Preseason Games

[KOKBILLS]

Do any of you guys actually watch the whole game all the time?

 

Every last Down (some of them twice or three times) of every Pre Season Game, every Year, forever until I drop dead...

 

If it's Buffalo Bills Football...I'm watching it...And probably yelling a lot...

[The_Philster]

You can pick up a Magnavox DVD recorder @ Wal Mart for $100. If you are home while the game is on you can just pause the recorder during commercials & record @ 2.5 hour mode. You will get a MUCH BETTER recording this way.

I have a combination VCR-DVD recorder...kinda how I transfer tapes to DVD

 

That's how I handle road games...but for home games, I can either waste DVD space and record directly to DVD or tape and then transfer...since I'm at all Bills home games

[Fan in San Diego]

I watch the whole game to see how the rooks and developmental players are doing.

[BobbyC81]

Man, I know there are a lot of people that HATE the preseason. However, I am not one of them. I LOVE the preseason! (THAT'S RIGHT I SAID I LOVE THE PRESEASON)!!!!

 

As a lot of you know, I love to break down break down film and talent. I will tape each game and watch them several times, each time looking for different things. I really get into this. Yes, sometimes (many times) it is very sloppy football, but in the mistakes lies potential and progress. The preseason can make or break careers. Yeah, I know I may take it a bit more seriously than most, but I am really into it.

 

The preseason means more than you think. And I love every minute of it! (That's right, I said I love every minute of it.....)!!!!!!!

 

Definitely. Preseason also gives you a chance to see potential backups in action that you may not even see play during the season (like the QBs).

[gobillsinytown]

When I had season tickets, I went to all the preseason games, with binoculars and a roster. Now, I watch the entire game if I'm lucky enough to get it. In a way, it's actually harder to watch regular season games, because in the regular season, something is on the line. With a preseason game, you can relax and focus on details. I have a tendency to get really worked up during the regular season games (goes back to having season tickets), and can't sit still in front of the TV. So preseason actually seems to be a little more fun because there's no stress. I know it's weird, but with a preseason game there's no emotional investment.

[Shamrock]

I find them getting boring when the 2nd half rolls around usually and cut them off. Sometimes I only have the patience to watch the first string guys and that's it. Do any of you guys actually watch the whole game all the time?

 

...that'd be a yes. But then i do have a little ways to get there, i'm not leaving early! Also catch up with a lot of posters and folk from previous trips.

[H2o]

So, when the games are on, are you just sitting at your computer screen, tapping away at the keyboard?

 

Of course we watch the whole thing. I guarantee the vast majority of participants in this forum are here because we're FANaticS about the Bills. The entrenched starters are the least of my interest while watching the games. I want to see what the new kids can do.

 

From a pure contest standpoint, they're usually a real snorefest. But with the exhibition games, you have to view them in a whole different light in order to enjoy them.

 

It's a scouting assignment, not an edge of your seat matchup in which the outcome has meaning. You just need to look at it through a different paradigm.

 

Or, you can go back to your interenet.

 

Uhhhhhh, no. I have more patience for the Bills preseason games than others, but I still get bored with the sloppy football. It just doesn't seem to interest me. Does this mean I'm not as much of a Bills fan as some of you other guys? I don't know. Probably not. I've claimed them, argued on their behalf, rocked their apparrel, and taken pride in what they've done for about 20 years now. That's my team, no questions asked. But the preseason version, eh, not my thing.

[Buftex]

Man, I know there are a lot of people that HATE the preseason. However, I am not one of them. I LOVE the preseason! (THAT'S RIGHT I SAID I LOVE THE PRESEASON)!!!!

 

As a lot of you know, I love to break down break down film and talent. I will tape each game and watch them several times, each time looking for different things. I really get into this. Yes, sometimes (many times) it is very sloppy football, but in the mistakes lies potential and progress. The preseason can make or break careers. Yeah, I know I may take it a bit more seriously than most, but I am really into it.

 

The preseason means more than you think. And I love every minute of it! (That's right, I said I love every minute of it.....)!!!!!!!

 

 

What I don't get about pre-season:

 

Do coaches get more out of watching these guys practice, than in games? It seems like every year, there are one or two scrubs, who really standout in pre-season games. They seem like sure roster guys (lots of RB's and WR's), and then, either get cut the last week of the pre-season, or make the squad for a season, never play, only to be cut the next year.

 

It seems like the off-seasons have changed so much. There are so many mini-camps, and voluntary workouts, they must be putting all the playbook in during that time. You rarely see much anything distinctive about teams, that pans out in the real season. Remember what a stud Trent Edwards was in pre-season last year? That was fun to watch....

 

I enjoy the games, don't get me wrong, but I sometimes feel like I just don't know what I am watching, when they make roster moves. If the pre-season games are used to gauge what kind of football player a guy is (as opposed to how he fits in your offensive and defensive shceme), why are there always surprising cuts?

[stuckincincy]

What I don't get about pre-season:

 

Do coaches get more out of watching these guys practice, than in games? It seems like every year, there are one or two scrubs, who really standout in pre-season games. They seem like sure roster guys (lots of RB's and WR's), and then, either get cut the last week of the pre-season, or make the squad for a season, never play, only to be cut the next year.

 

It seems like the off-seasons have changed so much. There are so many mini-camps, and voluntary workouts, they must be putting all the playbook in during that time. You rarely see much anything distinctive about teams, that pans out in the real season. Remember what a stud Trent Edwards was in pre-season last year? That was fun to watch....

 

I enjoy the games, don't get me wrong, but I sometimes feel like I just don't know what I am watching, when they make roster moves. If the pre-season games are used to gauge what kind of football player a guy is (as opposed to how he fits in your offensive and defensive shceme), why are there always surprising cuts?

 

53 man final roster?

 

I consider the RBs and WRs as you mention, kinda like a pitcher brought up from the minors - nobody really knows his "stuff" for a few games, then reality sets in.

 

We've all seen RBs fill in for injured starters through the years, rattle off some fat averages, yet languish on the bench or on the practice squad for a couple of years.

[The_Philster]

What I don't get about pre-season:

 

Do coaches get more out of watching these guys practice, than in games? It seems like every year, there are one or two scrubs, who really standout in pre-season games. They seem like sure roster guys (lots of RB's and WR's), and then, either get cut the last week of the pre-season, or make the squad for a season, never play, only to be cut the next year.

 

It seems like the off-seasons have changed so much. There are so many mini-camps, and voluntary workouts, they must be putting all the playbook in during that time. You rarely see much anything distinctive about teams, that pans out in the real season. Remember what a stud Trent Edwards was in pre-season last year? That was fun to watch....

 

I enjoy the games, don't get me wrong, but I sometimes feel like I just don't know what I am watching, when they make roster moves. If the pre-season games are used to gauge what kind of football player a guy is (as opposed to how he fits in your offensive and defensive shceme), why are there always surprising cuts?

It's because there's so much more to it than just the yards they pick up as a RB or WR during preseason games. Sure, those are part of the equation, but Anthony Grey wasn't going to unseat Travis Henry as our starter. Grey, for example, was just plain awful with picking up the blitz. We only see part of what goes into determining the final roster but we gotta remember...it's all vanilla play schemes in the preseason. Some of these guys who look great in preseaon but get cut are terrible in the classroom....they aren't that good in a more complicated play scheme like we usually run during the season. They get the basics and do great but in closed practices, they're sucking big time in the real plays.

[Matt in KC]

What I don't get about pre-season:

 

Do coaches get more out of watching these guys practice, than in games? It seems like every year, there are one or two scrubs, who really standout in pre-season games. They seem like sure roster guys (lots of RB's and WR's), and then, either get cut the last week of the pre-season, or make the squad for a season, never play, only to be cut the next year.

 

It seems like the off-seasons have changed so much. There are so many mini-camps, and voluntary workouts, they must be putting all the playbook in during that time. You rarely see much anything distinctive about teams, that pans out in the real season. Remember what a stud Trent Edwards was in pre-season last year? That was fun to watch....

 

I enjoy the games, don't get me wrong, but I sometimes feel like I just don't know what I am watching, when they make roster moves. If the pre-season games are used to gauge what kind of football player a guy is (as opposed to how he fits in your offensive and defensive shceme), why are there always surprising cuts?

The preseason games are definitely the best time for the fans to gauge players' performance because they're structured in a format we're used to and recorded broadcast. I think the games themselves are a relatively small portion of what the coaches use to pass judgement, though they likely often confirm suspicions (e.g. a player's footwark isn't good enough to defeat an opponent going all-out). So, we're suprised at the cuts, but I think the coaches and players rarely are. The final cuts likely are heavy with politics among the position coaches.

 

Still, all this said, every year there is a cut (or two) I don't understand.

[sven233]

What I don't get about pre-season:

 

Do coaches get more out of watching these guys practice, than in games? It seems like every year, there are one or two scrubs, who really standout in pre-season games. They seem like sure roster guys (lots of RB's and WR's), and then, either get cut the last week of the pre-season, or make the squad for a season, never play, only to be cut the next year.

 

It seems like the off-seasons have changed so much. There are so many mini-camps, and voluntary workouts, they must be putting all the playbook in during that time. You rarely see much anything distinctive about teams, that pans out in the real season. Remember what a stud Trent Edwards was in pre-season last year? That was fun to watch....

 

I enjoy the games, don't get me wrong, but I sometimes feel like I just don't know what I am watching, when they make roster moves. If the pre-season games are used to gauge what kind of football player a guy is (as opposed to how he fits in your offensive and defensive shceme), why are there always surprising cuts?

 

I can understand what you are saying. I know that if you are like most fans and just watch the games and try to pick your 53 man roster from the games only (not going to training camp or viewing other preactices), I can see how some cuts may be surprising. However, I think while as much as some of us love to break down the games and each position during the preseason, it is only 1 part of what the coaches look at. In fact, I believe the preseason games are used more as a confirmation as to what the coaches and front office already know about a player.

 

Coaches and the front office watch these players day in and day out. They know if a guy can play or not and whether they have the heart and passion to make themselves better before these players ever step on the field for a preseason game. Sure, there may be a few surprising performances and some players may play better in a game situation (preseason) than they do in practice and that is what many fans see. While that is great, coaches and the front office are looking at much more than a couple of great performances in some preseason games. THEY WANT TO SEE THESE GUYS PERFORM DAY IN AND DAY OUT. So, without being able to see these players day in and day out, it is really tough to pull your 53 man rosters from the preseason games sine I believe they are used more as gagues to see where players are rather than to find out whether a player can play or not. The coaches and front office already know what guys can pla and which ones can't.

 

I know, this may not be the clearest way to explain this, but basically it comes down to 1 thing. While the preseason games are important in evaluating talent, it is only a small piece of the puzzle. The day in and day out performances mean more to the coaching staff and front office. That is why most fans perceive some cuts as "surprises." They don't get to see everything.

[Chilly]

Watched the whole thing.

[lets_go_bills]

I gladly make my way to the Ralph to watch the pre-season. I love the chance to see the rookies get on the field. It is football. It's that first taste of the NFL season, and I take in the whole game, but I also take it for what it's worth: No real impact on the season as far as stats go, but I first glimpse at your team. I don't see how it's much different from the folks attending camp practices. All you gotta do is pray that no one gets injured.