Already Gone

Wins aren’t nearly as important in the preseason as hope. The Raiders lost to the Cowboys 3-0 but with Darren McFadden looking like he’s fully recovered from the injuries that ended his 2011 season, Oakland fans have got to feel a lot better about their team’s chances than the good citizens of Dallas do today. Tony Romo looked like whatever the opposite of elite is. The good news for fans of America’s Ex-Girlfriend? According to Romo, they tried hard. Wait a minute. That’s not good news. If you’re trying hard and you look that bad it is definitely not good news.

Okay, so, we’re not supposed to make anything of preseason games, let alone the first preseason game but it’s hard not to; our brains are wired to take partial information and make fight or flight decisions. Waiting and seeing just isn’t in our nature. So let’s break it down!

Fight!

The Kansas City Chiefs have to feel pretty good. Matt Cassel looked good, former Madden cover boy Peyton Hillis looks like the perfect complement to Jamal Charles and nobody got hurt in their off-Broadway opener. I’m already second-guessing my wild card pick for the Chiefs and thinking they could take the AFC West. Am I the only one who thought Peyton Manning looked like he was laboring in his Broncos debut?

Colts fans have a reason to live. Four wins in 2012 seems likely but Andrew Luck looks like the very definition of Franchise Quarterback. Indianapolis still needs to flip Dwight Freeney for draft picks, turn those picks into starters and find a free agent or two so yeah, still a chance Luck winds up with surgically repaired knee ligaments, short-term memory loss while finishing his career in wherever the St. Louis franchise moves to.

If I’m a Texans fan, I’ve probably been spending a little time on Kayak.com checking out trips to New Orleans in February. Just three words of caution: Andre Johnson's hamstrings.

Flight!

I admire Larry Fitzgerald’s loyalty but seriously, dude; what were you thinking? Kevin Kolb? John Skelton? Does it really matter? The Arizona Cardinals play in a division begging for a wild card spot and they’ve got zero chance.

The window for Tony Romo and the Cowboys looks like it may already have closed. I think the screens were replaced with storm windows and security bars may have been installed as well. I recommend buying Matt Schaub jerseys.

The Seattle Seahawks best quarterback looks like their 5’ 11” rookie, Russell Wilson, formerly of the Wisconsin Badgers. Should Wilson become the next great NFL quarterback from the University of Wisconsin he will become the first great NFL quarterback from the University of Wisconsin. After stacking the cheddar for Packers’ backup Matt Flynn, he seems the more likely opening day starter for the Seahawks. Flynn holds a 3” advantage over Wilson at 6’ 2”. The wife says a couple of inches can make all the difference in the world but what does she know about football?

Roster Spots

The Patriots waived injured WR Wesley Britt and LB Dane Fletcher, freeing up two roster spots. Of course, this is the process that led to the Patriots claiming TE Jake Ballard from the Giants. Britt’s departure generated little notice (the Pats are loaded at WR) but it was a different story with Fletcher.

Since his arrival as an undrafted free agent out of Montana State, Fletcher’s style of play (see, reckless abandon) and roster flexibility (he could play all three LB positions and was a mainstay on special teams) had made him something of a fan favorite so this was a move that surprised the blue staters in Patriots Nation who projected Fletcher to IR.

I can’t help think that waiving Fletcher makes sense regardless of how it plays out. The Patriots are loaded at linebacker and on special teams. It’s easy to forget that Fletcher was hurt last year and missed significant time. It’s easy to ignore the implications of a significant knee injury to a player like Fletcher who was a bit undersized and relied on speed over power. Would he be back 100% to start the 2013 season?

Do the Patriots already have Dane Fletcher 2.0 in Jeff Tarpinian?

As fans, we often manufacture connections to our favorite players. My family lived in Bozeman for a number of years and my younger sister and brother both attended Montana State. This was, of course, a statistical coincidence but however tenuous, it provided a connection and I rooted for Fletcher. I hardly wish ill upon him, but – as Hyman Roth noted in “The Godfather II” – “this is the business we have chosen.”