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2016 NFL Preseason Recap and Fantasy Football Notes: Week 1
WalterFootball
Lions 30, Steelers 17
This wasn't a very exciting preseason game, as Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown were all out of the lineup. Thus, I'll concentrate on the Lions for most of this write-up.
Matthew Stafford was on the field for one drive, and he did a good job of leading the team down the field until he was strip-sacked near the red zone. Stafford went 4-of-6 for 58 yards. That sounds nice, and Stafford did play well overall, but the numbers don't tell the whole story. The major take-away is that Stafford seemed pretty skittish in the pocket. He got happy feet on numerous occasions, and he looked like he was panicking on some of his drop-backs.
Of course, it's difficult to blame Stafford, as Detroit's offensive line was embarrassingly bad in this game. First-round rookie left tackle Taylor Decker especially struggled. He was whistled for a hold on a Stafford first-down scramble and then was responsible for letting James Harrison blow by him on the next play, which was when Stafford lost his fumble.
Here were Stafford's targets:
Anquan Boldin: 1
Marvin Jones: 1
Theo Riddick: 3
Cole Wick: 1
Marvin Jones made just one reception in the preseason opener, but he made it count. It was a 16-yarder, and he did a great job of tapping his toes down along the sideline while falling out of bounds. Jones has enjoyed a strong training camp, and this sort of play will only allow Matthew Stafford to have more confidence in his new weapon.
Like Jones, Anquan Boldin caught one pass. He also made it count, as it was a 30-yarder in which he broke a tackle from second-round rookie Sean Davis and then carried Michael Mitchell for about 10 yards. Boldin will be Detroit's No. 3 receiver this year.
Ameer Abdullah didn't play. Theo Riddick started and did an OK job, gaining 15 yards on four carries. He also caught one of his three targets for nine yards. Riddick is a fine backup, but he's not a threat to Abdullah's workload. Riddick doesn't get any yards after contact.
As for the Steelers, they started Landry Jones and Fitzgerald Toussaint in the backfield. That's right - DeAngelo Williams didn't play.
No one really stood out for Pittsburgh in a positive fashion during the preseason opener. This includes Sammie Coates, who touched the ball for the first time with 90 seconds remaining in the first half. He bobbled the ball, costing himself an opportunity for yardage. He then picked up a first down, but fumbled. Coates finished with three underwhelming catches for 18 yards. I expected much more from Coates, but perhaps he'll fare better once Ben Roethlisberger returns to the lineup.
Pittsburgh's best running back this evening was Daryl Richardson. The former Ram gained 44 yards on 11 carries. He could be the team's No. 3 running back, which is relevant considering Le'Veon Bell's suspension and DeAngelo Williams' age.
NFL Preseason Announcers: Walt Coleman was officiating this game, so naturally, there was a strange call. That occurred in the second quarter when a Detroit player fumbled out of bounds. A flag was thrown as the Steelers recovered. Coleman's announcement:
"Detroit caught the ball and there was a backwards pass. First down, Detroit."
Umm... what? What about the flag? Why is this 90-year-old man still officiating!?
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's color analyst had something strange to say about another penalty:
"I don't like that horse collar tackle penalty. He grabbed the horse collar and pulled him down, but that's not what he meant to do."
Oh, OK. Let me go rob a bank, and when the cops arrest me, I can just say that I didn't mean to do it!
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