Weekend notes: Preseason action

Throwing interceptions in preseason games will usually slide you down the depth chart, and throwing three picks in the game’s first three possessions — like Denver’s Kyle Orton did Friday night against San Francisco — could cause an unplanned quarterback battle to take place.

Sure, head coach Josh McDaniels will be quick to shut that talk down, as he did after the game last night. But let’s be honest here — this is the same head coach who brought his high-scoring system from New England to Denver, and this performance from Orton has to sting his ego. For now, backup Chris Simms will remain on the second team, but another shaky outing by Orton this August may force McDaniels to give Simms a look with the first unit.

APDonovan McNabb

I still see the Eagles as Donovan McNabb’s football team, and despite the quarterback controversy that might be played up weekly in the media, little chance exists that new quarterback, Michael Vick, will take McNabb’s spot in 2009. Sure, he could eventually maneuver his way to become McNabb’s primary backup, but don’t expect there to be any discussion about Vick, who has only a 53.8 career completion percentage, taking over the Eagles’ starting job.

McNabb without question gives the Eagles a better chance to win than Vick — even after the former Falcon is back in playing shape.

The to injury to Terrell Owens won’t hurt the Bills tonight as they host Chicago at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, but if I were a defensive coach for the Bears, I’d be disappointed the six-time Pro Bowler wasn’t out of the field.

Part of the evaluation process over the course of the preseason is watching your own players go up against solid competition in game situations. The Bears are already minus starting cornerback Charles Tillman, and this would have been a great opportunity to see how the rest of the secondary would have responded playing against T.O. and the Bills’ no-huddle offense. Most of the talk coming out of Chicago has been about the pass rush and the defensive line’s ability to get to the quarterback, but keep an eye on this secondary, where plenty of unanswered questions still remain.

Anyone else notice that the Raiders put up close to 500 yards of total offense Thursday night against the Cowboys? The ‘Boys and Wade Phillips need to use this film as a teaching tool, because although the Raiders have some talent on offense, it is nothing compared to what Dallas will see in the NFC East. Big night for Oakland and a black eye for Phillips and his defense to start the preseason.

Sage Rosenfels had a solid outing last night against the Colts in his Vikings debut, and it couldn’t have come at a better time as far as Minnesota is concerned.

APSage Rosenfels

We all know that the Vikings quarterback play has been shaky at best in training camp, and for Rosenfels — a new quarterback trying to win over his coaching staff, his teammates, and the fans of Minnesota — to come out and lead his club on two scoring drives was essential to this football team. Instead of waking up this morning thinking that his offense is still searching for a definitive answer behind center, Vikings coach Brad Childress had to finally feel he had some stability at the quarterback position.

Coaches want to see their offense come out in their first dress rehearsal and put together a scoring drive, show some consistency in both the passing and the running game, and put into action the basic formations they have been working on since spring mini-camps. Good start for Rosenfels.

Tonight will be a good test for the Packers’ new defense under the lights at Lambeau Field against the Browns, because they will see the best from both Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson, who are in a major QB battle in camp. And that’s a good thing for Dom Capers and his staff.

Just as I said above about the absence of T.O. tonight against the Bears, Capers wants his defense to be tested throughout the month of August, and playing against Cleveland is a good start — because both quarterbacks will see a good amount of minutes. Don’t expect Capers to open up his pressure package tonight in the first preseason game, but it should be interesting to see how this defense responds playing against two quarterbacks with starting experience.

Round two starts for Vince Young tonight at home against Tampa. He didn’t show us much last week, and tonight offers him another opportunity to prove to the coaching staff that he deserves playing time at some point this season. With that said, Young is only another mediocre outing away from all the talk about Patrick Ramsey supplanting him as the backup becoming real. Talk about pressure in August.

Follow me on Twitter:  @MattBowen41

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