On second watch: What a closer look at the tape revealed about Lions in preseason game in Atlanta
Allen Park — If you didn’t see the note via the site’s chat last week, I didn’t fly to Atlanta for Friday’s preseason game between the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons.
Not traveling for road preseason contests that don’t include joint practices was an early decision I made when I launched this venture last year. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze, financially.
That meant I covered Friday’s game from home. It’s not the first time, but I hate it all the same. It’s actually more challenging, knowing you’re behind the live action, not having the eagle-eye view from the press box, and lacking the immediate benefit of a broadcast replay before the next snap, or a nearby colleague to confirm a detail where uncertainty exists. Instead, I find myself rewinding and rewatching whole drives, falling several minutes behind to ensure nearly the same level of accuracy I’d have if I were there.
The at-home process can be relentless. Maybe I should reconsider my travel stance, simply to avoid that feeling.
Regardless, whether I’m at the stadium or consuming the game from my couch, the film always reveals more than the live view or the broadcast. The camera angles, particularly from the end zone, provide an enhanced understanding of the movements and execution of the offensive and defensive lines that are impossible to absorb otherwise. If I didn’t watch the film a day or two later, my knowledge of the team I cover would be incomplete.
OK, enough rambling about the process. Here are some of my takeaways from the tape of Friday’s action.
Offense
Let’s start with the quarterbacks, and we’ll go chronological with their appearances, opening with Hendon Hooker.