2013 NFL preseason schedule: Week 3 wraps up

Thursday, Aug. 29, 9 p.m. ET

Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver

Thursday, Aug. 29, 8 p.m. ET

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis

Considering it’s the last preseason game, most starters won’t even see action in this one. At most, expect a series out of recognizable names.

TV: NBC-11 Baltimore, FOX-2 St. Louis

-1: New England Running Backs. 27 attempts, 57 yards, no touchdowns, and two fumbles lost. Clearly Danny Woodhead was the gritspiration that made this unit work.

-1: The kidnappers who took the real Matt Flynn. Because, holy hell, there’s no way that was an actual football player out there. A crude golem made out of candy corn and NFL Quarterback Challenge hats, maybe. But not a football player.

One man who isn’t impressed with the effort of Ponder, who completed 17 of 23 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns and an interception, is Ted Glover of the Daily Norseman. Glover believes the stats are nothing more than fool’s gold for the former first-round pick, who is entering his third year in purple and gold.

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Giggles flared up in the back of the room. In the front, a hand went up as another smart-assed question flew. The room’s chatter made it too loud to hear the question, but the words were lost anyway once Mr. Jones (name changed to prevent future heart attacks) unleashed a meltdown. Spittle flew and swear words punctuated a rant that lacked all outward logic. Our junior high social studies class was officially off the rails.

NFL head coaches make roughly 100 times more than teachers, but they share a similar DNA that goes beyond a penchant for pleated Dockers a size too small and an inch too short. Both bridge a generation gap with guidance and instruction. Sometimes the distance results in mutinous spitballs fired at the back of the head -- literal spitballs when you’re a teacher, figurative spitballs in the form of rumblings delivered by the media for coaches.

Pierre-Paul has been out since last season due to a nagging back injury. The former South Florida star is back on the active roster now, though, in time for Week 4 of the exhibition schedule.

Pierre-Paul wasn’t nearly as effective last year, however, when the 24-year-old only came up with 6.5 sacks. That was still the top total on the Giant,s but not nearly as many as some had expected.

David Fucillo over at Niners Nation feels McCoy played pretty well, but didn’t seal the deal as Kaepernick’s understudy despite head coach Jim Harbaugh making many believe the issue has been settled.

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Then came Week 3.

Aside from the injuries, the Cardinals also looked flat against the Chargers. There were numerous penalties, mental mistakes on all sides and special teams play was especially bad. The special teams unit allowed Dan Carpenter’s 26-yard field goal to be blocked late in the first half and also allowed Keenan Allen’s 44-yard punt return. Those mistakes will alter a game’s outcome in the regular season, especially for a team competing in the difficult NFC West.

Over at Buffalo Rumblings, Brian Galliford believes the team will turn to another former first round pick in Leodis McKelvin.

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In his professional career, Leinart has struggled to ever show promise. Entering his eighth year in the NFL, the former USC star has thrown 15 touchdowns and 21 interceptions and amassed 4,065 passing yards.

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There were some players who were making plays on the Saints’ defense, though. Over at Canal Street Chronicles, Dave Cariello points out some of the better performances.

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Over at Battle Red Blog, there was talk about some of the poor defense that was on display after Houston raced to a 10-0 lead:

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David Fucillo of Niners Nation isn’t totally convinced that McCoy is safe, despite what Harbaugh said.

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• VIDEO: Rex Ryan’s press conference meltdown

Preseason football! Some fans can’t handle the excitement. They have to blaze their own trail.

Later in the game, a second hero felt emboldened by this preseason pioneer and decided to participate in the annual Running of the Footballs. It should be noted that this second fan was wearing a Colts “HARBAUGH” jersey.

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• VIDEO: Rex Ryan’s press conference meltdown

Apparently, Mildred enjoys watching football to Brian’s company. No comment.

Smith recorded six sacks for the Saints last year and is expected to be a key player in Rob Ryan’s switch to a 3-4 defense. The Saints can ill afford to lose one of their few difference-makers on defense.

We’ll update the story when more information is available.

Check out Dawgs By Nature for complete coverage of the Browns.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers technically beat the Miami Dolphins 17-16 Saturday night, but judging from the reaction from each squad’s fanbase, you’d never know it.

For the Dolphins, Saturday night was an encouraging performance for Ryan Tannehill, who for the first time had to go out and play without his No. 2 option. From Dolphins blog The Phinsider:

There are only two Sundays left in the year 2013 without regular season NFL games. Today is one of them, but at least there is some imitation product.

Sunday’s two games feature four teams that should be contenders: the Saints, now with Sean Payton (again), the Texans, who aren’t playing Arian Foster in the preseason but certainly will in the regular season, the 49ers, who made the dang Super Bowl last year, and the Vikings, with Adrian Peterson making his preseason debut.

The Saints and Texans are strange bedfellows when it comes to preseason performance. Boasting the league’s top two passing offenses, and each averaging over 20 points per game, Sunday’s matchup will be the perfect test for each team’s defense.

New Orleans is looking to get back on track with defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who was brought over from Dallas to solidify the league’s worst defense in 2012. Results have been impressive so far. The unit has allowed just 400 yards in two games, holding teams to only 3.1 yards per carry on the ground.

The preseason seems meaningless for the Washington Redskins, since they don’t have Robert Griffin III, but they’re pleased with the way their defense has looked against NFL starters. The Buffalo Bills, on the other hand, have little to be pleased about after getting more or less wrecked by Washington.

Let’s let Bills blog Buffalo Rumblings sum up the team’s 30-7 loss: