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First drive Irv. The talk of Smith's opportunity has droned on since Rudolph's departure and in the preseason finale he showed a couple signs that he may be up for the challenge & not just destined to be one member of a solid platoon. What he showed is a small sample size but it's okay to be more excited about his prospects than you were on Friday afternoon!
Following a two-preseason-game sample size that looked like Dantzler wanted to be cut, 27 showed a marked improvement in the finale. From sticking in run support to much more aggressive effort trying to bring down his man to the johnny-on-the-spot fumble recovery he managed to be a star of the evening.
After throwing an interception which is partially to blame on young Zach Davidson, Mond put together his best stretch of game action. Is the progress enough to quell those who wisely want someone other than Mond or Browning? Unlikely. But if he's able to build on what he showed in KC then he may be able to get to the point of handling spot duty action if Cousins goes down with a minor injury. That's still a fairly large IF but in the baby step journey toward taking the job long term how he performed in this one shouldn't be swept aside.
Mond was aided by a guy who showed competence in all three preseason games, AJ Rose. With the approach of the front office this year being to roll overwhelmingly with veterans Rose may still not have done enough to overtake Abdullah on the depth chart but even in the oversaturated running back landscape he showed more than enough to bypass a year on the practice squad. Want proof? Fine! He turned his eight total touches today into a 7.6 yards/play average while busting through for two scores on the ground. That is maximizing an opportunity if anyone has ever done so!
Speaking of that, the hand-wringing over WR3 won't end after the finale but both K.J. Osborn & Chad Beebe showed that in spot duty they can be helpful. The much-maligned second year receiver from Miami had a toe-drag reception that Antonio Brown would approve of while Beebe took the shot out of bounds that few of us would have gotten up from but he didn't miss a beat. Are they fantasy football team worthy? NO but as options to help alleviate some of the weight on Thielen & Jefferson they showed good things today.
But I can't talk about those two without also mentioned IS-M. His primary role on the team will be as a returner but he finished the game with the second most receiving yards while catching all three of the targets in his direction. On a team lead by someone who would not allow passing if it could work to do so, having a multitude of secondary receiving options to spell the top two guys is a welcome reality & the final game of the preseason showed that they may be able & ready to contribute when called upon.
Parry Nickerson managed the lowest-graded positive possible. He would have been without excuse had he not caught the fourth quarter INT which sparked the comeback. The old adage may be that they play defense for a reason but as a pro athlete, if he had not closed on that throw right into his chest he would have surpassed Dakota Dozier as the most deserving player to get cut.
Okay, maybe it wouldn't have been THAT bad, but you get the idea!
Where there negatives? The correct answer is yes.
But since the team still did not play several of it's best guys, while getting some good work from the soon-to-be depth members of the roster, none of those elements are going to dwelt upon at this time.
Because as history has shown, there will be plenty of reason for negativity, frustration & rage soon enough.
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