Alabama Football in the NFL: A Review of Preseason Week 3

Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

With college football season starting tomorrow, I know most Alabama football fans could care less about the NFL preseason at this point. Still, there was a lot of interesting happenings for former Crimson Tide players during the third week of the preseason. Roster cuts have started, and that was good news for some ex-Tide players, and bad news for others. There’s only one week left in the NFL’s preseason before the regular season gets started next Thursday night. Here’s a review of week three of the preseason:

High Tide

Trent Richardson (RB/Cleveland Browns)

A strong preseason continued for Trent Richardson, the former Doak Walker Award winner at Alabama, as he continues to build toward what should be a fantastic sophomore season in the NFL. He carried the ball seven times for 31 yards against the Colts on Saturday to go along with one reception for 10 yards. Richardson has looked quick, strong, and healthy in the preseason. He says he is down to 225 pounds after playing most of last season around 237 pounds.

A healthy Trent Richardson is good news for a Browns offense that figures to lean heavily on him in both the running and passing games. Richardson had a good rookie season in Cleveland, but it wasn’t up to the standards that he has set for himself. If he can stay healthy, it could be a huge year for last season’s No. 3 overall pick.

Carson Tinker (LS/Jacksonville Jaguars)

On Sunday, the Jacksonville Jaguars cut two of the three long snappers they were carrying on the roster. Carson Tinker was not one of them, which means the former three-year starter at Alabama won the job. Jacksonville parted ways with veteran long snapper Jeremy Cain and former Hawaii long snapper Luke Ingram.

Money likely had a lot to do with it as Jeremy Cain was set to make $1 million this season, and Tinker will be significantly cheaper. It also helps that Tinker was one of the best in the business during his college playing days in Tuscaloosa. Tinker’s snaps were always picture perfect, and that’s something Tide fans shouldn’t take for granted heading into 2013 with a new starter at the position.

Dont’a Hightower (LB/New England Patriots)

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to Alabama fans that in just his second year, Dont’a Hightower has been wearing New England’s green-dot radio communication helmet during the preseason. Hightower has such a firm understanding of the defense already that Patriots coaches have been relaying signals through Hightower when he has been on the field. That role has been filled by Jerod Mayo for a while now, and likely will be during the regular season, but that is certainly a good sign for Hightower entering his second season in the league.

Hightower is expected to see an increased role in New England’s defense in 2013. He is expected to start at the SAM linebacker position this year, and has drawn the praise of his head coach Bill Belichick, who doesn’t hand out compliments often. Hightower’s firmer grasp on New England’s defensive playbook has a lot to do with the fact that he will likely have a bigger role this season. He is one of the most versatile players on the team, and his football acumen has him poised for a breakout year.

Julio Jones (WR/Atlanta Falcons)

This is getting to be redundant, but Julio Jones continues to terrorize NFL cornerbacks during the preseason in his ascent to the top tier of wide receivers in the league. Jones caught four passes for 81 yards in Atlanta’s third preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, and the only way the Titans could stop him was by blatantly holding him. The Falcons moved up to No. 6 in the 2011 NFL Draft to acquire Julio in a move that was criticized at the time. It turns out that the move has worked out pretty well for the Falcons to this point.

Along with most of Atlanta’s starters, Julio will sit out their final preseason game against Jacksonville Jaguars to rest up for their regular season opener on September 8th against the New Orleans Saints. With Julio developing into one of the best receivers in the league, along with the always steady Roddy White, Atlanta’s dynamic duo at wide receiver has never looked more daunting for opposing defenses.

Jeremy Shelley (K/Atlanta Falcons)

Jeremy Shelley has had a great training camp and preseason with the Falcons, going 5-for-6 on field goal attempts. He missed a 46-yard kick wide right against the Titans which was his first miss of the preseason, but he made three other kicks in the contest. Shelley has long been thought to be one of the more accurate kickers out there, but his lack of leg strength has been a hindrance. His leg appears to be getting stronger, and he has the look of an NFL kicker.

The only problem is that Matt Bryant’s roster spot is all but guaranteed, and the Falcons aren’t likely to carry two kickers on their roster into the regular season. That means that Thursday’s preseason finale against the Jaguars will be an audition for Shelley for other teams as he is likely to be among Atlanta’s final roster cuts. Even though it’s unlikely he makes the Falcons roster, his strong preseason could land him a starting gig somewhere else.

Low Tide

Dre Kirkpatrick (CB/Cincinnati Bengals)

It was a baptism by fire for Dre Kirkpatrick during Saturday’s preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys. The second-year cornerback was tasked with covering one of the best wide receivers in the league in Dez Bryant, and he was abused by the All-Pro receiver. Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer said he wasn’t concerned with Kirkpatrick’s performance in the game, and young players are going to have their bad days.

At this point in his career, especially after having missed most of his rookie season in Cincinnati, Kirkpatrick just isn’t ready yet to match up with the league’s elite wide receivers. There was at least one good takeaway for him in Saturday’s game as he was in Bryant’s hip pocket for most of the night. He ran stride for stride with him, but he just couldn’t get his head turned around quick enough to make a play on the ball. Kirkpatrick will get there, and he certainly will not be the last corner that Dez Bryant makes look foolish during the 2013 season.

John Parker Wilson (QB/Pittsburgh Steelers)

Despite a promising training camp, it was always going to be an uphill battle for Wilson to make Pittsburgh’s roster. With Ben Roethlisberger locked in as the starter; the team signing Bruce Gradkowski to a multi-year deal to be his backup; and the use of a fourth round draft pick on former Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones, Wilson wasn’t going to get the benefit of the doubt.

On Sunday, one day after the Steelers lost their third preseason game to the Kansas City Chiefs, JPW was one of 15 players cut by the team in order to reach the league-mandated 75-players by Tuesday’s deadline. This is the third team Wilson has been cut by since he entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2009.

Le’Ron McClain (FB/San Diego Chargers)

Perhaps due to no fault of his own, Le’Ron McClain could be among San Diego’s final roster cuts before the start of the regular season. With new head coach Mike McCoy not having much use for a fullback in his offense, and the fact that McClain is set to make nearly $5 million over the next two seasons, it could be the end of the road for him with the Chargers.

Even if McClain is sent packing, I’d expect him to get another look somewhere else, whether it be due to attrition during the regular season, or a team just looking to upgrade at the position. Still, after spending his first four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, McClain could be looking at playing for his third team in three years.

Rashad Johnson (FS/Arizona Cardinals)

While Rashad Johnson has had a strong camp and looked like the clear cut starter at free safety for the Cardinals this season, he made one of the biggest boneheaded plays of the preseason against the San Diego Chargers on Saturday. Johnson recovered a fumble close to his own goal line, but then inexplicably lateraled the ball to an unsuspecting Sam Acho, who couldn’t hang onto it. San Diego’s John Phillips recovered it from there and scored a three-yard touchdown.

A play like that certainly doesn’t help Johnson’s case as he tries to hold off a furious charge by former LSU cornerback and 2011 Heisman finalist Tyrann Mathieu for the starting job at free safety. The starting job is still Johnson’s to lose, but anymore gaffes like that and the Honey Badger could be taking his spot for good.

Jesse Williams (DT/Seattle Seahawks)

We all wondered why Jesse Williams slipped to the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and that question was finally answered when Seattle placed Williams on the IR, ending his rookie season before it even started. Williams’ knee injury that he suffered in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia was more troublesome than was let on. Troublesome enough to keep him from playing in 2013.

Williams didn’t look like himself in Seattle’s first two preseason games, and the fact that his knee has been bothering him explains it. It’s tough to see him lose his first season in the NFL, but the potential is still sky-high for the Australian-born nose tackle. There aren’t many who work as hard as Williams does, and he’ll be back and ready to play as soon as possible. It’ll be a redshirt season for him in 2013, and hopefully his knee will heal up correctly so he can realize his full potential as a football player.

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