Friday, 4 a.m.
Questions. We've got questions.
Sadly, the Tampa Bay Bucs won't offer much in the way of answers tonight.
Wondering how close Baker Mayfield will get to his impressive statistics from a year ago? You won't find out tonight. Wondering how many yards Bucky Irving can get in his second season? It'll be as big a mystery after the game as before. Want a clue to tell you if Haason Reddick can return to being elite? No answers here. Not yet.
That's the thing about a team's first-preseason-game. It tells you nothing. The main goal is not get anyone important hurt. Meanwhile, the NFL chargers ridiculous ticket prices to watch the guys-won't-make-the-Bucs lay the-guys-who-won't-make-the-Titans.
Oh, you can't get upset about it. A 30-point loss is preferable to getting anyone hurt. If I coached the Bucs, I'd wrap my starters it bubble-wrap. I might, and I might not, let them out in week two.
Oh, there will be some tiny storylines that will be worth watching.
-- I'd like to see the young corners -- Benjamin Morrison and Jacon Parrish.
-- I am eager to see if Chris Braswell has skills he kept hidding a year ago.
-- I'd like to see safety J.J. Roberts. And, like everyone, I want to see Shiloh Sanders.
-- Yeah, I'm going to watch for clues to see where Kyle Trask winds up in the quarterback room;
-- I want to see new offfensive coordinator Josh Grizzard try to build a rhythm.
In all, the first preseason game is worth watching because it's the first step of a team's journey. Because it's a neccessary pause until the real answers come.
And because it makes Week 2 feel a lot better.