Games are fake but stakes still high for some
Are you ready for some unwatchable football? Just in case anybody is wondering, the Giants and Jets open the preseason this weekend: Giants at home against the Steelers on Friday night and Jets home against the Titans on Saturday night.
Although the preseason can’t get over fast enough, there are still some intriguing questions as the Giants take the field for the first time in what could be a Super Bowl season and the next night the Jets might begin to answer the big question: Are they truly bad enough to go 0-16? Here are some intriguing issues: l What dance moves does Odell Beckham Jr. have planned for 2017?
He’s not likely to play against the Steelers, but with the relaxed celebration rules, he needs to try some things out in August that he can use in September. So, it would be in his best interest to get into the end zone at least once when he plays next week against the Browns or in the Snoopy Bowl against the Jets to see what works.
l Will it be Geno Smith or Josh Johnson making the Giants as the No. 2 QB?
This is going to be a redshirt year for rookie Davis Webb. So it’s Smith vs. Johnson to be an injury away from getting on the field. Of course, Manning never gets hurt — his regular season 199 consecutive starts streak is third longest in NFL history behind Brett Favre and Peyton Manning — but it’s still important to have a capable backup just in case.
Johnson has journeyman ability. He is 31 years old, the Giants are his seventh team and he hasn’t thrown a regular season pass since 2011 when he was with the Bucs. This is his second year with the Giants. In March, Ben McAdoo actually said Smith could potentially be the successor to Manning. While that is not likely to happen — that’s why they drafted Webb — he is the better choice than Johnson or Webb to be the backup this season. Smith started one game last year and tore his ACL but before then had started 29 games in his first two years with the Jets in 2013-14. If Manning were to go down for a game or two, Smith would give them a better chance to win than Johnson. He seems to have adapted well to a more serene environment with the Giants after four years in the Jets circus. The Steelers game is important for Smith.
Learning from Manning and McAdoo will benefit him in the long run, even if his future is with another team.
l Are the Jets really going to start Josh McCown?
Christian Hackenberg has to take the job away with his play in the preseason games because he hasn’t done it in practice. As I’ve said before: It does not benefit the Jets in the short-term or the long-term to play McCown. They are going to struggle to win, but need to find out if Hackenberg can be the guy before investing a high first round pick in 2018 on Sam Darnold, Josh Allen or Josh Rosen.
It just doesn’t say much for Hackenberg if he can’t beat out McCown, who is 38 years old, 18-42 as a starter and with his eighth team. If Hack stinks, then Mike Maccagnan wasted a 2016 second round pick. Other players he could have picked instead: Dak Prescott two rounds, or 84 picks, later. l The triumphant return of Eric Decker. Darrelle Revis’ first regular season game for the Bucs in 2013 was back at MetLife Stadium against the Jets. Did the preseason schedule-maker know something when he matched up the Titans against the Jets in the first practice game?
It’s the return of Decker, cut along with David Harris in the June cost-cutting massacre in Florham Park. Decker lasted three years with the Jets, had a big year with Brandon Marshall in 2015 as they both went over 1,000 yards, and then played just three games last year before needing hip and shoulder surgery.
Decker is a good guy and was a voice of reason in a toxic locker room. It’s too bad he couldn’t have stuck around longer. But playing with the Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota on a team that’s on the rise could get him back in the playoffs for the first time since his final year in Denver in 2013. In fact, I think the Titans will win the AFC South.
l If Roger Goodell and the NFLPA cut the preseason down from four games to three, will the coaches be able to properly evaluate the team?
Coaches can probably correctly project 48-50 players on the 53-man roster before the first practice of training camp. So, barring injuries, they are trying to find out about the final five spots on the active roster and the 10-man practice squad. The preseason game action is necessary for veterans to get used to the speed of the game again before the regular season and for the young guys to make an impression. But all these games seem to accomplish is getting key players injured. here is enough on-field work in the offseason and then with the pads on during training camp to get teams ready to play and properly evaluate the 90 players in camp. Hopefully, one or even two of the practice games will go away soon.
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