Especially with all the big injuries that have occurred this week...I mean Maclin, Pitta, Harvin and denver's starting center are supposedly all done for the season. Preseason is a showcase for the few open spots, the starters hopefully have worked hard enough in practice, that come Week 1 are ready to go.
All of those injuries were in PRACTICE, not a pre-season game. I think some of you think the games are more dangerous then practice is. I don't think that's true. You have so many more reps in practice that a pre-season game in comparison is relatively safe. The difference is that in practice you are going up against the same players over and over and over. You know them so well that you know what they are going to do before they do it. A game situation is completely different. It's a chance to see how you perform against an opponent. It's a chance to see you perform when the lights and the camera's are on and the fans (the few that are there) are there. It's a chance to see things at full speed, when you are taking guys to the ground and all that. It's a chance to see something different and that is EXTREMELY important especially now that contact has been limited in practices.
Haven't any of you played a sport? You honestly believe that a game, even a pre-season game isn't any different than practice? I'm shocked because I've played a lot of sports and games are ALWAYS different even if it doesn't count. You heard Mike Wallace talk about how in the scrimmage that the offense is Miami and the defense is just the competition. You don't think that's even more pronounced in a pre-season game where the competition is really just the competition? In practice a win for the offense is a loss for the defense. You don't really know what you have till you go up against an opponent. Don't be fooled by MikeO. Preseason games ARE important and they are MUCH more valuable than the STUPID pro-bowl game ESPECIALLY for guys trying to make the team. I don't mean whether you win them or not, I'm talking about you perform. For many of the players, what they do in the pre-season games may be the difference between them making the team and not making the team. It's not important for the returning veterans to play or to play well, but for just about everybody else it is important. Not more important than practice, but certainly on par with practice. If you don't think it would be HUGE for Sturgis to get into a preseason game and nail a 50 yarder, well then I don't know what to tell you because until he does it in a game, even a pre-season game it's doesn't mean squat.
I know most of you only really care about the starters, but the fact of the matter is that the starters make up less than 1/2 the team. The OTHER half the team is JUST as important when the real games start.
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