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Thread: Is the pre season really too long

  1. #1
    Legend

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    Is the pre season really too long

    Lots of debate on this and I can see both sides. The problem with shortening the preseason is you still need to evaluate young talent. Also the owners make money on those 4 preseason games. They aren't going to throw that away.

    Here is a thought:

    1. Expand rosters from 85 to 100.
    2. Bring rookies and players with one year experience in one week to 10 days before veterans
    3. When the vets come in require rosters to be reduced to 85
    4. Reduce the number of preseason games to three and have the last one two weeks before the start of the season
    5. Increase practice squad from 8 to 12 to continue to develop young players and have 6 of the 12 in a status that they can't be signed away.

    I think this cratches a lot of itches. The young guys trying to earn a roster spot aren't the ones cpomnplaining about the length of camp. If anything they want more time to show what they can do. This proposal does that.

    This would reduce camp by one week for veterans.

    With the two weeks before the start of the regular season we might actually see an increase in trades as teams evaluate talent and look for missing pieces.
    "My team, may they always be right, but right or wrong...MY TEAM!"

  2. #2
    Legend

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    Re: Is the pre season really too long

    I think the veteran players complain way too much about the preseason. It’s not like they are playing a hug number of snaps. The starters went one series in the first game (at least the big stars). Maybe a few after that. Same with game number two. The third game they played a half. This last game is more of a joke than the first one and anyone who’s locked down a position won’t be out there for any amount of time at all. Three of the 4 games entail less hitting than a tough practice.

    For teams that are really good and returning a ton of guys the preseason is vastly different than a team that was 3-13 last year. The Steelers probably had 45 to 47 of the 53 man roster filled out before camp started. They’re not using the preseason to determine that except in a few cases. Even 18 -20 out of 22 starters is set coming into camp Take teams such as the Rams, Dolphins, Falcons – they probably had 15 -20 spots filled, most positions open for a new starter, and absolutely need these games to determine what they have in terms of a team. Hopefully we don’t see the Steelers in a position of needing all 4 preseason games to make such determinations any time soon.

    I think we might see some issues if Brady and Manning don’t take a single snap in the preseason and come in and light it up in the regular season. All of sudden you’re going to have a ton of veterans finding ways to get out of preseason b/c they don’t think they need it. (Casey Hampton is a smaller scale version of this). The problem with this lies in that most players aren’t Brady or manning.

  3. #3
    Legend

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    Re: Is the pre season really too long

    Quote Originally Posted by Ghost
    I think the veteran players complain way too much about the preseason. It’s not like they are playing a hug number of snaps. The starters went one series in the first game (at least the big stars). Maybe a few after that. Same with game number two. The third game they played a half. This last game is more of a joke than the first one and anyone who’s locked down a position won’t be out there for any amount of time at all. Three of the 4 games entail less hitting than a tough practice.

    For teams that are really good and returning a ton of guys the preseason is vastly different than a team that was 3-13 last year. The Steelers probably had 45 to 47 of the 53 man roster filled out before camp started. They’re not using the preseason to determine that except in a few cases. Even 18 -20 out of 22 starters is set coming into camp Take teams such as the Rams, Dolphins, Falcons – they probably had 15 -20 spots filled, most positions open for a new starter, and absolutely need these games to determine what they have in terms of a team. Hopefully we don’t see the Steelers in a position of needing all 4 preseason games to make such determinations any time soon.

    I think we might see some issues if Brady and Manning don’t take a single snap in the preseason and come in and light it up in the regular season. All of sudden you’re going to have a ton of veterans finding ways to get out of preseason b/c they don’t think they need it. (Casey Hampton is a smaller scale version of this). The problem with this lies in that most players aren’t Brady or manning.
    The way he came to camp, Hampton isn't a smaller version of anything to include a Volkswagen Beetle
    "My team, may they always be right, but right or wrong...MY TEAM!"

  4. #4
    Hall of Famer

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    Re: Is the pre season really too long

    The comment that I heard last night on the Andrew Sicilliano Show (sp?) is that; "The league needs the pre-season games to ensure a quality product by the start of the regular season."... While I see this point, I also see alot of injuries to key NFL players around the league and alot of teams not playing thier starters.... And there has also been talk of the regular season being expanded to 17 games, which brings more importance to this issue.

    O, I like your ideas....

    The pre-season should be shortened to three weeks, IMO.

  5. #5
    Pro Bowler

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    Re: Is the pre season really too long

    Quote Originally Posted by NKySteeler
    The pre-season should be shortened to three weeks, IMO.



    I think the depth charts for most teams have been determined by this point. Teams are just waiting for the final cut day.

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