The Real Buffalo Joe Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 There have only been two teams in NFL history to go 016. The 2008 Detroit Lions, and the 2017 Cleveland Browns. Interestingly enough, both teams were 4-0 in the preseason. Is there any correlation between the two? Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but this is my fault. A garbage team like Cleveland has a lot more question marks than a team like New England*, or even a middle of the road team like Buffalo or Kansas City. So the better teams know for the most part who their starters are gonna be. If they even play, they're in there for a quarter max, then bring in the 2nd string guys, and by the 2nd half, it's guys fighting to keep their job. A team like Cleveland, that has so many question marks, plays their preseason games differently. Not that their necessarily trying to win. But they're playing their better players for longer because they have more questions to answer. So even though Cleveland is a much worse team, they're keeping their starters and 2nd string guys in longer, who are still better than the other team's 3rd/4th string players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBuff423 Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 What's equally interesting is the year the Colts won the Super Bowl, they went 0-4 in the Pre-Season. So, the only conclusion in my mind to draw is that the Pre-Season has literally NO bearing on how the team will do in the regular season and it's only value is basically extended scrimmages, getting guys into game shape, evaluating players....and of course our all time favorite, ending guys' seasons prematurely with stupid injuries. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Buffalo Joe Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 1 minute ago, BigBuff423 said: What's equally interesting is the year the Colts won the Super Bowl, they went 0-4 in the Pre-Season. So, the only conclusion in my mind to draw is that the Pre-Season has literally NO bearing on how the team will do in the regular season and it's only value is basically extended scrimmages, getting guys into game shape, evaluating players....and of course our all time favorite, ending guys' seasons prematurely with stupid injuries. As mentioned earlier, I think someone pointed out that we went 0-4 most years in the Super Bowl years because Marv didn't want to risk injury in what's essentially a glorified practice. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatdrought Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 I have always thought that preseason is so insignificant regarding win/loss that it's not even worth looking at correlations. Just practice with lights on. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjt328 Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 It's had to take anything from the preseason. At least when it comes to Wins/Losses. The starters and veteran/guys who will play 80-100% of the regular season snaps, will often get 1 quarter in each preseason game. Some will only play a warmup series. Some won't play at all. And you have to wonder if half of those players are even going full-speed. By the time you reach the second half, an extremely large chunk of those guys will never play a real NFL down. And that doesn't even factor in the lack of game-planning by the coaching staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Preseason means different things to different coaches/organizations. For established, veteran teams preseason is solely used to evaluate the "back end" of the roster. There is no need to play entrenched starters more than just enough to break a sweat. For young (or crappy) teams, it's completely different. Some teams are looking for starters. Some coaches are trying to instill a "winning" culture. Some are establishing new systems. I think rookie head coaches put more stock into winning in the preseason. I guarantee you veteran players couldn't care less about the W or L. There's another thread on the main board about betting on preseason. It sounds absurd, but if you factor these principles and have some knowledge about the various teams' preseason philosophies you can make some $$ on these games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarleyNY Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, whatdrought said: I have always thought that preseason is so insignificant regarding win/loss that it's not even worth looking at correlations. Just practice with lights on. You can never tell if a teamn is going to be really good during the preseason, but sometimes you can tell that they’re going to be really bad. Coaches of really bad teams do sometimes try to give their team confidence by making sure they win in the preseason. Edited August 13, 2018 by BarleyNY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 1 hour ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said: There have only been two teams in NFL history to go 016. The 2008 Detroit Lions, and the 2017 Cleveland Browns. Interestingly enough, both teams were 4-0 in the preseason. Is there any correlation between the two? Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but this is my fault. A garbage team like Cleveland has a lot more question marks than a team like New England*, or even a middle of the road team like Buffalo or Kansas City. So the better teams know for the most part who their starters are gonna be. If they even play, they're in there for a quarter max, then bring in the 2nd string guys, and by the 2nd half, it's guys fighting to keep their job. A team like Cleveland, that has so many question marks, plays their preseason games differently. Not that their necessarily trying to win. But they're playing their better players for longer because they have more questions to answer. So even though Cleveland is a much worse team, they're keeping their starters and 2nd string guys in longer, who are still better than the other team's 3rd/4th string players. Could imply incompetence in arranging the depth chart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringMetheHeadofLeonLett Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 I hate how boring and efficient the new england patriots have made this game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanbillsfan2206 Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 (edited) I’m too lazy to do any actual research but I don’t believe we won a single preseason game during the Super Bowl years.... Edited August 13, 2018 by Seanbillsfan2206 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringMetheHeadofLeonLett Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 18 minutes ago, Seanbillsfan2206 said: I’m too lazy to do any actual research but I don’t believe we one a single preseason game during the Super Bowl years.... Sounds about right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarleyNY Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, Seanbillsfan2206 said: I’m too lazy to do any actual research but I don’t believe we one a single preseason game during the Super Bowl years.... If a team’s lineup is set and they’re already working well together, then there’s no reason to show plays or risk injury to starters. Just let the 2nd and 3rd teamers fight it out for spots. The Bills surely aren’t there now, but they were in the SB years. Edited August 13, 2018 by BarleyNY 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 1 hour ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said: There have only been two teams in NFL history to go 016. The 2008 Detroit Lions, and the 2017 Cleveland Browns. Interestingly enough, both teams were 4-0 in the preseason. Is there any correlation between the two? Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but this is my fault. A garbage team like Cleveland has a lot more question marks than a team like New England*, or even a middle of the road team like Buffalo or Kansas City. So the better teams know for the most part who their starters are gonna be. If they even play, they're in there for a quarter max, then bring in the 2nd string guys, and by the 2nd half, it's guys fighting to keep their job. A team like Cleveland, that has so many question marks, plays their preseason games differently. Not that their necessarily trying to win. But they're playing their better players for longer because they have more questions to answer. So even though Cleveland is a much worse team, they're keeping their starters and 2nd string guys in longer, who are still better than the other team's 3rd/4th string players. The "W/L results of PS mean absolutely nothing. look back to the Bills SB years. I think they won maybe 1 PS games each season. 26 minutes ago, Seanbillsfan2206 said: I’m too lazy to do any actual research but I don’t believe we won a single preseason game during the Super Bowl years.... I guess I should have read further on before I made that post 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatdrinks Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 31 minutes ago, Seanbillsfan2206 said: I’m too lazy to do any actual research but I don’t believe we won a single preseason game during the Super Bowl years.... 1990 0-4 1991 1-4 1992. 2-2 1993 2-3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Buffalo Joe Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 8 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said: The "W/L results of PS mean absolutely nothing. look back to the Bills SB years. I think they won maybe 1 PS games each season. I guess I should have read further on before I made that post Just now, Boatdrinks said: 1990 0-4 1991 1-4 1992. 2-2 1993 2-3 This is part of my point though. A good team, such as the Bills of the early 90s, doesn't have any reason to keep their better players on the field than a bad team such as the 2017 Browns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 1 minute ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said: This is part of my point though. A good team, such as the Bills of the early 90s, doesn't have any reason to keep their better players on the field than a bad team such as the 2017 Browns. I was agreeing with you on said point. W/L doesn't matter in PS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatdrinks Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 I don’t think many coaches want to keep their best players on the field in preseason any longer than necessary. They all seem to follow a predictable and similar format. As for starters and better players ; game 1 they see about a couple of series worth of work. Game 2 about the same. Game 3 they get the first half. The last game is a complete farce and no meaningful players see any appreciable time. There is little deviation from this. Coaches are fearful of injuries. Preseason results are meaningless because of vanilla offenses / defenses being run, virtually no gameplanning save for a little bit in game 3 and extended use of players who won’t be playing in the NFL after cutdown day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfod Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 (edited) I know I liked the Bills in the Panthers preseason game. The only thing I wanted to see is if our players looked competitive and could make some plays. I think I would have been dissapointed if it looked like my team was getting walked all over. I think preseason is exactly what it's meant to be. A chance to run your roster up against a different teams roster 4 times before you start the season. It allows you a different perspective on things. Your not exactly looking to go full force when your tweaking tuning and evaluating. Edited August 13, 2018 by Lfod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fadingpain Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Yes....as a general rule, good teams are more likely to sit good players and play bad players on the fringe. And bad teams might be more likely to play the good players to see what they have or who should be the starters. So it can be argued in a pre-season game the worse team (come the regular season) has a better chance of winning the pre-season game. I'm sure if you looked at enough data of pre-season record vs. regular season record, you could put together some type of correlation. It is also worth remembering that a preseason game, for anyone, should be about finding the best players and the players to retain on the roster, and absolutely NOT about winning or losing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elite Poster Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Not about winning or losing, but how the players look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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