Twistity Eye on Football: PRESEASON TREATS

 
The Twistity sports blog expands its scope with weekly special football editions, beginning right here and right now. We’ll bring you previews, reviews, notes, etc., from the NFL and college football as those seasons roll along.

The NFL’s full slate of preseason games starts Thursday night and here are a few we’ll be keeping an eye on:

THURSDAY NIGHT
San Francisco at Baltimore: Any meeting of the Harbaugh Brothers Coaching Club and Competition Society is worth a peek. Even in preseason. The Ravens are rebuilding their defense. A receiving tandem of free agent Steve Smith and Torrey Smith (not brothers) should give Ravens QB Joe Flacco chances to go deep.

FRIDAY NIGHT
Miami at Atlanta: With center Mike Pouncey injured, the Dolphins don’t have a single starting offensive lineman back from last year. Those 58 sacks and the bullying scandal caused a major rebuild. Good luck and good health to quarterback Ryan Tannehill. After a 4-12 season, the Falcons are remaking their defense and offensive line. Good luck and good health to QB Matt Ryan.

SATURDAY NIGHT
Cleveland at Detroit: The chance to see Browns rookie QB Johnny Manziel is too much to pass up. Manziel was taking snaps with the first-team offense this week. Can he unseat Brian Hoyer, who gets the start against the Lions? A decision on a starter is about two weeks away.

Houston at Arizona: The Texans have a new coach in Bill O’Brien, last seen at Penn State, and a new QB in Ryan Fitzpatrick. They’d like to erase last year’s 2-14 disaster marked by 14 consecutive losses. The Cardinals missed the playoffs last season at 10-6 and play in the vicious NFC West.

Today’s question: Which game will you be focusing on, and why? Answers in the comments box, please.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .