The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

Get rid of it.  All of it.

It made sense back when your linebacker was an insurance salesman for half the year and you needed games to get back into football shape.  But let's be real: these guys are full-time athletes at this point.

It's a waste of money and time and just serves to get guys hurt.

I would be ok if they went down to 2 games, but they really should just get rid of all of them.

I disagree.

While I think 2 games is probably OK, I think there's a need for game film on guys that are on the bubble to make the 53.  True you probably don't need 4 or 5 games to get there. 

Every sport has a preseason.  Its not just a made up NFL joke.

They were talking about this on ESPN the other day and mentioned the owners as the reason. Apparently they don't have to share revenue for these games so no one will give them up.

I'd be happy with just 2 games.  But like someone else said, there are other factors that come into play.  And as always, "other factors" = $.   

Disagree.  Every sport has a pre-season and of all the sports football needs it most.  For a few reason.

(1) Football is more of a team sport than any other team sport.  A batter can practice hitting without the rest of his team.  A pitcher can practice pitching without the rest of the team.  Can't practice recovering an  on-side kick solo. 

(2) The season is shorter.  If a baseball team has a slow start and goes 0-4 in their first four games there is plenty of season left.  A football team does it and they are looking forward to next year's draft. 

(3) Rookies/Player movement/coaching changes.  A short stop on one team with one coach is going to be expected to do pretty much the same thing with another team and another coach.  Not true with an OLB. 

they don't need any games. 3rd preseason game (the so called important one) Aaron Rodgers didn't even suit up. Big Ben played 2 series. It's turned into a joke.

Every team should do a couple joint practices with teams. Give teams a couple more practices and call it a day.

The game has changed in so many ways and needs to evolve. This is a way it should evolve, eliminate the preseason. And to say the NFL needs it, just remember college football doesn't have "preseason games." I'm sure the NFL can live without any

DISAGREE ... you got to think about the undrafted guys trying to make the roster..coaches fine tuning their rosters. new referees getting their shot in the big league.... Its easy as a fan to say hey cut preseason ..  Why??? Guys get hURT-  ok  Thats football for you. 

Every pro sport has a Pre-season so why the NFl should not have one. 

NBA- pre-season-Guys get hurt
MLB- spring training GUYS get hurt
NFL- Definitely guys get hurt.

Its the nature of the business

But what's the likelihood of guys getting hurt, season-ending hurt, in any sport other than football? That's the main reason why the NFL pre-season should go away. I don't want to lose my starter in a meaningless game. If he goes down in game 1 of the regular season, then so be it. If the coaches can't figure out who they need to cut with all of the practices and scrimmages, then that's just a problem they'll have to deal with.

The NFL is a collision sport.  You can't really compare it to baseball or basketball.

And I don't mind teams taking time to fine-tune.  Just do it on your own time, and don't may fans pay for it or put it on TV.

Can you compare it to hockey?  I know no one cares about hockey but let's not ignore it.  There's plenty of hitting in the NHL and they have preseason as well.  I'd argue that the NHL collisions could at times be harder and more jarring than NFL.

I think the preseason games are more important now that teams can't practice in full pads as much.  The CBA requires no more than 2 practices a week of full pads.  Are you supposed to base game simulated performance on walk throughs?

NHL plays 8 preseason games for an 82 game season.  It's less than 10%.  And I doubt that all of those games are necessary, but I don't follow hockey, so I couldn't say.

As long as no teams have pre-season, they're all on the same level.  What we have now is a farce where guys are getting hurt, not everyone is playing full-speed, it doesn't make sense to play guys who aren't 100%, and you have units playing with some guys in and some guys out.

People actually hit each other in hockey? It always seems like people just get out of the way.  ;D

Lets take your issues one by one.  

(1) Injures that occur during the preseason are worse than those that occur week 1. As a NE Patriots fan that saw Brady go down in 2008, I respectfully disagree.  It probably was good thing that Cassel go significant reps during the preseason.  

(2) Let players practice.  They won't get injured that way unlike in games.  Okay, tell that to Kam Chancellor among others.

(3) Don't televise the games.  I get something like 400 channels.   If I don't want to watch a NFL preseason football game there are hundreds of other options.  

(4) Don't make you pay for the game.  You don't have to.  Yes, If you want season tickets you have to buy the whole season.  But if they got rid of the preseason which of the following is more likely (a) the annual cost will remain the same (or go up) with that amount of money divided by 8 rather than 10 OR (b) the per ticket price per game will remain the same with season ticket holders paying 20% less.   If you picked (b) I have a unicorn to sell you.  

(5) Coaches don't need the preseason game to trim the roster from 80 to 53 and choose the starters.  Statements by coaches seem to suggest otherwise.  Also those game films allow other teams to pick up bubble players that are cut.

(6) It will be fair as long as no team has a preseason game.  This is true.  It would also be fair if every team got 5 downs, if timeouts lasted 5 mins, if they stopped using an oblong ball and used a round one instead, required that punters wear pink shoe laces or extended the preseason from 4 games to 6.  EVERY rule change would be fair, that is never the issue.  Question is would the change improve the game. you have offered nothing to suggest that.  

What if preseason games were only 2 quarters?

What would that accomplish?  Certainly would do nothing to stem the complaint season holders should have to buy preseason tickets. 

Each team has 22 starters and 75/80 players available for preseason games. 

Any coach that wants to safe guard his starters by not playing them a single down in the preseason could choose to do that.  Most coaches don't do that for a reason.

I never said that at all.  I don't think they're worse or better.  I just think you're elongating the season unnecessarily and increasing the risk of injury for no reason.


I never said that either.  Practice all you want, as much as you think is needed.


They are packaging this as a product and it's a bad product.  I don't have to watch, true.  But I'd prefer it not even exist, especially because it controls the news cycle and lasts too long.  


The market will determine what a ticket will bring.  So, they can raise the ticket price all they want, but the market will (and is determining that).  It's irritating to have to pay full price for a game where the market value is $15.

(5) Coaches don't need the preseason game to trim the roster from 80 to 53 and choose the starters.  Statements by coaches seem to suggest otherwise.  Also those game films allow other teams to pick up bubble players that are cut.


The point I'm making is to refute what teams need to tool their roster.  So long as all teams have no games, there is no competitive advantage.

And removing pre-season would make it better.  20% of your season is meaningless, shitty football where the stakes vary greatly from player to player, introducing increased injury risk.  Cut it or extend the season to accommodate it.

you won't get fans to go if its only 2 quarters. Which is why you get rid of them all together, increase the number of practices a team can have. And let teams do more "joint practices" which the coaches get more out of than the silly games anyway. Yes players can still get hurt in practices (Kelvin Benjamin, Louis Delmas..etc)....but the risk is far less so it would be smarter to play the odds overall.

If some people's reason to keeping the preseason games is ...."well every other league does it".....its a naive narrow minded stance to take. The NFL doesn't follow other leagues, never has and never will. That's why they are the #1 sport in this country and there isn't a close 2nd. And as I said, college football doesn't have any "preseason games" and it hasn't hurt that sport any or the level of play and those are college kids not professionals!

Preseason is not for the fans.  Sorry, I don't care if its in a stadium with concessions etc.  They don't go out there for the fans.  If so, then I agree, fold it up.

Preseason is a "real life" practice.  It creates game situations to evaluate players.  Who gives a crap if no fans show up?  No fans show up already.  No one goes out to buy single game tickets for a preseason game, and those that are given them as part of a season ticket package don't go either.

Don't be naive.  Pre-season is a money-maker for the owners and nothing more.

No, you are the one being naive.

Talk to any coach or athlete, in any sport at any level.  And ask them the following, "given the choose of only having practices and scrimmages against your own team mates OR the chance to play a few scrimmages against another team before the season begins, which would you prefer to help you prepare for your first game that counts?"

Go ahead ask them.  Ask 10. 

Pre-season isn't for the fans.  But it isn't for the owners either.  It is for the coaches and players.

 

I'd also be interested in someone (I'm pretty sure none of us have the resources or time though) doing an analysis of how many of these pre-season injuries are in game and how many are in practice. I'm seeing the injury reasoning here quite a bit but I bet an analysis would show that pre-season practice has more injuries than these games.

There are a lot of people who are boo-hooing and calling for the NFL to get rid of preseason games...but none of those people have the responsibility for getting a professional football team ready to play. The people who DO have to get a football team ready, the coaches and GMs in the NFL...they want the preseason.

Preseason games aren't going anywhere. You guys can whine about it all you want, but the only thing you'll achieve is hearing yourself whine.

If I had to bet, I take more injuries during practice.  

I'm pretty sure Aaron Rodgers just recently said preseason games should go away or be reduced by half, I can't remember. The only players who probably want preseason games are those on the bubble who need a chance to show off their skills. The starters probably could care less or would want them gone.

There are a few athletes that are at the very top of their game for which preseason games are of little or no value.   Rodgers is one of them.  Brady, Manning, Brees are some others.  Next year Suh will likely be in that group as well, this year he is learning a new defense.

Here is what to do with those players -- sit them.  Let Rodgers back ups play every single down, they will need those reps, if Rodgers gets injured in a game

Notable injuries from this weekend: Dez Bryant, Terrell Suggs, Luke Kuechly, T.Y. Hilton, Derek Carr, Andre Ellington, Antonio Cromartie & Josh McCown.

Unbelievable...we should just get rid of opening week entirely.

  :o   ::)    ;D

There is a danger associated with playing any games.  Therefore you should limit the games to only the ones you need.  4-5 games that have no meaning is just dumb.

But hey -- keep watching fake football.

News came out last night that the NFL wants to reduce the preseason to only 2 games.  They are looking for ways to make up the lost revenue for removing the 2 games to keep all parties happy. And per the 2011 CBA the NFL can remove 2 preseason games without needing the players to agree or for it to be negotiated. So it could happen as soon as next year.

About time!