Recapping Thursday's Action

Last night there were six teams in action to kick off week one of the NFL preseason.

To some fans preseason doesn't mean anything and they may not enjoy it because they don't know who most of the players are. But to me, preseason is much more than that.

Not only does it mean the return of football, which also means we are that much closer to those lovely Sunday afternoons in the fall, but it also gives us fans a chance to spot out which teams have hidden talents on the bench. Which is always fun to do in my opinion.

The stars are certainly still the focal point, but it's nice to see those other guys get a chance.

The most exciting of the three games was between the defending champion Saints and Tom Brady's Patriots. New England and New Orleans both saw their backup quarterbacks have solid games. Patrick Ramsey (Saints) went 7/11 with 111 yards, the 24-year old Brian Hoyer (Patriots) went 8 of 13 for 106 yards. Neither threw any touchdown passes, but they did lead the team down the field a couple of times and stayed mistake-free, which is always something coaches love to see.

Coming off a season in which he started just five games (only 14 starts in four NFL seasons with New England), Laurence Maroney ran the ball well, gaining 30 yards and two TDs on eight carries.

Welker-esque Julian Edelman caught six passes for 90 yards while second-year receiver of the Saints, Adrian Arrington caught four passes which went for a total of 87 yards.

All in all, a great game to watch especially for the preseason. Very little mistakes committed on both sides of the field. Zero turnovers and a total nine penalties. Can't argue with that.

The other two games (Panthers@Ravens, Raiders@Cowboys) didn't quite matchup but it was hard-hitting football nevertheless.

In Dallas, Tony Romo's offense struggled throughout the game. Again, it's only preseason, but it's never good to see names such as Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice get gobbled up in the backfield by 2009's 29th ranked rushing defense. The Barber/Jones/Choice trio combined for 21 yards and zero TDs on 10 attempts. The leading rusher? Romo's backup Stephen McGee. Yes, a quarterback, who gained 15 yards on two scramble attempts.

The kicking game looked good as the 23-year old David Buehler went three for three, scoring all nine of Dallas' points.

Kyle Boller's 148 yards and one TD, journeyman RB Michael Bennett's 68 yards on the ground and Oakland's six sacks as a team led to a 17-9 victory over the 'Boys.

Rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen looked solid in his Carolina Panthers debut, with the only dark spot coming on an interception thrown to Baltimore's Tom Zbikowski. Flacco looked great, though newly acquired Ravens Anquan Boldin and Donte' Stallworth didn't have much of a chance to show off their skills, catching just one pass each. If Flacco's 120 yards on just eight completions are any indication, though, I doubt Baltimore will have much trouble getting by with the passing game this season.

Despite limited playing time from the first team defense, Baltimore sacked Carolina's quarterbacks seven times and forced two turnovers.

Six more teams (Bills@Redskins, Jaguars@Eagles, Chiefs@Falcons) will be facing off tonight as the rest of the 10 week one games will be played out from Saturday through Monday night.

Stay tuned for more preseason recaps/thoughts.