Football is officially back

[Sibster]

Watched the first half of the Hall of Fame Game.   TBH, it was pretty basic and boring.   I didn't expect much because it was preseason, but for nearly every starter to be held out of the game says a lot.  Especially the #1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams who needed the work.  Not to mention that the fans who paid to come to the game to see their favorite stars were sold way short.  

[Phishfan]

This is exactly why I don't consider football officially back. I'm glad it is closer though.

[Dave Gray]

Preseason is a farce and should be eradicated.

[Sibster]

Preseason is a farce and should be eradicated.

I agree.   Have controlled scrimmages instead of actual games.   Have the Hall of Fame Game so as not to break tradition, but do it halfway through training camp, and the teams with the top two draft picks should be the ones playing.   That way everyone can see the two new rookies on display.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Preseason is a farce and should be eradicated.

Preseason is about preparing for the season.  The problem is people expect way too much from it.  It is not about seeing your favorite starts or entertaining football games.  It is about allowing coaches and GMs a tool to evaluate players during game conditions. 

It absolutely should not be eradicated.  Ticket prices for preseason games should be a third of what a regular season game costs. 

[Denver2]

I tuned in for a few drives.  I usually like to catch the hof game
. Nice way to mark the beginning of the end of summer, and I can’t wait because it’s hot.

[Sibster]

Preseason is about preparing for the season.  The problem is people expect way too much from it.  It is not about seeing your favorite starts or entertaining football games.  It is about allowing coaches and GMs a tool to evaluate players during game conditions. 

It absolutely should not be eradicated.  Ticket prices for preseason games should be a third of what a regular season game costs. 

But they're not, and therein lies the problem.   Preseason ticket prices are the same as regular season and fans who buy season tickets are forced to take the preseason games at full price.   So as a result, fans want to see their favorite stars and coaches are compelled to play them for at least one drive if not a full quarter.   They need to do away with all that.   Controlled scrimmages are the key, and allow fans to attend

[Spider-Dan]

Why should preseason tickets be cheaper if they are selling them just fine at full price?

[Phishfan]

Why should preseason tickets be cheaper if they are selling them just fine at full price?

They are only selling because of the forced purchase with season tickets. I would say single game purchase is lacking.

[Dave Gray]

I reject that this is for evaluation anymore.  Maybe for a couple of guys on the edge of the roster, but these decisions are made in practice and scrimmages.  Selling this subpar thing as a product is pretty lame.

Whatever, though -- I don't care.  I'm not paying for it.

[Pappy13]

I reject that this is for evaluation anymore.  Maybe for a couple of guys on the edge of the roster, but these decisions are made in practice and scrimmages.  Selling this subpar thing as a product is pretty lame.

Whatever, though -- I don't care.  I'm not paying for it.

I agree with you as far as it being a product, but as far as evaluation of players goes, I don't agree I think there's a lot that can be learned by watching how players perform in an actual game as opposed to practice. There are guys that show up on game day and not in practice and that's really valuable information for players new to the league. Veterans it's not that valuable because you can probably already see that from previous playing experience in games.

I don't want to do away with pre-season games, I actually enjoy watching them on TV, but I would never pay to watch a game.

[Dave Gray]

The guys that play in those last few games are all cut anyway.

We know who's gonna be on the team -- those guys don't really play.
The ones on the bubble, from all I can tell, are pretty much known and then you throw some guys out there to fight for scraps on the practice squad.

I'm not saying it has literal zero value.  But I think the value that it provides as opposed to say, a scrimmage, is negligible.  And it certainly isn't worth charging full-priced MANDATORY tickets for.

[Pappy13]

The guys that play in those last few games are all cut anyway.

Most don't make the initial roster, no but a lot of them are on the practice squads of teams and then eventually make it onto the roster. There's still a lot of value in being able to evaluate those players. Injuries are a part of the game and the practice squad is an important tool throughout the year.

And it certainly isn't worth charging full-priced MANDATORY tickets for.

Well we all know this is BS, but that's just the cost of doing business. If it wasn't the NFL you couldn't do this, but it is the NFL so they get away with it. That's just life.

[Dave Gray]

Most don't make the initial roster, no but a lot of them are on the practice squads of teams and then eventually make it onto the roster. There's still a lot of value in being able to evaluate those players. Injuries are a part of the game and the practice squad is an important tool throughout the year.

No doubt, but are we really saying that we have to have live games with a crowd to determine who are best for the practice squad?  We could just do this with practices and scrimmages.  We are already pushing these injuries to the limit -- adding more meaningless games seems to do more harm than good.

[Pappy13]

Preseason ticket prices are the same as regular season and fans who buy season tickets are forced to take the preseason games at full price.

The reality is that most preaseason tickets are then resold online and make a portion of that money back or they are just given away to people that can't afford to actually make it to a game. The people at these games know exactly what they are getting.

The NFL could certainly throw in the preseason games for free, but then they would just charge more for the seasonal tickets. What difference does it make? Zero. It's a gimmick. Everyone knows exactly what it is. I don't see why anyone really cares. It's just something to complain about like it really makes a difference when it doesn't.