Bears in the NFL: Preseason Style

I’ll admit it. I love the NFL preseason. Not nearly as much as the regular season of course, and nowhere near as much as I love college football, but I have to say, me like-eeh some preseason action. Maybe it’s because I’ve been so starved for anything football related, and sorry AFL, for many reasons, you just don’t count. Or maybe it’s because I’m intrigued with how some of the former college players perform in their first NFL snaps. Will Desean Jackson silence the critics in his first NFL snaps? Does Justin Forsett show what he has to make the roster? My goodness, I’m getting excited.

I took a quick look at how some of former Cal Bears players have done in week 1 of the NFL Preseason.

Desean Jackson: THA1 (now THA10) was the star offensively for the Eagles this past weekend, leading the receiving corps. with 5 rec eptions for 51 yards including a spectacular 19 yard catch in which Jackson leaped and caught a ball thrown behind him before getting hit hard to the turf. Jackson said of his first game: “It felt good. It’s football, it’s what I play. It’s nothing different, just going out and trying to make the same plays.” So far so good.

("Welcome to the NFL.")

DAVID MAIALETTI / Philadelphia Daily News

Justin Forsett: Had a solid outing carrying the rock 13 times for 58 yards. He had significantly more carries than “MoMo” Maurice Morris, Julius Jones, and TJ Duckett. While I still expect Forsett to fight to make the roster, it was incredibly encouraging to see him get the bulk of the work running the ball on Friday Night.

Marshawn Lynch: As the starter and cornerstone of Buffalo’s offense, it doesn’t come as a surprise that they decided to rest Beastmode. Lynch only rushed the ball 3 times for 9 yards.

Kyle Boller: 11/15 for 102 yards and an INT. (73.3 QB Rating). Boller had an efficient day as he fights to hold the starting QB position from Troy Smith and rookie Joe Flacco. Boller connected with Derrick Mason on a number of long passes, but marred his performance after throwing into triple coverage.

A few other notables:

Craig Stevens had 1 catch for 11 yards in his debut…Thomas Decoud contributed 2 tackles as a free safety for the Atlanta Flacons…Brandon Mebane, now a full time starter for the Seahawks, saw limited action with 1 assisted tackle…Dante Hughes showed he had fully recovered from last year’s shoulder injury with 2 tackles and 1 pass breakup…while former Cal backs JJ Arrington rushed twice for 8 yards with a 5 yard reception and Adimchinobi Echemandu had 5 rushes for 21 yards for Oakland’s crowded backfield.

The Big ?

The Big Question that remains is how former Cal QB Aaron Rodgers will do in tonight’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Granted, Rodgers will see limited action as the starter, and very little can be learned from a QB in preseason, but as Tedford would say “No question about it”…all eyes will be the quarterback from Chico this evening.