So what did we learn based on the Hall of Fame Game played between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals?
It brings to mind what one-time Pittsburgh Steelers first round draft choice Najee Harris said while a guest on Tom Tolbert’s radio program. Harris is a local bay area kid, played his high school ball at Antioch High School and was a highly recruited player entering college. He landed with the powerful Crimson Tide and was a solid contributor on a dominating National Champion Alabama team.
“Could your Alabama team have competed against the worst NFL team?” Tolbert posed and Harris’ answer was honest and refreshing.
Harris had a smile in his voice as he indicated as good as his Alabama team was, the NFL’s worst team was better than the college best.
It is all relative.
What we learned from the Hall of Fame game is also relative.
Is Carson Beck a star on the rise because he looked good in his first pro game while completing 15 of 18 passes for 188 yards while guiding Arizona to 17 second quarter points?
No.
This is not a bad start, and a better report card than if he would have looked overmatched on the field and thrown interceptions. But to say in this effort, which was little more than a scrimmage between two teams that don’t rank high entering the 2026 season, that Beck has the makings of a franchise NFL quarterback is premature.
Everything is relative.
If the best college team went up against NFL competition, it wouldn’t look like a National Champion.
There is a lot to learn during the summer preseason meetings while all 32 NFL teams look to put themselves in the best shape to end their campaign hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy. What we learned from the Hall of Fame Game is that there is a lot more evidence required before we open the season with the 32 teams ranked best to worst.
A last second win by Carolina does not remove them from our expectations that they will go under their set 7½ win total for the season. And while the Cardinals and Beck looked good, it won’t affect their NFL worst 4½ win total.
What matters now is how we utilize the additional information in the weeks to come before the NFL kicks off their 107th season on Wednesday, September 9th.
That is not a misprint, the NFL traditional Thursday opener has been moved up 24 hours because of conflict with playing the game in Australia between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams on the second day of the regular season. Because of the time difference and the league rule to allow High School Football the Friday slot … well this is where it gets more complicated than I will attempt to explain. Suffice it to say, we will open the season on a Wednesday and end the campaign with a Super Bowl Played on Valentines Day at SoFi Stadium.