Preseason Roundup: Week One, Part One

Jeff Haverlack Posted On August 14, 2015

The preseason is upon us and that means we finally get a chance to see free agents with their new teams and our shiny new rookies in real game action. While many of our dynasty league staples won’t play much the first few weeks, we at least get to see some glimpses of some role players and get a taste for what they may (or may not) be able to do if given a bigger opportunity. While many fantasy football players won’t pay much attention to these games, they’re perfect for the true dynasty enthusiasts to get an early idea on depth charts, player usage and even unearthing a future sleeper. We’ll go through the preseason games as they conclude each week and post this series with some short notes on what we observe during each game.

Miami at Chicago

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Not much to see in Thursday’s tilt featuring the Dolphins and the Bears. Most of the rookies including Kevin White, Jay Ajayi and DeVante Parker are all nursing injuries and never saw the field.

For the Dolphins, Ryan Tannehill and Jarvis Landry hooked up for a short two yard touchdown, one of two Landry’s receptions. Most eyes were on the running backs for the Dolphins. On the night, Lamar Miller gained 32 yards on three carries and recently rising Damian Williams looked relatively pedestrian on seven carries. On Chicago’s side of the ball, Ka’Deem Carey punched a touchdown in from the one yard line and tallied 34 yards on seven carries. Jeremy Langford, one of my favorite sleeper runners from this year’s draft class could only muster one yard on four carries but did catch both targets in the passing game for 16 yards.

The big story to watch here is the report following the game that new number one Chicago receiver, Alshon Jeffery, was spotted in a walking boot and is being called day to day, with no details. Stay tuned!

Washington at Cleveland

It’s Johnny time and he helped his cause somewhat by looking capable on the night. His best play was made with his feet as he scrambled for a 12 yard touchdown run. Robert Griffin III could only muster a 50% completion rate on eight total passes but what wasn’t in the stats was a long pass to Pierre Garcon who needed to only secure the reception and waltz into the end-zone. Instead, the wide open Garcon dropped the easy pass resulting in a very bad incompletion. Griffin looked more poised than his stats would show but I do have concern about his protection.

Redskin rookie runner Matt Jones looked capable on five totes for 38 yards. For the Browns, none of the runners outside of Manziel had any measure of success. Receiver Brian Hartline, expected to lead Cleveland in receptions and yardage did snag all three of his targets for a total of 30 yards.

Just to fan the flames a bit for Griffin III haters, Kirk Cousins relieved RGIII and completed 12/14 passes for 154 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Let the chants begin.

New York Jets at Detroit

I’m not going to waste much time here. All eyes were on Lion ball-carrier Ameer Abdullah and he didn’t disappoint. AA rushed for 67 yards on only seven carries. A bit misleading in that one carry did cover 45 yards but he showed the dynamic that selecting coaches were hoping to see.

For the Lions, both Golden Tate and Greg Salas caught touchdowns. Salas also led all receivers with five receptions for 92 yards.

For the Jets, it’s going to be a long season I fear.

Green Bay at New England

In the headline game of the night, Tom Brady only completed one of four passes and looked rusty. The only real highlight of the night came from the legs of a lighter Jonas Gray, who scampered 55 yards for a touchdown behind good blocking. Gray, who has slimmed down to a reported 225 lbs. this year, showed good speed diagonally to the sideline where he outran all defenders to the end zone. Backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo did complete 20 of 30 passes for 159 yards but did throw a relatively poor interception.

A quick notation for Packer receiver Jeff Janis who is said to be having a mediocre (at best) camp. He did catch two balls for 31 yards and a 26 yard touchdown from Scott Tolzien. Let the Tolzien hype train begin its journey.

New Orleans at Baltimore

It was a high scoring nail biter in Baltimore on Thursday night. Okay, it was only high scoring.

There are no quarterback stories to follow here so we’ll move on. For the Saints, Khiry Robinson was productive on his two carries, covering 35 yards. He also caught all three of his targets for 37 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Cooks and Nick Toon both caught a single pass on the night. Rising receiver Brandon Coleman couldn’t haul in either of his two targets.

For Baltimore, Lorenzo Taliaferro tallied 36 yards on 12 carries while rookie Javorius Allen rushed for 35 yards on 11 carries.

Dallas at San Diego

Tony Romo didn’t see a snap while Philip Rivers only threw two passes, completing both for a total of 20 yards.

All eyes were on rookie San Diego runner, Melvin Gordon. Gordon looked hesitant and could only muster 11 yards on six carries and wasn’t involved in the passing game. Brandon Oliver rushed for 53 yards on 10 carries while Danny Woodhead converted his only carry, scoring on an eight yard run. All Charger receivers turned in mediocre performances.

For the Cowboys, recently promoted runner Gus Johnson did his best Marion Barber impression, scoring on a pile moving five yard run. In the passing game, tight end Gavin Escobar totaled five receptions and 47 yards. Devin Street pulled down three of four targets for 45 yards.

Stay tuned as we cover Friday’s games on Saturday morning.

Follow me on Twitter: @DLF_Jeff

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Jeff Haverlack

Co-Founder at Dynasty League Football

Appreciative husband and proud father who poorly attempts to balance family life with his passion for creating the largest, most helpful and most impactful fantasy community on the planet! DLF was created for the community and we're committed to each member within it! Hope anyone playing this great game will call DLF home in some way!

You can find Jeff on Twitter at @dlf_jeff

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