The well known adage is that preseason is a relatively crappy four weeks of pretend football until the regular season begins. For me, it is like an oasis on a desert, except this is an oasis in a summer filled with baseball and endless (and downright ridiculous) NBA offseason drama.
FOOTBALL IS BACK EVERYONE!
We finally get to see the Carolina Panthers take the field against the Houston Texans in a week 1 preseason tilt. It won’t be a pretty game, and it is likely that many of the guys you see take the field won’t be with the team in four weeks, but it is the only way we boil down the menagerie of players currently on the roster to 53. As it is preseason, it is tough to nail down with much accuracy who will be pitted against who, but there are some basic observations and things to keep an eye on during the game.
- The offensive line starting combination - If Matt Kalil can give it a go, it will be nice to see what he is capable of doing, even if it is just for a series. The team is putting a log of faith into him solidifying that LT position. This will also be a good test for current RT frontrunner Daryl Williams to test his mettle against the cleared to play DE JJ Watt. Like Kalil, the Panthers are looking for Williams to step up and claim the RT position for his own, something he hasn’t been able to do against subpar competition. Taylor Moton will be nipping at his heels if he fails to meet basic expectations.
- The Kelvin Benjamin renaissance - The butt of many overweight jokes this offseason, Benjamin, according to many observers this training camp, looks to be coming into camp in far better shape than expected. Needless to say, Benjamin needs to show up this season. Again, he won’t probably play that long, but keep an eye on how well he runs his routes and fights for the ball when thrown his way.
- Speaking of WRs... - Apart from Bejamin and Devin Funchess, the WR position is far from settled. Second round pick Curtis Samuel has been plagued with a hamstring injury, leaving a revolving door at WR3. This should be a fun battle to watch all preseason, but who will get the leg up in week 1? Brenton “Ya Boi” Bersin? Russell Shepard? Will Damiere Byrd be able to leap out of the shadows as a dark horse? Or will one of the other “camp bodies” make a strong case? Just don’t get your hopes up too much on these guys. We all know how those stories have ended in the past...
- Oh yeah, that McCaffrey kid! - How could I forget him? Easily the biggest and most widely talked about name at camp, Christian McCaffrey will have all eyes on him when the offense takes the field on Wednesday, and rightfully so. He has dazzled at training camp thus far, with the team putting him everywhere from in the backfield, to being split out wide, to the wildcat. It will be fun seeing what the team does with him this week. As it is the only game on Wednesday, perhaps a SportsCenter Top 10 play is in the future.
- How will the team fare without Cam Newton? - In all likelihood, Newton will not suit up for this game, and truth be told, he shouldn’t even if he probably could. There isn’t any point to doing so right now. This might actually be beneficial for the rest of the starting offensive unit. While many of the main starters probably won’t play long, taking on the Texans elite caliber defense should prove to be an interesting challenge for the team. Hopefully Derek Anderson won’t be crushed by the likes of Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, Whitney Mercilus, etc., before they are replaced by the second team defense.
I’m sure there will be other story lines that will emerge out of this game, so feel free to drop a line below on what you want to see out of this Wednesday’s first preseason action. At least the Texans pose a significant defensive threat that should give our probably Newton-less offense a real test on the first few drives of the game.