With both teams opting to sit the cores of their rosters boredom should have been expected. The only way it could have been more of a snoozer is it happened Sunday afternoon in fact.
Even so, there were new pieces of information to glean from the game.
The best part of the game for Minnesota was what T.Y. McGill did as a pass rusher. If all he did was take down the quarterback twice he would have made it into the mix but he applied pressure consistently, all but securing a spot for himself on the 53-man roster. It's fair to think that he may be able to have a Tom Johnson-like impact for the team this season, which would be amazing value as he's signed for just over $1,000,000.
That clarity came as the competition for backup quarterback & punt returner remained murky, at best. With the immense depth at receiver on the roster Ihmir Smith-Marsette had the chance to solidify himself into the top 6 by way of handling punts but instead fumble it away. That doesn't mean he's sure to be cut but losing the opportunity to add value that way is damaging to his chances.
As for who may have the advantage to get the QB2 designation, both Kellen Mond & Sean Mannion had some nice throws and each also made some bone-headed decisions. As a long-term project Mond still has higher upside but he did nothing to separate himself through these four quarters. Unless the team makes a trade Sunday or Monday it's all but a guarantee that it will be the same sort of showcase next Saturday. Of the many options they targeted this week Olabisi Johnson distinguished himself while getting more chances than any of the others. If you're keep track at home grab your pencils and slot him in WR4.
Similar to the receiver group, linebacker depth is cloudy. Brian Asamoah was once again around the ball repeatedly but the other guys trying to get in behind Kendricks & Jordan Hicks did not help their own causes much.
In conjunction with a reported ankle injury to Andrew Booth Jr. Akayleb Evans maximized his time on the field. If he's shown any sort of a pulse on special teams since camp started then he is another one that may have secured his standing for the season. As for the injured second round pick, the non-contact injury (code for ACL) was quickly dispelled by the team, so unless it proves to be another "tweak" situation ABJ could be good to go by Green Bay.
As unclear as things remain and even for as much of a yawner as the game was, the team has had few injury issues thus far, which is definitely worth an 0-2 record in the preseason!
A new addition this week is a second opinion about how things went!
This pre-season has been a lot like my car last winter, with barely a starter in sight. Out top three receivers being out, as well as plenty of other players (27), means that our coaching staff has a great deal of faith in our starters. While we need to wait until the season to see whether they're right, it bodes well, especially for our offense and Cousins.
When it came to the game, we saw a lot of the roster shake up. Mannion had a better game, and Mond looked flashy, but every fan should hope Kirk stays healthy this year after watching our presumed backups. Our O-line is still the weakest unit, but we can hope that they don't need to step on the field since so many starters were out. Likewise, our receivers didn't inspire confidence but with the top three set in stone its a minor complaint. Chandler showed some real flash as a potential RB3 but overall our ground game is solid and shows the depth that we will need at some point. I didn't see a lot of difference in our TE's, but we still have another game to go.
Our D-line was awesome overall but this year's Audi Cole has to be T.Y. McGill. Multiple sacks this pre-season means that Hunter can take some reps off, which should help his durability. Our corners are middling, but the biggest news is Booth going down. Hopefully the medical team can get him back, but Harrison Hand has shown flashes previously. Our linebackers looked solid but a lot of that will depend on how our veterans adapt to the new 3-4 scheme. The Niners picked on the middle of the field but with Smith out it's hard to take that very seriously. Our punter has been good, but our return game has been hot garbage, especially from ISM. Moving forward, let's hope Hand doesn't need to play too long and we will see if the staff has been right to hold so many starters out.
We will find out Tuesday which of the guys should have done more with their opportunity then the final 27 spots will come down to one week & one more game. To put it simply, there's a lot more to learn but it's exciting!
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