NFL Tickets - Preseason Observations

August 24, 2010 by Stub_Hub

Thur., Aug. 12 kicked off the 2010 NFL preseason with games between the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens as well as Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys. Preseason games allow for rookies to test the waters in the league as well as coaches to work out remaining kinks before the start of the regular season, and here's what we've found from the opening games of the 2010 preseason.

New Orleans Saints: The Saints have everything to lose this season, and they've already lost running Lynell Hamilton to an ACL injury. They've also lost the shot for a perfect preseason record, falling to the Patriots in a 27-24 New England win during the preseason opener.
While things weren't perfect for the Saints in the first game of the preseason, one bright spot was backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey, who went 7-for-11 passing with 111 yards, averaging more than 10 yards per completion and coming out with a 97.2 quarterback rating. The Saints allowed kickoff returns of 52 and 50 yards by Patriot rookie Devin McCourty, but their dominance with starters is still unquestionable.

New England Patriots: Stephen Gostkowski still hasn't lost what it takes to win ball games, and that might be the biggest revelation for the Patriots in their preseason opener against the Saints. Tom Brady looked steady for his two series on the field and backup Brian Hoyer is dependable behind him in rotation. Wes Welker didn't play the Pats' first preseason game, though not surprisingly.

Judging from the first preseason game, a player to watch this season is BenJarvus Green-Ellis. The third-year Patriot has gotten to see minimal play time so far in his tenure with the team, but he was out with the first team on the first two drives of the Pats-Saints game, perhaps signifying his expanding role in New England.

Carolina Panthers: The Panthers lost their first preseason battle to the Baltimore Ravens in a 17-12 matchup, and Carolina has two things to learn from their inaugural game that should have been renamed Rookie Fest 2010.

First, the Panthers' offense looked dismal at best. Fumbles and penalties thwarted the quarterbacks' attempts to outshine each other, though (secondly) Jimmy Clausen at least looks like the real deal. Clausen went a solid 8-for-15 with 80 yards during his time on the field, though what's most evident for the Panthers at this point is that the team full of youngsters really needs to gel before they can make any big moves.

Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens looked solid in their matchup against the Panthers - so much so that the most memorable part of the preseason game was when offensive tackle Joe Reitz attempted a goalpost dunk after Troy Smith's touchdown and got rim-checked. Ouch.

Other than that, the Ravens' D-line looked great and Joe Flacco was on his A-game during his time on the field. Baltimore does, however, need to beef up its O-line going into the regular season, so look for improvements there going forward.

Oakland Raiders: Oakland's defense is to credit for the Raiders' 17-9 victory over the Cowboys in this preseason opener. The Cowboys got within 16 yards of the end zone on four separate occasions and were shut down each time, forced to make three field goals in lieu of touchdowns.
The Oakland offense also did a commendable job in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns, but the team was less than enthused to see Swayze Water botch a 34-yard field goal in the fourth. Kyle Boller, the Raiders' backup QB, went 12-for-21 with 148 yards and a touchdown, marking a decent day for this rebuilding team.

Dallas Cowboys: The Dallas Cowboys are one of the most hyped teams going into the 2010-11 NFL season, and they're selling the NFL tickets to prove it. Tony Romo and his 'Boys started off with a 3-0 lead but it quickly fell apart, and Romo was sacked twice before exiting the game.

Dallas just couldn't get past that 20-yard line on offense, and their defense dropped the ball big time in the fourth quarter to give Oakland the victory. On the plus side, second-year kicker David Buehler pulled through for the Cowboys, nailing kicks at 42, 27 and 28 yards.