After the game tonight --- are pre-season games really necessary?

[PUNT750]

Keep the Practice Squads as they are in 2020.  Great flexibility for all teams. 

Teams will have 2 scrimmage games against NFL opponents.

Play an 18 game schedule with NO Bye's.

Quite charging season ticket holders for nonsense Pre-Season Games.

Edited September 11, 2020 by PUNT750

[Warcodered]

Let's wait for teams with some significant changes to play like the Jets and Dolphins.

[Nextmanup]

No, preseason games are definitely not necessary.  It's been that way for a long time now.

 

Has nothing to do with the game tonight.

 

 

[BullBuchanan]

From the game I watched I'd say absolutely. It seemed quite slow and sloppy all the way through. 

 

However, I don't think they need 4 games. 3 at max. 2 to get the starters ready and one to evaluate depth players.

[klos63]

You had the defending champs playing. It's not a surprise they look good.

 

Would a preseason schedule make the Texans defensive coordinator realize that the Chiefs ran the ball on first down every time?

[Augie]

Necessary is the wrong question. Are four too many? Yes. For multiple reasons. 

[Special K]

1 minute ago, Augie said:

Necessary is the wrong question. Are four too many? Yes. For multiple reasons. 

I agree.

 

I think 2 would be enough.

 

Preseason games are very important for the bottom-third of a teams roster, guys fighting for backup and special teams roles, and for drafted rookies to get their feet wet.

[Rocky Landing]

Preseason games most definitely serve multiple purposes. They give the coaches an opportunity to dial in their schemes in real time. They give the coaches the opportunity to fully evaluate their rookies in a real game. They give the coaches an opportunity to evaluate free agency acquisitions for scheme fit. They give the coaches the opportunity to test various formations. They give rookies, and new players the opportunity to prove themselves to the coaches, or to showcase their development to other teams who will be looking towards final cuts. 

 

AJ Epenesa will almost certainly get less game time early in the season because he did not have the opportunity to play in a preseason game. Singletary was featured heavily in preseason last year, for good reason. I honestly feel bad for rookies, and especially UDFAs this season, and I am not alone. Several Bills players have said the same. 

 

If you don't like preseason games, don't watch them.

[Nextmanup]

5 minutes ago, Special K said:

I agree.

 

I think 2 would be enough.

 

Preseason games are very important for the bottom-third of a teams roster, guys fighting for backup and special teams roles, and for drafted rookies to get their feet wet.

All of that can be determined very easily by staffs without the need for the actual games.

 

They'd be stupid to make decisions based on a tiny sample of plays of a single player in a game anyway; what is much more revealing is his day in/day out performance all camp long.

 

These teams know who they are keep and axing anyway, for the most part.

 

I'm sure there are a few tough decisions made each year by each team, but you don't need pre-season games.

 

Pre-season games exist to make money for the league.

 

At one point in time, a long time ago, they existed to make out of shape players get in shape because they had alternate jobs in the off-season.

Those days are long gone; these guys are in terrific shape year round, and I hear they make pretty good money nowadays too.

 

 

[The Frankish Reich]

9 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

All of that can be determined very easily by staffs without the need for the actual games.

 

They'd be stupid to make decisions based on a tiny sample of plays of a single player in a game anyway; what is much more revealing is his day in/day out performance all camp long.

 

These teams know who they are keep and axing anyway, for the most part.

 

I'm sure there are a few tough decisions made each year by each team, but you don't need pre-season games.

 

Pre-season games exist to make money for the league.

 

At one point in time, a long time ago, they existed to make out of shape players get in shape because they had alternate jobs in the off-season.

Those days are long gone; these guys are in terrific shape year round, and I hear they make pretty good money nowadays too.

 

 

Right. Same as MLB spring training, but with one big difference: spring training is an important marketing tool, bringing hundreds of thousands of snowbelt fans down to Florida and Arizona to take in games. NFL preseason is the opposite: an annoyance that they force season ticket holders to purchase to watch a glorified practice (with the exception perhaps of the first half of Game 3)

[Penfield45]

if the NFL took a winter break like most sports leagues around the world they could easily have a 20 game season. 

 

remove pre season entirely and add 4 regular season games. take the winter break around Christmas and return for January-Feb. Superbowl in April

 

[PUNT750]

22 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

All of that can be determined very easily by staffs without the need for the actual games.

 

They'd be stupid to make decisions based on a tiny sample of plays of a single player in a game anyway; what is much more revealing is his day in/day out performance all camp long.

 

These teams know who they are keep and axing anyway, for the most part.

 

I'm sure there are a few tough decisions made each year by each team, but you don't need pre-season games.

 

Pre-season games exist to make money for the league.

 

At one point in time, a long time ago, they existed to make out of shape players get in shape because they had alternate jobs in the off-season.

Those days are long gone; these guys are in terrific shape year round, and I hear they make pretty good money nowadays too.

 

 

Great Reply!  How many Bills look great in a pre-season game and then get cut? 

12 minutes ago, The Frankish Reich said:

Right. Same as MLB spring training, but with one big difference: spring training is an important marketing tool, bringing hundreds of thousands of snowbelt fans down to Florida and Arizona to take in games. NFL preseason is the opposite: an annoyance that they force season ticket holders to purchase to watch a glorified practice (with the exception perhaps of the first half of Game 3)

Thank you for sharing my opinion!

[Shaw66]

41 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

From the game I watched I'd say absolutely. It seemed quite slow and sloppy all the way through. 

 

However, I don't think they need 4 games. 3 at max. 2 to get the starters ready and one to evaluate depth players.

I agree.  Texans looked slow and not ready to go,  

[RiotAct]

3 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I agree.  Texans looked slow and not ready to go,  

wish they would have looked like that... oh... about 8 months and a few days ago!!!

[Bubba Gump]

I think they need a game or two just to get some live game experience and to get a better look at some bubble guys in real game action. Four games is too many. I'm sure Josh and Diggs wouldn't mind a half of real football to work on timing and things.

[Shaw66]

1 minute ago, RiotAct said:

wish they would have looked like that... oh... about 8 months and a few days ago!!!

my thought, exactly.  They were mediocre.

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

2 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

my thought, exactly.  They were mediocre.

Cook isn't Hopkins and David Johnson is not the same DJ of 2016.  You need that true #1. You'll see how much better we look on offense with Diggs in there.

[The Frankish Reich]

52 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

From the game I watched I'd say absolutely. It seemed quite slow and sloppy all the way through. 

 

However, I don't think they need 4 games. 3 at max. 2 to get the starters ready and one to evaluate depth players.

I think people forget how unrepresentative Week 1 games can be even in an ordinary season (one in which preseason games are played). The Pats looked unstoppable early last year thanks to continuity and coaching. It was kind of an illusion in retrospect.

[BillsToast]

Necessary no

Helpful yes

[C.Biscuit97]

33 minutes ago, Penfield45 said:

if the NFL took a winter break like most sports leagues around the world they could easily have a 20 game season. 

 

remove pre season entirely and add 4 regular season games. take the winter break around Christmas and return for January-Feb. Superbowl in April

 

Talk about a plan to kill players and make them all brain dead.