Full Coverage Of Thursday's NFL Preseason Games

RGIII, Peyton Manning And Replacement Refs: Reviewing Thursday's Games

Thursday night featured the first full slate of NFL preseason games. Join us for a look back at the highs and lows from a night of not-quite-ready for prime time football.

Mike Adams Looked 'Awful' In Steelers Debut

Pittsburgh Steelers fans got their first real look at the 2012 squad in Thursday's preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. A game-winning field goal by Philadelphia had many Pittsburgh fans feeling underwhelmed by the team. Second-round draft pick and rookie Mike Adams did not receive high marks from those with discerning eyes.

Neal Coolong from Behind the Steel Curtain broke down the loss and did not have favorable things to say about Adams.

Simply put, Adams looked awful, surrendering 2.5 sacks over a nine-play stretch in which the only real value he provided was the recovery of the two fumble[s] his assignment caused. He left the game with a knee injury, and to be fair, LT Trai Essex didn't look much better, as Philadelphia showed they apparently have Lawrence Taylor, Deacon Jones and Reggie White playing behind their starting defensive ends.

There is still plenty of time before the season for the Steelers to address issues with their offensive line. Adams could still end up being a valuable player for Pittsburgh.

For the latest on the Steelers, be sure to check out Behind the Steel Curtain and SB Nation Pittsburgh.

That's Enough, Replacement Refs

This is the same ref that mixed up Atlanta and Arizona ... twice. Now there's this.

They forgot to set the first down marker. And because they forgot to set the chains, the ref had to come out and say "the first down chains were not set prior to the snap so we shut the play down prior to the snap." That was a real sentence uttered over the microphone from the department of redundancy department.

Dear NFL, please settle with your referees. I never thought I'd say this, but please bring the regular refs back.

Patriots' Dane Fletcher Tears ACL In Saints Game

Patriots linebacker Dane Fletcher suffered a torn ACL early in Thursday's game against the Saints.

That's Not Arizona, Ref (Again)

Mix Arizona and Atlanta up once, shame on you. Mix Arizona and Atlanta up twice and ... you know what, just get out. You're done here. You can hit the showers for the rest of the night.

Well, this was just horrible. Again, the same ref stumbled and bumbled through a challenge explanation. And again he mixed up Arizona and Atlanta. At least this time he caught himself, I guess.

In all seriousness, this whole replacement ref thing is horrible. Sure, this is probably a minor slip. But it's embarrassing. And as refs fumble around, stumble through calls and just plain make the wrong calls, patience is growing thin.

If we have to go through this during the regular season, there's going to be problems. Preseason ref issues? Whatever, maybe they're working out some of the issues. But considering the start many of these replacement refs are off to, things aren't looking so good right now.

Peyton Manning Picked On His First Drive As A Bronco

Peyton Manning's first preseason game with the Denver Broncos started off so well. 12-yard pass to Jacob Tamme, 10 yards to Eric Decker and this nice looking 19-yard pass again to Decker.

Notice the feet -- always moving. He pretty much looked like the Manning of old. The Broncos' offense was humming as they entered the red zone and then...well, all good things must come to an end. Manning's potential touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley turned into a drive-killer.

It wasn't a perfect pass -- slightly behind him -- but that's not on Manning. Stokley, former Colts teammate of Manning, needs to make that catch. (Or did the Bears defender tip that first? Let us know in the comments.)

All in all, the first drive of the day was solid for Manning. He threw the ball 20 yards down the field a couple of times and showed that at least some of his arm strength was there. We didn't see a bomb out of him but that's to be expected this early in the preseason.

That drive was all she wrote for Manning. Backup Caleb Hanie relieved him on the next series.

For more on Manning and his Denver debut, check out Mile High Report and SB Nation Denver.

Michael Vick Injures Hand On Teammate's Helmet

The one thing every team hopes for in the preseason is to avoid injuries. Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles couldn't do that. Vick injured his left hand on what appeared to be his own teammate's helmet.

Vick took the snap and dropped back to pass, having to step up in the pocket as he felt pressure. When he stepped forward to throw, the ball was released and his hand hit the helmet of teammate Jason Kelce.

He was clearly in pain as he grasped his hand and walked back to the sidelines. Eagles trainer Rick Burkholder was sitting with him on the sidelines, apparently working on the hand.

It's safe to say that Vick's day is done. The good news may be that this happened in the first preseason game and not the last one.

For more on the Eagles, visit Bleeding Green Nation and SB Nation Philly.

Dream Team!

I'm kidding Eagles fans. It's just a funny GIF.

Replacement Refs Are Confusing Cities Now

How well are the replacement refs doing? Not so well. Not so well at all, in fact.

During a matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons, a replacement ref reviewed a play. After stumbling through the ruling, he said "Arizona will not be charged a timeout." This was, technically, true. The Cardinals were not charged a timeout ... because they weren't playing in the game.

Arizona played last Sunday against the Saints. The Cardinals play again tomorrow night in Kansas City. I just ... man it's going to be a long season.

Byron Leftwich Is Playing Football

This has been a Byron Leftwich update.

Twitter Places A Bounty On Tom Brady, Or Something Like That

Julio Jones Doing What Julio Jones Does

After RGIII, Julio Jones is the next greatest thing ever.

The Atlanta Falcons receiver is back at it making pretty awesome touchdown catches. The catch below may not seem like a tough catch considering what we've seen from Jones in the past but to track the ball in the air like that and make the reception with a defender in your face is impressive. And to do all of that while jumping in the air makes this a great highlight.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this Julio Jones guy is going to be pretty good.

For all the Julio Jones you can get, visit The Falcoholic and SB Nation Atlanta.

RGIII's NFL Career Off To A Fast Start

Robert Griffin III has thrown his first touchdown pass in the NFL. It wasn't one of those 70-yard bombs he used to throw at Baylor, but the points count just the same. The credit for this touchdown can go to newly imported wide receiver Pierre Garcon and the Redskins downfield blocking.

RGIII lined up in the shotgun and took the snap before dumping it off to Garcon in the flat for a quick screen. The Redskins' blockers had nice movement in getting out in front of Garcon and allowed him to make his way to the end zone.

We spent the entire offseason drooling over RGIII and he's not disappointing through one quarter of preseason play. (Meaningless preseason play, but still.) Kicking off your NFL career with a 145.8 passer rating -- 4-of-6 for 70 yards and a touchdown -- isn't a bad way to start.

The list of people who like what they saw from RGIII is long.

Seeing some good things from RG3 already ... As our studio guys mentioned, seeing him snap his head around, read field is encouraging.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 9, 2012

RG3's first pro touchdown drive a beauty. His confidence shows in the shotgun and under center. Great command of the O vs tough Buff front.

— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) August 9, 2012

Dear God. Is that … a non-red color emerging on Mike Shanahan's face?Truly RG3's greatest achievement.

— Will Brinson (@willbrinson) August 9, 2012

So....just another day at the office for RGIII huh

— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) August 9, 2012

This Is Not RGIII

Peyton Manning Is In The Building

Peyton Manning will be playing his first NFL game in well over a year when Broncos visit Chicago to play the Bears in a preseason contest on Thursday night. It's been exactly 579 days since he last played, but, you know, who's counting?

Is that the Manningface I see? It's been a while.

Manning isn't expected to play very long against the Bears. Broncos executive John Elway said you can expect a series or two from Denver's new quarterback, depending on how things go.

The NFL world has been waiting for Manning to not only play in a game, but also take a hit to show he's healthy, and go deep into a game to show that his arm strength is back. He may not be 100 percent yet, but he's reportedly close.

The Broncos and Bears game kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET

For more on Manning's Broncos debut, visit Mile High Report and SB Nation Denver.

Eagles Will Hold Moment Of Silence For Garrett Reid, Wear 'GR' Patch

The Philadelphia Eagles will hold a moment of silence for Garrett Reid before Thursday night's Week 1 preseason matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Garrett, the son of head coach Andy Reid, passed away last week. The team will also be wearing a "GR" patch on their helmets to remember Garrett.

Garrett Reid was just 29 years old. He has a history of drugs but by many accounts he had turned his life around and was working with the Eagles. He was in the Eagles dorm room at LeHigh University when he was found.

Andy only took several days off before returning to the Eagles this week. The team rallied around him with Michael Vick even dedicating the season to Garrett Reid.

The Eagles-Steelers game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday night. Reid, as you can tell in the photo below (via NFL Network), will be coaching the game.

For an Eagles perspective of all this, visit Bleeding Green Nation.

Tom Brady Will Play In Patriots Preseason Opener

The defending AFC Champion New England Patriots are getting ready for their first preseason game of 2012. On Thursday night, they'll take on the New Orleans Saints.There was some question about whether Patriots quarterback Tom Brady would be playing in the game, but those fears have been put to rest as he will at the very least take a few snaps in Foxborough.

Greg A. Bedard of the Boston Globe reports that Brady has confirmed he will be playing in Thursday's game against the Saints. Brady did not play in the 2011 preseason opener, but that was mostly due to concerns about the offensive line following the NFL lockout.

Brady played two series in the 2010 preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That is likely the sort of performance that can be expected on Thursday against the Saints, as the Patriots would like to get an extended look at backup Ryan Mallett.

For more on the Saints, check out Canal Street Chronicles. For more on the Patriots, head over to Pats Pulpit.

Peyton Manning's Broncos Debut Won't Last Long

The Denver Broncos will meet the Chicago Bears for each team's preseason opener on Thursday night and the biggest story in the game is how Peyton Manning will do in his first game as a Bronco. Denver inked Manning to a free agent deal in the offseason, which has provided us with many story lines heading into the preseason.

Manning traditionally doesn't do a whole during the preseason and it doesn't sound like that will change in Denver. Broncos executive John Elway told NFL Network that Manning will likely see one or two series' of action before getting pulled.

"If things go well right off the bat, have a nice scoring drive, then get him out. You wanna get something going to where they have a good drive. You don't want to have three three-and-outs. You wanna get some confidence, get some first downs, and maybe put some points on the board. If we do that, get him out, and go to the next week."

Manning's health was one of our things to watch for tonight. It's been well over a year since he's taken a snap in a game. His health, especially his arm strength, is one of the key points to watch in this game. Unfortunately, we'll have to figure that out in just a series or two.

Here are all the nuts and bolts for the Broncos-Bears game including the TV schedule, game time, odds and all that.

For more on the Bears head over to Windy City Gridiron and SB Nation Chicago. For more on the Broncos check out Mile High Report and SB Nation Denver.

The RGIII Show Debuts, And Other NFL Preseason Story Lines

Six NFL preseason games are on the schedule for Thursday night, including the debut of Robert Griffin III as a Redskin and Peyton Manning as a Bronco.

Packers Vs. Chargers: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The Packers and Chargers begin preseason play Thursday in San Diego.

Steelers vs. Eagles: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The first week of the NFL preseason schedule will feature an in-state rivalry as the Pittsburgh Steelers head to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles.

Ravens Vs. Falcons: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons will open their NFL preseason schedule against Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.

Redskins Vs. Bills: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins will make their 2012 NFL debut with a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.

Broncos Vs. Bears: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

Peyton Manning will make his debut in a Denver Broncos uniform against the Chicago Bears on Thursday.

Saints Vs. Patriots: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints will face off at Gillette Stadium on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.