What to Watch for in Week 1 of Preseason

Early August can only mean one thing: Preseason Football. While most fans don't care too much for the preseason because the starters don't play for more than two or three series. But preseason is more important to some teams than others. Here are some things to watch for in each of this week's preseason games.

Thursday, August 9

Washington Redskins at Buffalo Bills
The biggest story in this match-up will be the debut of the second overall pick Robert Griffin III. RGIII has been compared to a young Michael Vick because of his mobility and his deep ball threat. Except there is going to be a competition at WR because the Redskins still have Santana Moss, but brought in former Colt Pierre Garcon. On the Bills side, they have the success of early last year to build on, and they have revamped their defense adding Mario Williams from the Texans.

Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons
This is a match-up of two playoff teams from last season. Falcons QB Matt Ryan said he was working on his arm strength this off season. Ravens QB Joe Flacco is wanting to establish himself as a top QB in this league, he played well in the AFC Championship game and came within a dropped pass of the Super Bowl.


New Orleans Saints at New England Patriots
Another game of playoff teams against each other. The Saints are playing their second game this preseason, will continue to play without their head coach Sean Payton who is serving a year-long suspension. The Patriots on the other hand were busy this offseason adding more targets for QB Tom Brady to throw to, such as Brandon Lloyd.


Pittsburgh Steelers at Philadelphia Eagles
In the battle of Pennsylvania, the stories are that Ben Roethlisberger is still playing with injuries even before the season starts. Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall is also likely to miss the first six games of the season. On the Eagles front they are likely to be playing with some emotion because of the loss of Andy Reid's son over the weekend.

Green Bay Packers at San Diego Chargers
This is a battle of two very high powered offense and QBs. As if the Packers didn't have enough pass rushers, they added rookie Nick Perry to play opposite of  LB Clay Matthews. The San Diego Chargers are hoping RB Ryan Mathews can build on last season, and also added WR Robert Meachem of New Orleans Saints.


Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears
Everyone is going to be watching this game because it will be the first time Peyton Manning is on the field in 19 months. While it sounds crazy, Bronco fans want Peyton Manning to take a hard hit just to see if his neck will hold up. The Chicago Bears will have a reuniting of two former Broncos, QB Jay Cutler and WR Brandon Marshall and the Bears are looking to establish themselves as the team to take Green Bay out.

Friday, August 10

New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals
This is the game everyone will be watching Friday. Fans will get their first look at the New York Jets with Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow. The Jets are looking to return to their running game this season with the letting go of WR Plaxico Burress this off season. The Bengals have returning QB Andy Dalton and WR A.J. Green after making the playoffs in their rookie seasons. The next major question is who is going to be the Bengals starting RB.




 
Cleveland Browns at Detroit Lions
The Cleveland Browns recently named rookie QB Brandon Weeden their starter for this season supplanting third-year QB Colt McCoy. The Detroit Lions are hoping to build on their great season after making the playoffs for the first time in the 2000s.




New York Giants at Jacksonville Jaguars
The New York Giants will start their 2012 campaign as the defending champions. The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the opposite end of the spectrum, having a rookie head coach and second-year QB Blaine Gabbert. The big story here is Jaguars rookie WR Justin Blackmon finally coming to camp and the lack of presence from all-star RB Maurice Jones-Drew. It will be interesting to see the development of QB Blaine Gabbert with the additions of WR Laurent Robinson and WR Justin Blackmon.


Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended last season on a ten-game losing streak. They brought in Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, TE Dallas Clark, and WR Vincent Jackson. QB Josh Freeman has an opportunity to shine with these two targets added to the lineup. The Dolphins added a big target themselves, WR Chad Johnson. But the Dolphins don't know who that QB is going to be throwing to him. Veteran QB David Garrard appears to be getting the first shot at it in this game, though.



Arizona Cardinals at Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have RB Jamaal Charles, TE Tony Moeaki, and S Eric Berry returning this season. Oh and they finished 8-8 last year and missed the playoffs by rule of tiebreaker. The Chiefs are hoping the returning players can make the them the team to beat in the AFC West. The Cardinals on the other hand are hoping QB Kevin Kolb can play some that way he still gets a fair chance at the starting job. 


Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers
The Vikings are in a bind at the moment because of RB Adrian Peterson being out with his injury, but they hope to have Peterson back next week. What will be even more interesting is the development of second-year QB Christian Ponder. But the 49ers are hoping to be back in the form of last years NFC Championship team. They brought in WR Randy Moss in hopes adding a target for QB Alex Smith.


Saturday, August 11

Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers
The Texans were a playoff team last year without QB Matt Schaub and WR Andre Johnson in multiple parts of the season. If they have all the pieces this year they could be a Super Bowl team. The Panthers are a similar story. They have QB Cam Newton ready to make his sophomore run.

 
Tennessee Titans at Seattle Seahawks
The game of the QB competitions. QB Matt Hasselbeck vs. QB Jake Locker. QB Matt Flynn vs. QB Tarvaris Jackson vs. QB Russell Wilson. Both teams have named their starters at the moment, but one has to wonder how long that will last if the other QBs play just as well. Not to mention the debut of rookie WR Kendall Hunter for the Titans. There is also a possibility that WR Terrell Owens could make his debut Saturday.


Sunday, August 12

St. Louis Rams at Indianapolis Colts
A battle of two no. 1 picks. Rams QB Sam Bradford and Colts QB Andrew Luck. Both have been said to be the best QB since Troy Aikman and John Elway. The Rams will be debuting Jeff Fisher and the Colts will be debuting Chuck Pagano. This will be an interesting match-up of two young teams that perhaps have their QBs locked in for the future.

Monday, August 13

Dallas Cowboys at Oakland Raiders

The Dallas Cowboys will have multiple starters that were injury-plagued last year returning and seeing if they are one hundred percent healthy. Wide Receivers Miles Austin and Dez Bryant for example. This will also be the return of RB Demarco Murray, who many in the Cowboys organization compare to Emmit Smith and Tony Dorsett. We could also get a look at QB Terrell Pryor who the Raiders drafted in the supplemental draft last year. The Raiders also have QB Carson Palmer who has a full year under his belt now.





Photo Courtesies: RG3 cbsdfw.com, Matt Ryan onlineathens.com, Patriots boston.sbnation.com, Philadelphia Eagles philadelphiaeagles.com, Packers jsonline.com. Peyton Manning thebiglead.com, Jets QBs helmet2helmet.com, Brandon Weeden mockingthedraft.com, Blaine Gabbert bleacherreport.com, Dolphins QB Battle cipinonsports.com, Cardinals QB Battle aol.sportingnews.com, Randy Moss latime.com, Matt Schaub nfl.com, Titans QBs bleacherreport.com, Andrew Luck turfshowtimes.com, Romo-Murray rantsports.com