Football is back.  The Green Bay Packers open the 2021 preseason by hosting the Houston Texans Saturday night at Lambeau Field.  The start of the preseason is always exciting, but you know what is even more exciting?  The start of the regular season.  We have to wait a month for that.  A month of games that don’t matter in the standings, featuring players who may never see the field when it counts, or who may not even be on the team.  A month of games where key players could get hurt and their seasons end or at least become delayed. 

It begs the question:  Are these preseason games really necessary?  Is it time the NFL dumps preseason games and expands the regular season to 18 games, maybe even more down the road?  Do coaches and general managers really need three preseason games to evaluate their young and new players? 

The issue is not new, but until last year, there was no motivation to experiment.  When the Covid pandemic forced all OTAs to be virtual, and all preseason games to be canceled, the league was forced to confront the prospect.   

As the 2020 regular season was about to begin, with no preseason games taking place, predictions about the quality of play were dire.  Expect the first few games to be incredibly sloppy, they all said.  Offenses will be sluggish.  Tackling will be terrible.  Turnovers will abound.   

But a strange thing happened.  Despite the lack of preseason games, most observers were stunned by the overall quality of play.  Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers came out of the blocks on fire, throwing for 364 yards and four touchdowns, in a thrilling 43-34 victory over the Vikings.  The offense looked like a well-oiled machine. 

The biggest argument for preseason games is that young players need game experience to prepare for their NFL careers.  For the Packers, quarterback Jordan Love would be the poster child.  He needs to play extensively in these three practice games to grow as a signal caller.  There is no way he would be ready to take the field under center in a real game if he doesn’t get these August contests under his belt, right? 

Not necessarily.  Cincinnati rookie Joe Burrow started week one without a single preseason game on his resume’.  In his first four games, he threw for 1.121 yards and six touchdowns, with just two interceptions.  That’s an average of over 280 passing yards per game.  Chargers’ rookie Justin Herbert was forced into starting in week two.  Again, with no preseason games in which to get experience, he responded with 311 passing yards and a touchdown against defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City.  Herbert followed that up with a 330 yard performance in his second start versus Carolina. 

In Miami, rookie Tua Tagovailoa did not play in the Dolphins’ first five games, then went on to start nine of the last ten.  He led the team to a 6-3 record down the stretch, throwing for 1,814 yards and 11 touchdowns.  He also ran for 109 yards and three more scores.  All this without ever taking a snap in a preseason game. 

We can debate whether Jordan Love is as talented as players such as Burrow, Herbert and Tagovailoa, but Love even had an entire season to observe, learn, and practice in the NFL, whereas the aforementioned trio were rookies.   

The coaching staffs should be able to arrange their practice formats to allow them to get a good enough reading on their borderline players.  Also, controlled scrimmages against other teams, such as when the New York Jets come to Green Bay this summer, should tell them much about what they need to know.  The Packers already schedule additional sessions for rookies after the regular practice is over.  

Coach Matt LaFleur indicated this week Love would play well into the second half Saturday night.  Will LaFleur play the number one offensive line that long?  Doubtful.  That means Love will be taking snaps protected by reserves and that makes me nervous.  What if Jordan Love, playing in a meaningless preseason game, behind some reserve offensive lineman who misses his block, is sacked hard and suffers a season-ending injury?  What would that do to his path of becoming the starting quarterback next season? (Yes, I'’m assuming Rodgers will be gone.) 

The reality is, preseason games are already an endangered species.  It seems clear the NFL is headed toward the eventual elimination of the preseason, and further expansion of the regular campaign.  This year’s reduction to three practice games, and expansion to 17 regular season contests, seems but a prelude of things to come.  The only reason the games still exist is because of the money they bring in.  The instant NFL owners can convince the players union to further enlarge the regular season, preseason games will quickly get the axe.     

Back in the 1960’s, NFL players used training camp and preseason games to get back into shape.  That luxury is long gone.  So, it would seem, is the need for games that don’t count. 

Continue Reading @ CheeseheadTV 

CheeseheadTV wrote: