Preseason is not a time to worry about wins and losses. The coaches aren’t worried about wins because too often a score is the result of little to no game planning.
The coaches will go back and evaluate every player in the film room, but only a few fans even watch a preseason game more than once.
Tom Cable has stated the offensive problems in last week’s preseason game were minor things that can be tweaked.
That theory will be put to the test today in Chicago.
So what should the fans be looking for in the second preseason game of 2010?
Since this will be the first action of the season for Bruce Gradkowski, Jacoby Ford and Colt Brennan this will be the first chance the coaches and fans have to evaluate their performance and progression.
The poor showing from Jason Campbell and the receivers in last Thursday’s preseason win over Dallas will likely bring a more critical eyes to both groups.
Darrius Heyward-Bey has missed nearly the entire week worth of practice due to fatigue. He hasn’t been ruled out of the preseason game, but don’t be surprised if he is a late scratch. His ‘fatigue’ is something to watch closely.
Chaz Schilens hardly ever practices and the excitement surrounding him has worn off, leaving nothing but health concerns. One has to wonder if he can ever progress without practice reps and if he can stay healthy enough to become a favorite target for newly minted starter Campbell.
Colt Brennan will see his first action of the season, but at this point would have to really impress the coaches to get the nod as third quarterback over Kyle Boller.
Will fans start calling for Gradkowski if he performs better than Campbell against the second string units? They shouldn’t. Gradkowski is the perfect backup. The depth is second to few in the league even if Campbell isn’t an elite quarterback.
The passing game usually hinges on protection and Samson Satele and Cooper Carlisle didn’t do a great job of that last week.
Carlisle doesn’t yet have to worry about his job with rookie Bruce Campbell as the backup, but Satele needs a positive game to stop the calls for rookie Jared Veldheer to replace him.
While Mario Henderson did a solid job last week against a vanilla 3-4 Cowboys defense and all-pro DeMarcus Ware, the bigger test comes this week against the immensely talented Julius Peppers.
If Henderson can successfully block Peppers and Ware in back-to-back weeks the fans and coaches will likely be very pleased.
Chris Johnson was victimized by Tony Romo and Miles Austin last week and will sit out this week due to a sore hamstring. Stanford Routt and the rookies will get an extended look and attempt to cover a young and explosive receiving core.
During the game, follow me on Twitter or join the game-day chat.
