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The third week of pre-season is when starters are supposed to make headlines. This is the game where they usually play about half of the football and we start to see what each side is capable of. And to some extent, we saw that with the Bengals on Thursday night. Andy Dalton's 26-meter goal at C.J. Uzomah and Carl Lawson's striptease represent the promise of each starting unit.
But as for the pre-season, the recruits made too much noise for us to ignore them. The third week against the Giants was no different.
The second-round selection, Drew Sample, was dismissed with a hamstring and the third-round selection, Germaine Pratt was much quieter in this match. Most of them have played well, but a handful has really stood out.
In the first shot taken by Anderson last night, he had an impact. After making a flat run, Anderson grabbed the ball two meters behind the line of scrimmage, stomped into the ground and scored 14 meters for a first try for a net gain of 12 yards.
39 other shipyards would follow for Anderson. 47 of his 51 yards would come after taking, since he was responsible for some of the most impressive games of the match.
If you knew who Anderson was before Thursday night, what he did on the field should not have surprised you. The former Oklahoma Sooner was the next man behind Joe Mixon and made his mark on crimson and cream the year Mixon left for the Bengals and NFL. Her 2017 record screams loudly as an NFL draft pick and another season as if she had consolidated that status. You all know what happened next.
Head coach Zac Taylor's goal was to leave Anderson in the first two pre-season games and release him in the third week. Anderson could have played the previous two weeks, but the wait was well worth it. It looks more than healthy, it looks absolutely dangerous.
When it comes to running the ball, do not take too much stock in your seven yards in eight races. He had a little more than three times more meters after contact because of the frequency with which he encountered tacklers behind the line of scrimmage. This is not an indictment for his vision, but for the blockage in front of him.
Anderson showed not only why he was special, but above all, ready to dominate 100% as soon as he was called.
Damion Willis has not taken the test yet
In a pre-season without A.J. Green and John Ross, Willis was a blessing of a discovery. Everything that was thrown to the old Last chance U star, figuratively and literally, he was able to handle.
Figuratively, Willis went from the third quarter to the spring to the first team offensive of the biggest preseason contest.
Literally, it happened:
This has also happened:
And then, it happened:
The only thing more important than Willis' line of statistics with three catches, 51 yards and his first career touchdown was what happened before all that.
In the first part of the match, quarterback Andy Dalton targeted Willis on the first third of the match. Dalton was pressured when he pitched and the pass was found slightly behind Willis, allowing cornerback Corey Ballentine to easily break the pass. But for Willis, playing with the first team and playing the main role in a crucial game of the first series is huge.
It's not a question of whether Willis will be part of the team at this point, but whether he will be one of the 46 active players while Green is recovering from an operation at the ankle. If this match was an indication, it would seem that this will be the case, especially if the knee injury of Auden Tate fate of the commission for the first week.
Stay a little longer, Jake Dolegala
In the absence of Jeff Driskel (hamstring), the Bengals turned to their fourth quarterback at Dolegala to finish the second half. Like Ryan Finley two weeks ago, Dolegala dropped a few jaws and pennies in his pre-season debut.
His second pass of the match was perhaps the best pitch of all night shifts.
Lost in the hype of Willis and, to a certain extent, Stanley Morgan, untransposed receiver Ventell Bryant played a solid third qualifying match while Morgan missed the match due to injury. He was the recipient of this magnificent Dolegala lob that helped install the three-yard touchdown to Willis.
Later in the fourth quarter, Dolegala hit Bryant on a third and long with pressure in the face.
And to close the drive, Dolegala scored his second touchdown of the quarter on another faded path, this time around to Josh Malone.
Dolegala finished the game with 94 yards on 10-12 assists and both scores. His 11.17 yards per attempt outpaced only Dalton (12.4) and Daniel Jones (12.8) and beat Finley (7.75) considerably.
Speaking of Finley, he still recorded a strong performance. The long bomb at Willis is a stain on his part for underlining the receiver so blatantly, but you could Finley put extra mustard on some shots outside the hash marks later in the game.
That seems to be the difference between Dolegala and Finley. The guy from Dolegala, who has not yet been shot, has a quick and tight release and can hit the ball with easy velocity. Finley's 104th pick must force the ball with the necessary velocity and sometimes compromise his accuracy to do so. This talent should allow Dolegala to stay at least in the training team, if he is exempt from waiver.
Other notable
We had another busy day for defensive tackle Renell Wren (33 offensive shots leading the team), but we saw fourth-round teammate Michael Jordan (17 shots) leave after the first team finished the match early in the second quarter.
Jordan has started the left guard for the second week in a row and, according to most people, is the favorite to retire from work. But as Trey Hopkins continues to watch Billy Price on the horizon, it's hard to guess who starts when the first week unfolds.
In addition to all this to the left tackle, O'Shea Dugas may have qualified himself. The rookie was criticized for two sacks and some extra pressure. After a more promising performance last week against the Redskins, Dugas seemed very honestly lost for most of this competition.
Novice linebackers, outside of Pratt, continue to not be factors, but at least Deshaun Davis plays a lot (31 snaps). If anyone can push Hardy Nickerson to quit his job, it is he who does it now. Chances are, both of them will make the team, leaving Malik Jefferson with the equation.
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