Questions, Questions, Questions…
The time has finally come! Depending on when you’re reading this article the 2024 NFL Pre-season has come to an end. We are now only twelve days away from the season starting! With that being said this article is to see what answers we have learned and what we still have questions about.
Get your fantasy teams ready and enjoy the final pre-season article from the Bench’d Beat.
Question Answered: The Raiders QB room
Going into training camp AOC and Minshew Mania were ready to battle it out. Whether or not that competition was riveting is not what we are discussing here. In the two games that the quarterbacks both played in this pre-season their final stats were:
Minshew O’Connell
16/33 21/29
212 yards 172 yards
1TD/0 INT 1TD/1 INT
86.75 QBR 89.05 QBR
When the dust settled head coach Antonio Pierce decided on Gardner Minshew as the starter. Last year as the Colts starter Minshew was able to guide Indy literally to the door-step of a playoff appearance and division crown. With an alpha dog, Davante Adams, this season should provide plenty of story lines from Sin City.
Question Unanswered: New York Jets team bonding
Maybe outside of the Dallas Cowboys is there a team in the NFL that has had a louder off-season than the team from Gotham? Anything from leadership issues, trade requests, botched media sessions, and even star players getting upset. This season feels very “unstable” and if things get off to a rough start the Jets might need an emergency landing.
Question Answered: Daniel Jones is not the guy
The HBO series Hard Knocks really showed the lack of confidence that the front office has in Jones. It felt as though they just “have” to send them out there. He has played so poorly and the lack of weapons around him will not help. I don’t know if John Mara has slept since Saquon Barkley went south to Philly, but if he has, that rest could be coming to an end starting in September.
Question Unanswered: Will Herbert take the next step?
There has not been a shortage of news coming out of LA. Harbaugh has certainly stolen headlines by strange comments and even more interesting takes on some of his players. The question is still out on Herbert. Will he be healthy? Will Harbaugh be able to coach him to the next level? Are there enough weapons around him? Can they compete in the division? It will be very interesting to see/
Question Answered: The AFC North is going to be difficult.
It took me about five minutes to look through the rosters of the AFC North to understand that this division will be so tough to pick a winner. Within the division there are questions that are still there, but at the same time you could argue a reason for any of the teams to win the division. Cannot wait for the cold weather games this year as these teams beat each other up in the rain and snow.
Question Unanswered: The new kick-off rule
The verdict is out still on whether or not it will be a success, but one thing for sure is that it could stop us from heading to the fridge during kick-offs. It certainly looks weird on TV, but I’m willing to give it a chance. The game is moving in a direction of safety and we might just have to be ok with the results.
As I close, I just wanted to say that WE. HAVE. MADE. IT to all the NFL fans out there. Enjoy the final couple days of the off-season and be sure to track your team’s cuts and waiver pick ups. They are certainly going to be fast and furious in the coming days!
