2022 Dynasty/Fantasy Preseason Week 1 Game Report: Falcons 27, Lions 23
The Falcons and Lions both agreed, ahead of time, to play their (mostly) 1st-team for a quarter before turning to the backups…and that resulted in us getting to see one whole series from each 1st-team offense because they were so efficient and both had longer, methodical scoring drives that there was only room for one drive each for the 1st-teams before they departed.
The thing to know about this ‘game’ in an overview sense is -- it was at Detroit, and those fans were jacked up for this meaningless game. Say what you want about Dan Campbell’s approach -- but he is perfect for blue collar Detroit/Michigan. He has the fans engaged and his players going to war. I don’t know if the Lions can get to the playoffs, given GB-MIN 4x in that division…but you don’t want to play that team. They are becoming kneecap biters mixed with real skill players/talent.
The fans were so loud and buzzing the whole time that the Lions fed off the energy…but so too did the Falcons. Atlanta is getting a bit gritty as well. The Falcons are not as good as the Lions, overall, but they aren’t terrible either. They are a young, energetic group and they didn’t wilt to the Lions crowd/energy. Fun 1st-quarter to watch for sure.
Dynasty/Fantasy Player Notes…
-- The Lions had the ball first and Jared Goff (3-4 for 47 yards, 0 TD/0 INT) was a maestro leading the drive. All three of Goff’s completed passes went for 1st-downs. His one incomplete was a pass that went through/off Jamaal Williams’ hands, wide open.
It’s only a preseason game, but again the energy and effort levels were amped up -- and the Lions’ new O-C scripted a great first drive (‘great’ in preseason terms), and Goff looked terrific executing it. Jared Goff might not be a QB1…but he sure as hell is not a QB3 for FF…yet his ADP averages have him behind such luminaries as Daniel Jones, Carson Wentz, Mac Jones, and Trevor Lawrence. The NFL media/intelligentsia have had it out for Goff since his first year, and I have no idea why. He’s one of the 15 best QBs in the NFL.
You can win a Super Bowl with Goff…he almost won one already.
-- Marcus Mariota (2-2 for 36 yards, 0 TD/0 INT, 3-23-1) came right back after the Lions score to lead a TD drive…capped off with Mariota running it in for the score…his third run of the series. If you think Goff’s ADP is a travesty…Mariota as QB30+ is nonsensical. Mariota is going to be, as I’ve said since March, one of the QB leaders in rushing yards this season -- which makes him more valuable for FF.
Desmond Ridder (10-22 for 103 yards, 2 TD/0 INT, 6-59-0) played solid enough ball in his debut. He looked like a ‘lite’ version of Mariota…tall-skinny-mobile. Ridder is a nice backup QB in the NFL…not a frontline, franchise starter.
-- I was delighted to see Kyle Pitts (0-0-0/0) in for some of that first series…but he never saw a target, probably by design. No reason to put him at risk. The FF-good news is -- he didn’t do something amazing to turbocharge his ADP.
-- Cordarrelle Patterson (0-0-0) started the game at RB…played one snap and came out. Got back in for another snap, but didn’t see the ball, which is smart of the coaching staff to not put them in harm’s way.
I was more interested to see what RBs would come in after CP. It was Qadree Ollison (5-33-0) first, then Caleb Huntley (8-18-0), then Damien Williams (3-10-0). And after the 1st-team was done…it was a mix of Ollison-Huntley-Williams.
I was wondering if Tyler Allgeier (3-25-0) was hurt or something, but he started the 2nd-half and took a few carries.
Three takeaways from the ATL backfield rotation here…
1) Ollison-Huntley getting more work than any of them is likely a battle for which of them is going to make the roster, if either of them does. It wasn’t -- this is the Falcons RB plan because of the order they were in this game. It was a showcase for both to try and stick in the NFL.
2) Damien Williams was in that rando RB mix, and he looked the worst of the RBs by far. His time is about over in the NFL. He may stick on the team as a veteran hand, but he’s not gonna be a plan of any kind.
3) Allgeier came in and was better than Ollison-Huntley-Williams, and you could see it in an instant…he took a few carries, looked just like I remembered him at BYU, and then he departed -- and left the final quarter and a half to the rando RBs fighting for NFL life.
-- Drake London (1-24-0/1) caught a smooth crosser pass for a catch and run of 24 yards but was tackled going out of bounds and landed funny, got up slow and was out for the rest of the game. The one glimpse, London looked OK…a little stiff…a little like a TE more than a twitchy WR, but it was only one play we got to see. Drake London catch-and-run
-- Lions grinder WR Tom Kennedy (8-104-0/12) is a Wes Welker wannabe, who is a gritty WR and has become really solid in NFL preseason play the past two years, but then is usually cut or a #5-6 WR. He’s NFL-worthy, but not going to play much in this Lions offense unless mass WR injury hits.
-- IDP Notes…
Lions rookie SAF Kerby Joseph (7 tackles) led all players in tackles, but he didn’t really stand out to me one way or the other.
I went back and watched a few of Falcons rookie edge rusher DeAngelo Malone’s (3 tackles, 1 TFL) pass rush efforts. He looked OK. Looked like he belonged. Didn’t make an impression. He wasn’t with the first team defense for this game. He’s definitely ‘not starting’ at this point.
