Hall of Fame Game - My Highlights

So last night we were treated to the first game of the NFL preseason. The Hall of Fame Game is a game that is normally full of base schemes, 2nd & 3rd string guys and guys that you will probably not see again after roster cuts. Having said that, there were some great performances last night, especially by rookies. Below are some personal highlights of mine from the HOF Game.

Highlights

My first highlight, Football. As a fan, it was great to have Football back on our screens. Yes, the game wasn’t the most competitive Football we are used to, but it was still Football, and that’s what we are fans off.

Now let’s talk about RGIII. Griffin is on somewhat of a comeback tour and is trying to win back his place in the NFL. There was so much hype around RGIII, the Heisman winner, out of college, and rightly so. His first season with the Redskins, he looked like a new breed of QB. Sadly, that didn’t last. But, after spending the 2017 season out of Football, he seems to have put in some major work. He showed flashes of brilliance on the field with his accuracy and his ability to scramble, a hallmark of RGIII. There was a moment of brilliance in which he through into a tight window to tight end, Nick Boyle for a completion.

It’s hard to say what RGIII’s future is in the NFL, but he seems to have fitted into the Ravens offense well and could become a useful back-up. Are the Ravens going to keep three quarterbacks on their roster heading into the 2018 regular season? That all depends on A, what they see in Griffin and B, what their plans are for Joe Flacco. If the Ravens are planning on trading away Flacco at the end of 2018 to start their 1st round pick Lemar Jackson, who better to backup Jackson than another mobile quarterback?

Let’s talk about the Bears quarterback situation. Trubisky was padded up for the HOF Game, but as you can imagine, didn’t start. That fell to Chase Daniels and Tyler Bray. Daniels did not look comfortable at all and gave the ball away far too many times with stupid mistakes. His accuracy was not there either. Bray however, looked a little more comfortable the more he settled into the role. Daniels has been in the league since 2010 and Bray since 2013. Both have experience running Matt Nagy’s new offense as they did so in Kansas. However, I wouldn’t trust Daniels to step in for Trubisky. I would however trust Bray after a few more reps in training camp and during the season. Bray threw a blinder in the 4th quarter for a touchdown to Gentry and showed flashes of sturdy quarterback play.

We saw some great plays by Ravens 1st rounder, Hayden Hurst at the tight end position showing that he can block as well as catch. He did his job and he did it well. It’s still important to remember these guys are rookies and there is still a lot of training and reps that are needed to really get these schemes instilled in their brains.

Having said that, Orlando Brown Jr played really well on the Ravens line. He is a big guy but showed his athletic ability. He got off the line really well and with speed and presence. Once he was in the right stance and found his man, he was a force to be reckoned with. He showed promise in the run block and made holes for the Ravens offense to progress. He comes from great pedigree with his dad, Orlando Brown Sr playing for the Ravens in 1996-1998 and again in 2003-2005 at the same position. Brown is a player im excited to see progress in the NFL and for the Ravens. He could really help that line on certain schemes.

Bradley Bozeman looked comfortable in his position on the Ravens O line and is another lineman that I’m excited to see progress during the season.

In steps the Bears 5th round pick, defensive end, Bilal Nichols. Nichols played really well during his time on the field and had a moment of brilliance with the 4th quarter sack on Lemar Jackson on 2nd down. Bilal is a big bodied end and has the athletic ability to match. He is so quick off the line that he could cause serious problems for the opposing offensive line. He has some development to do but could become great for the Bears in a year or so.

Let’s talk about Lemar Jackson. Jackson has been the most talked about rookie quarterback this offseason and much debate has been had as to whether the Ravens would swap him in for Joe Flacco at the starting position. Last night he showed some flashes of what could make him a great QB in the NFL for the Ravens. However, it did also show me that he needs to be sat for a year behind Flacco to develop a little more. It was easy to see why he is so highly rated by greats like Michael Vick. His ability to extend plays with his feet, coupled with his intelligence for reading defenses makes him unpredictable for any opposing defense, and we know that this is the future of the NFL when you look at standouts like Deshaun Watson. I want to see Jackson develop a bit more to really lock down his accuracy and his maturity in decision making as to when or when not to use his feet. But, if Jackson manages to lock that down, he will be a beast when he does eventually start.

My final point is on the new tackling rule. It was difficult to see some of the calls last night, and you could tell the players were just as confused about what was legal and not legal. During the preseason and regular season, we will see a lot of flags thrown for instances that are nothing more than a football tackle. Sadly, I think we will also see games won and lost by bad calls against this rule. It’s going to be a key rule to keep an eye on as we enter into more regular games now and to see how it progresses and what the players and coaches have to say about it.

Conclusion

It’s hard to evaluate a game like this and players performances within it, given that it’s made up of base schemes and rookies. It was useful for the fans to see what the Ravens have got with Jackson and some of their defensive players. But let’s remember that most half of the guys on the field last night will not even make the 53-man roster.

It was great to see the class of 2018 take up their rightful place in Canton, Ohio. Some greats of the game and some guys who deserve it, and maybe even deserved it a lot sooner than it was given to them.