Inside: Preseason action: how to scout, who impressed and what’s scheduled this weekend. Only 26 days till kickoff!This article is from The Athletic’s NFL newsletter. Sign up here to receive it directly in your inbox. It’s free to subscribe. How to scout in AugustThere’s a term for people who religiously watch preseason football: sickos.If that’s you, you’re in good company. If not, and you’re open to a lifestyle change, I spoke with three experts to put together this brief guide on how to watch preseason football.How to watch like a scout, by Ted Nguyen:“You’re seeing the most vanilla schemes on both sides of the ball, so look for transferable skills and growth. That’s different at each position. For young quarterbacks, you want them to handle the pre-snap operation, make throws in rhythm and not rely on second-reaction plays.“These games are parts of a larger arc of development, and it’s easy to lose sight of that at times. Carson Beck looked great in the Hall of Fame game, but Beck’s been inconsistent at practice, based on beat reports.”How to scout for your fantasy team, by Jake Ciely:“I’m more interested in snap counts in different formations and with starting units, especially if there has been an offensive coordinator or scheme change.“We’re doing our best to predict so many aspects of each player, which makes usage — whether snaps, touches or formations — much more important than preseason stats.”Before your next appearance on “The Athletic Football Show,” by co-host Dave Helman:“The most useful tip I can give for watching preseason football is simple: look for the rookies.“It’s hard to gauge preseason playing time for almost anyone else on an NFL roster, but rookies will play a lot of snaps these next two weeks, and some of them will be stars in short order. Keep an eye out.”As for those players, both vets and rookies, who stood out in each category last night …Preseason Week 1 notebookSeveral rookie receivers flashed star potential in yesterday’s preseason action. None more than the No. 33 pick in April’s draft.All aboard the De’Zhaun Stribling hype train. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound receiver’s debut matched the training camp reports as his impressive hands were on full display against the Titans’ starting corners.“I don’t know how he missed the first round,” left tackle Trent Williams said during the broadcast. “A guy that big, that can run that hard, as tough as he is, as willing as he is as a blocker, as smart as he is. I don’t understand how we’d miss out on that.”