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As teams enter the third week of preseason, many will be looking to get their projected starters the most work they've seen on the field to date. In other words, if you're going to watch any preseason games, this is the week to do it.
EVANS MAKES BOLDIN MORE VIABLE: Where ever you might have ranked Lee Evans and Anquan Boldin among receivers prior to the Bills-Ravens trade that sent Evans to Baltimore, move both of them up a few spots. Actually, in the case of Evans, you probably need to jump him up about 15 to 20 spots. ... What happened on Thursday in Baltimore's 34-31 victory against the Redskins is what I expect to happen all season. Boldin really isn't much more than a possession receiver, but defenses were going to be able to sit on the underneath throws to him because the Ravens lacked a legit threat that could stretch the field. Enter Evans, who was once the best deep threat in the NFL. He's going to relax defenses on Boldin, while catching some long balls himself. Boldin had five receptions for 73 yards on Thursday with Evans pulled in three catches for 60 yards -- a nice 20 yards per reception average. Both players caught a TD from QB Joe Flacco, who looked strong after a rough start, completing 17 of 27 passes for 219 yards and two TDs. The passing game is legit in Baltimore. At least every week it doesn't face the Steelers anyway.
RICE, TOO: Not only does Evans' presence greatly increase Boldin and Flacco's value, but it also opens up some opportunities for RB Ray Rice. Rice slashed and dashed his way through the Washington defense on Thursday, gaining 72 yards and scoring a 3-yard TD in the second quarter on 13 carries. ... As the NFL preseason heads into its final two weeks, Rice might have just moved into the No. 5 RB position on my fantasy draft board after Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Jamaal Charles and Chris Johnson. And with Johnson's contract status and Charles' questions about how many red zone carries he'll get, Rice is arguably a better option than those two players as well.
REDSKINS QB SITUATION: Who is the Redskins starting QB? Your guess is as good as mine. In realms of fantasy football, it really doesn't matter at this point. No one outside of a hardcore Redskins fan is going to draft either player, and it would have to be one heck of a hardcore Redskins fan. ... But for the drama, the QB battle between Rex Grossman and John Beck shall live on for at least another week and maybe two more. Expect both players to take snaps during the regular season at some point. After all, Mike Shanahan hasn't appeared to be decisive about any player since John Elway retired in the late 90s. ... On Thursday, the QB battle was essentially a dead draw. Grossman and Beck each had their moments, good and bad. Grossman threw for four more yards than Beck and also had a TD with no INTs, but he completed just 8 of 15 passes and came out of the gate slowly after getting the start. Beck was 6 of 10 for 108 yards with a TD and an INT. He completed a better percentage of his passes, but also threw a pick out of his own end zone. ... The real question is who will be the Redskins QB next season. That answer is Andrew Luck.
SHANAHAN BACKS: The way Mike Shanahan deals with RBs is a nightmare for fantasy owners. While the results have often proven beneficial for the teams he has coached, the random inconsistency of who is carrying the ball makes many owners put any back affiliated with a Shanahan squad on their no-draft list. ... On Thursday, Tim Hightower seemed to cement his position as the Redskins' starter for the beginning of the season, rushing for 56 yards on nine carries, including a 37-yard TD. However, rookie Roy Helu got plenty of work himself, picking up 44 yards on 13 carries. Helu has more negative plays than Hightower at this point, but he's going to get touches this season and there will be times when he gets more attempts than Hightower. That's simply the way a Shanahan RB committee works.
BIG 2ND QUARTER: The Bengals scored all of their points in the second quarter on Thursday with the starting offense being effective in a preseason game for the first time this season. Everyone fantasy owners would want to see perform well got in the act. A.J. Green caught two passes from fellow rookie QB Andy Dalton for 45 yards, including 40-yard TD. TE Jermaine Gresham was targeted just as much as Green was and caught four passes for 49 yards. Even the running game was working with Cedric Benson rushing for 68 yards and a TD on 16 carries, while backup Bernard Scott had 63 yards and a score on six totes. Don't expect this kind of production consistently, and by no means does it make Dalton a draftable commodity. But it does make one feel better about Gresham, Green and Benson and relieve some owners who have already drafted one or more of those three.
ROUGH NIGHT FOR NEWTON: Rumors heading into Thursday's game said if rookie Cam Newton looked adequate then he would definitely be the Week 1 starter for Carolina. Is being adequate with his legs good enough? Newton was more lethal running than passing against the Bengals, rushing for 49 yards, including a 26-yard TD, on four carries as he tried to make up for a brutal passing night. The top overall pick is April's draft managed to complete a mere 6 of 19 passes for 75 yards. Everyone knows Newton can make things happen with his legs, but his arm is obviously still a work in progress. Is that enough to keep him in front of Jimmy Clausen for the time being? I guess it all depends on which way Carolina believes is best for Newton to learn how to play in the NFL. Should he sit, watch and learn or be throw into the fire?
BETTER VICK: It's once again become the hip thing for a NFL analyst to criticize Michael Vick. All I've seemed to hear about the Eagles' polarizing QB is that he's playing more like he did when he was in Atlanta and that's the way he played in the second half of last season. So where was this analysis at the end of last season? No one was saying this as everyone lined up to sing Vick's praises. But thanks the ESPN, that's how the national media works nowadays. ... Vick rebounded from a dismal performance in his second preseason game to play solidly against Cleveland. By no means was he great throwing the ball, completing 10 of 18 passes for 98 yards, but he didn't make drastic mistakes, either. And he did rush for one TD, but I'm sure that will be seen as him acting more like the Atlanta version of himself, too. Whatever. If you were sold on Vick before the preseason, then keep buying. Don't let someone talk you out of it now. The biggest red flag with him is still his injury status, not the way he plays the game.
MCCOY THE RECEIVER: LeSean McCoy was like another receiver on the field for the Eagles on Thursday rather than their starting RB. McCoy had 69 receiving yards on seven catches, which were both easily team-high totals. Dump offs were apparently the order of the night for Vick as he targeted McCoy nine times. But it's not as if McCoy didn't make something happen with the balls he caught. He's a threat anytime he can get in the open field.
MCCOY THE QUARTERBACK: Colt McCoy has become a trendy fantasy sleeper pick in recent weeks after his performances in the first two weeks of preseason play. It's going to be interesting to see if those feelings on him subside any after he struggled Thursday. McCoy completed 9 of 18 passes for 89 yards and an INT. Keep in mind, he was throwing against what should prove to be one of the best pass defenses in the NFL on Thursday. If you regarded McCoy as a late-round sleeper, then hold true on him there. There's no way McCoy is going to be a viable fantasy option on a weekly basis anyway. After all, he does have to see the Steelers and Ravens twice each this season.
LITTLE SLEEPER: Rookie WR Greg Little got the start opposite Brian Robiskie on Thursday, meaning he's impressed enough to be in contention for that role heading into the regular season. LIttle has appeared to be the favorite target of Colt McCoy and had three receptions for 23 yards on Thursday, which are the same numbers Robiskie put up as well. Little's production in the preseason has been impressive and it might be fair to call him the Brown's top receiver at this point. That should make him worth a late-round pick at the very least.
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