“NFL NOTEBOOK-WEEKEND 2-HEADLINES”
Here comes the second weekend of NFL preseason games.
Some thoughts:
RAMS..Quite the debut for rookie first round pick Tyler Simpson at quarterback. LA plays at home on Saturday against the Saints-who will play alot of their starters. So we shall see if Simpson has another big time production day against somebody else’s #1 defense? Waiting too for this announcement, yes or no, on Aaron Donald’s return to the NFL. He needs full speed practices and live contact if he is going to be there opening day. He’d have 2-weeks of NFL practices if he decides to return.
RAIDERS..Fernando Mendoza will take his next step in the NFL, with the Thursday night game in Houston vs the blazing Texans defense. They practiced against each other on Tuesday and it was a challenge for the rookie QB. Only 1-pass deep down the field to TE-Brock Bowers. A pick, a deflection, audible calls vs the blitz. So he got a taste of the real world in practice. Now he gets the real deal on Thursday night. Also under fire will be the Raiders defense, that gave up (169Y) rushing last week to Arizona, then got gashed in their scrimmage by the Texans starting unit. Got problems, lots of places for the Silver and Black.
CHARGERS..Deadly day in their Tuesday joint practice with the 49ers. The Bolts lost their starting center Tyler Biadasz, who got nailed by friendly fire in a pass blocking drills. The worst part is he suffered multiple knee injuries (ligament-meniscus) when his own teammate OG-Kayo Awosika, blocked a pass rusher, and then threw him towards the pile, hitting Biadasz from behind, cutting him down like a tree. If it were a real game, Awosika would have been flagged for 15-yards for the excessive hit. If it were anyone else, they[‘d probably get released for what they did on the play. The problem, Awosika is likely their starting guard. A devastating loss upfront. The Bolts play the 49ers on Thursday, a San Francisco team beset by injuries, and a team that looked awful in its Tuesday practice vs the Chargers.
Watch it-we will have post game opinions coming up on Friday.
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