Let’s talk NFL preseason games.
Is football your passion and is any game better than no game at all? Or do you feel that when your stars play one series in a game, or only a quarter, or even a half, are you really seeing your true team on the field and paying top-dollar (some discounted tickets, but some tickets still cost up to $250 a game) or spending three hours watching TV to see so many guys who will never wear a home team uni in September?
Most true fans agree that preseason games are a watered-down version of the real thing. If the games really matter, then why did the NFL cut the preseason schedule from six games to four to three currently scheduled exhibitions?
Exhibition games have been played in professional football since the beginning of the sport. Actually, all games were considered exhibitions until 1920, when 10 football team owners gathered in Canton, Ohio to create the American Professional Football Association (APFA), now known as the National Football League (NFL).
When the league was founded in 1920, all games counted in the standings and were used to determine the league champion. In 1921, this was revised to count only games involving two league members, allowing non-league exhibitions, but effectively banning exhibitions between two league teams. In 1924, the league revised the rule and any games held in December or later were exhibitions. By the mid-1930s, with a standard 12-game regular season schedule, some teams scheduled non-league exhibition games both before and during the season. In the 1960s, teams began playing 14 regular season games and played from four to six preseason games and from 1970 through 1977, the NFL season consisted of 14 regular season games and six exhibition games. From 1978 to 2019, the regular season was lengthened to 16 games, and the exhibition season was cut from six to four games, and now, with a 17-game schedule three preseason games are played.
Cutting to the chase, for these three games is your true team on the field? The answer is: seldom.
Most of the time reserves and rookies are on the field time in hopes of getting a roster spot. But do vets need the game action? Players can “tag” someone in practice and pretend it's really a tackle and they can win a pass-rush drill and pretend it's really a sack. Anyone can catch a ball in a seven-on-seven drill and pretend it's a real touchdown. It is a different thing altogether to succeed at those maneuvers in a real game.
But do the sport’s true masters of their crafts really need preseason snaps and reps to get ready for the season? Do Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and so many veteran offensive and defensive linemen and receivers need preseason snaps to get ready?
Some players don’t play any preseason games. Returning injured players rarely see preseason action. Many vets sit out even if healthy. For example, in the preseason opener between the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars, Derek Carr, Davante Adams, Darren Waller, Trevor Lawrence and Josh Allen all sat out entirely.
Philosophy varies. Some vets and coaches agree that a few game-action snaps are needed to get their rhythm back after a long offseason. Timing is essential in all sports and in football games, hits, game speed and intensity as well as repetition are crucial in performing at the highest level when season games begin.
Some vets sit out and some coaches sit them out for fear of injury, but injuries can occur at any time, even in practice.
Many vets play one series in game one, a quarter in game two and a half in game three, but other vets and coaches believe one series is useless, so they sit out the first game.
Aaron Rodgers hasn't played in a preseason game for the Packers since 2018 and would be fine sitting out the entire preseason once again in 2022. That said, he also isn't opposed to getting in-game action with Green Bay's offense. He said playing one series is a waste of time. I have watched Rodgers and every season since 2018, it seems to take him two or three games to get into game-rhythm with his receivers. He looks stale. Would preseason reps eliminate that? Just asking.
Tom Brady sat out the preseason opener but is expected to get a few reps in during exhibition games
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid believes preseason action is vital for players, old and young. Reid said preseason is good for “getting the juices going” and “preparing yourself mentally for the real thing.” His quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, arguably the new face of NFL quarterbacks agreed and said, “Yeah, I like to get in there and I like to get hit like one time. Once you get hit one time you kind of see what it is to get hit again as a quarterback. I feel like after that you’re good to go.”
So are you enthusiastic about the NFL starting … preseason or not? Do you watch NFL preseason games? Do you bet on them? Do they really matter to you or is football, football and any game is worthwhile for you? Let me know at mike.blake@mountvernonnews.com.
