Thursday night's two-game preseason schedule was a nice appetizer for the 12 games to follow over the next two nights. We've already told you what we've learned. Now let's show you with fancy videos.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers actually missed an open Jordy Nelson two times during his brief work. Nelson beat one of the best young cornerbacks in football, Joe Haden, badly on Green Bay's first play from scrimmage. Rodgers' timing was off, but he made up for it a few plays later with this ridiculous toss.
"It's not fair, really," Packers general manager Ted Thompson told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel after the game. "Defensively, you can't do it any better than that."
On the flipside was backup quarterback Graham Harrell's performance. The play below typified his evening. It wasn't all Harrell's fault, but he can't escape blame for his slow tempo and decision making overall. The Packers had one first down in Harrell's first five possessions.
Matt Ryan is completing 79 percent of his passes with a 9.7 yards-per-attempt average during the preseason. It's safe to say he likes the Atlanta Falcons' new fast-break offense. When things are going that well, plays like this happens.
Andy Dalton had three consecutive throws that showed off his much-disputed arm strength, capped by this score to A.J. Green. We missed A.J. Green in our lives. (Asante Samuel did not.) We also loved Dalton calling out names after the game.
Note to coaches like Mike McCarthy: Do notchallenge turnovers.
Let's go out on a positive note. The Bengals' receiver battle between Brandon Tate, Mohamed Sanu, Armon Binns and Marvin Jones still seems up for grabs. Sanu scored a touchdown Thursday. Jones might be last in line, but he did this:
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
