Every year, the NFL’s Hall of Fame Game marks the start of a new NFL preseason. Except when it doesn’t.

The 2016 game between the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts was cancelled after some shoddy painting made the field at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium unplayable. High temperatures helped congeal the on-the-ground logos with the FieldTurf below, leaving the playing surface “hard as concrete” in some places and a gooey mess in others. While crews tried to fix the problem, the league decided to scuttle the game altogether, leading to a slew of upset fans and at least two notable lawsuits.

That paved the way for the annual game to be moved from Sunday night to Thursday night, two days before the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. And believe it or not, there are reasons to watch the first in the league’s month-long series of meaningless games. The 2018 edition of the Hall of Fame Game will pit the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears against each other in a battle of teams that should be better this year after some upgrades this offseason. What will the Ravens do with first-round pick Lamar Jackson? Does Mitchell Trubisky finally have enough weapons to prove he’s worthy of being 2017’s No. 2 pick?

We won’t really know after Thursday — but at least we’ll have something to talk about.

So, without further ado, here’s why you should tune in for the 2018 Hall of Fame Game.

1. How are the Ravens going to use Lamar Jackson?

Baltimore traded up to the 32nd pick to make Jackson the final selection of the first round back in April, setting him up as the team’s quarterback of the future in the process. But he’ll play alongside the team’s quarterback of the present for at least one season, as Joe Flacco remains on the roster for the low price of $24.75 million for 2018. Flacco has never been worse than he was in 2017 — his 5.7 yards per attempt was the lowest mark for a regular starting QB since 2014 — but at 33 years old, he’s still young enough to bounce back.

If he can return to his average, totally-not-elite level of play, it will force head coach John Harbaugh to find creative ways to get the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner on the field. The Ravens have run a handful of two-QB sets through OTAs and training camp so far, and we could see some of that gadgetry come to fruition in a game situation Thursday — at least for the one or two series Flacco might play before giving way to backup Jackson. And for Jackson, it means his first big opportunity to prove he’s an NFL QB:

2. Tarik Cohen is human electricity

Cohen and Jordan Howard combined for 1,492 yards and 4.2 yards per carry last fall, good numbers that become great when you consider the total non-threat of the Mike Glennon/Mitchell Trubisky passing offense behind them. Defenses loaded up the box against Chicago’s dynamic young tailback platoon, and they still managed to do things like this:

Howard won’t play Thursday night, leaving Cohen extra reps to light up the Canton crowd. New head coach Matt Nagy is tasked with figuring out how to best utilize his waterbug-quick playmaker, and that could mean bonus snaps for the second-year player in Game 0. If you’re hard up for football excitement, Cohen should oblige — even if Howard doesn’t make an appearance.

3. Two 2015 first-round wide receivers are fighting for roster spots

This offseason, the Ravens gave their staid offense a jolt by drafting two athletic, pass-catching tight ends (Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews) and signing three veteran wide receivers (Michael Crabtree, John Brown, and Willie Snead). That should help one of the worst passing offenses last season.

What does that mean for 2015 first-rounder Breshad Perriman? Well, he should get plenty of snaps Thursday night, but Baltimore Beatdown says he could face an uphill battle to make the roster:

The Ravens completely rebuilt their wide receiver corps, which essentially put Perriman on the hot seat. They picked up his roster bonus at the beginning of training camp to allow him an opportunity to prove himself, and Baltimore has given him reps as a gunner on special teams to try to utilize his speed differently. His career has been filled with drops and injuries thus far, but it is clear what he has to do to make the roster: consistently catch the ball and create separation.

The Ravens’ passing game was a crapfest last season, but it wasn’t the worst in the NFL. That (dis)honor belonged to the Bears. Trubisky was up and down as a rookie, but he has the chance to make that Year 2 leap now that Chicago gave him some weapons (Anthony Miller, Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, and Trey Burton) who aren’t just his running backs.

So what about the Bears’ own 2015 first-round pick, Kevin White? He’ll get playing time Thursday too — and Windy City Gridiron thinks he’s got a good shot at making the cut:

The former seventh overall pick is entering his fourth season with just five NFL games under his belt, and of those five games, he only finishing three of them. After spending multiple resources to completely overhaul the position, White finds himself in a vulnerable position as the Bears head into the season. The former Mountaineer was general manager Ryan Pace’s first draft pick — meaning he’ll get every chance to not only make the team, but push for significant snaps once they hit the regular season.

4. It’ll be our first glimpse at the new Bears offense

The Hall of Fame Game isn’t exactly the rollout of the 2.0 version of the Trubisky-led Bears offense. Howard already told NFL Network he won’t be playing Thursday and Trubisky is a “probably not” too. That means you shouldn’t expect to see their free agent acquisition Robinson, either.

That takes some shine off Nagy’s coaching debut, but it’s a debut all the same.

And even if many of the most important cogs aren’t in action, there are still two other free agent signings — Burton and Gabriel — who could make their first appearance in the Chicago offense.

But most interesting for the Bears will be the glimpse at Nagy’s play-calling. The former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator brings much more creativity than John Fox’s conservative game plans of the last few years. The key for the future will be Nagy’s ability to get the most out of Trubisky, but the preseason opener could be the first look at what kind of ideas he’s bringing to the table.

5. It could be fun — REALLY

We know, we know. It’s preseason football — well, the Hall of Fame Game isn’t even technically considered preseason Week 1, so maybe it’s pre-preseason. And Bears vs. Ravens in primetime sounds like a mid-October Monday Night Football snoozefest that they try to trick us into watching by releasing a new Star Wars trailer during the broadcast.

Buuuuut, it could still be fun. This is our first taste at real-ish football since February, and just like Ashton Kutcher, you’re allowed to be excited about that:

Hell, it’s not like last year’s game was a total wash — it had its moments, even if one of those was “Blaine Gabbert looked pretty good” lololol.

Whether it’s a boneheaded play, a technical mishap (it’s not just the preseason for the guys on the field), Ray Lewis showing up on a horse and rapping, or an official trying to enforce the confusing new helmet rule, something dumb is very likely to happen. It could be a fleeting moment of ridiculousness that we’ll forget about a week from now, but that’s OK: It’s still football.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Source link