 2TDs (now here comes the but) But it’s the first week of preseason, against the Rams and 63 of those yards (and 1 TD) came on a dump off-screen to Donald Brown who took it to the endzone. Still the dude looked impressive…then again so did Drew Stanton (8/11 83 yards) and Mr. Irrelevant Chandler Harnish (3/3 52 yards, TD) I guess what I’m trying to say is the Rams defense that was supposed to be much improved under Jeff Fisher, left a lot to be desired. I also liked what I saw from Indy rookies WR LaVon Brazill (3 rec 38 yards) and RB Vick Ballard (6 rush 28 yards, 1 rec 11 yards)
Some positives on offense for the Rams, rookie runner Isaiah Pead ran pretty well (10 carries 33 yards) and Sam Bradford was solid (7/9 for 57 yards.) Not much noise made by the rookie receivers Quick and Givens who each had just one reception for 9 and 13 yards respectively.
Not a lot from the Cowboys Raiders game as both teams struggled. Romo and Palmer combined to go 6/12 for 63 yards no TDs and 1 INT (from Palmer) Limited work for the starters, but still not what you want from two offenses who have some things to prove. Andre Holmes lead the Cowboys receivers (3 rec for 40 yards) Holmes is a 6’4 24 year old out of Hillsdale college, so how much he can contribute against first teamers remains to be seen, but he could be a candidate to step up for the Cowboys.
Terrelle Pryor put up the sort of stat line you might expect from him 8/15 for 50 yards, INT 6 rushes 21 yards. Matt Leinart was 11/16 for 98 yards, so he would seem to have an edge in the back-up competition, but we’ll see how that goes. It was a really bad night for Jacoby Ford who didn’t come up with a catch despite getting the start for an injured Denarius Moore and seeing a few targets from Palmer. He also muffed a punt. Hopefully it was just some preseason jitters, if not undrafted rookie Rod Streater (6 rec 66 yards) could send Ford the way of Louis Murphy or Chaz Schilens (both enjoyed promising seasons before fading into the background and ending up traded or simply unsigned) As and Added bonus Darren McFadden touched the ball 3 times without injury.
Same cannot be said for Jason Witten who reportedly could miss the rest of the preseason with a spleen injury. Despite the lack luster scoring and some tough breaks in this first match-up both teams should improve and be in-line to at least compete in their divisions.
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