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  • September 06, 2008 12:23 PM ET

NFL needs to change the preseason

camoratto (2-13-1) vs 0x NBA/NFL Champion (68-16-11)
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I think the 4 preseason games are as useless as the NBA allstar game. They should get rid of all games but one.

The only reason they have the preseason is to make money. It is extra television money, people coming to see the game and buying stuff, or the othe rmoney they make every game. The preseason should be to help the teams get ready for opening day but it is hurting the teams more than it is helping them. Major players are getting hurt and hurting every teams chances. Just to name a few Ocho Cinco(may still start but not at full health), Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown the Eagles 2 best WRs and losing them means making their #1 Wr a rookie, and to top it all off Shawn Merriman. All of those guys mean a lot to their teams.

And if it is suppose to help help the team get ready then why do all the starters sit 3/4 of the game. In the last game the starters sit all of the game. Why not have 1 or 2 games earlier in the preseason so if players get hurt they have a little more time to heal. Then have 1 game for the other players. Its not like the teams dont get to play real games. Backups dont need extra work, they scrimmage the starters which is a huge challenge.


I disagree in the sense that the should only keep one game.

NFL players need to play more than one game to get ready for the NFL season. I know they're great athletes, they're in excellent shape, etc. But you can't play for less than an hour of clock time and then expect to go out and play 16 games.

The preseason is used to make the rosters. After the draft and in training camp, NFL teams have WAY more than the amount of players they can keep. By seeing guys play in game situations, you can make a judgment on whether or not they will help your team. And don't say this isn't true because it works for undrafted players, guys competing for a spot, or late round picks such as Marques Colston.

Players are ALWAYS getting hurt, it's just the nature of the NFL. If they don't get hurt in the preseason, they could very well get hurt in the regular season. Shawne Merriman did NOT get hurt during this year's preseason.

The backups get to play against competition from another team. It's LIVE competition, it counts (as compared to an intrasquad scrimmage), it's on television, etc. Those guys HAVE to prove themselves, and sometimes, they are great players when they get the chance.


i said 1 or 2 games.. Im not suggesting having the games at the same time either. I say let the starters play all 60 minutes in a game or 2. That is not as much as they play now but if they do 2 full games and then a short game then they can see the starters for a full game and then in the other full game they can compare starters to backups. Then in the final half game you just put some guys ou there for extra work. The fourth game is pointless. The backups play 60 minutes of boring useless football.

Like I said the backups get the most work in training camp anyway. why make them play so much if it is just risking some young guys careers. In most camps the vets dont even have to come to all 3 practices but the younger guys do. People are always getting hurt in baseball but you dont see any key guys going down in the 2 preseason games or in spring training.

Yeah i know they use the preseason for making cuts and depth charts but for cuts you can watch them in all of the team scrimmages and then in a couple of live games. Or how about the 2.5 months of hard training camp.

Tell me if you agree. The preseason is to decide the team depth chart and make money.


"I think the 4 preseason games are as useless as the NBA allstar game. They should get rid of all games but one. "

That is what you said. When you said that they should "get rid of all games but one", I assumed that you were arguing to get rid of all games but one. Not two games. And definitely not "two full games and a short one". So now you think they should play 3 games? I'm kind of confused...


"Like I said the backups get the most work in training camp anyway."

That is not true. Plenty of starters see action in training camp. The backups get action, too. But EVERYBODY gets action in training camp unless they are holding out; which is a completely different issue. Adrian Peterson sees action. Randy Moss sees action. Champ Bailey sees action. I could go on and on, but I think you see where I'm going with this.


"People are always getting hurt in baseball but you dont see any key guys going down in the 2 preseason games or in spring training."

Once again, that's NOT true. Players get hurt in spring training, in fact, some key guys go down every year.


"The preseason is to decide the team depth chart and make money."

Yes, that's what I said in my first argument. You agree?


"Why not have 1 or 2 games earlier in the preseason so if players get hurt they have a little more time to heal. Then have 1 game for the other players" I also said that in my 1st arguement. None of those game should be a week before opening day. Every team has decided offcially or non officially who they want to cut before the last game. So why have it? TO MAKE MONEY!! you said it yourself that the reason for preseason is to decide depth chart and make money. If its not for roster, then MONEY! I guess it is good for the fans who dont have tix and dont wanna wait 15 years to get tix but you didnt mention that. Where did I say they get no action..i said backups get most action in the games and more action in training camp.

The reason i brought up the backups thing is becuase they are the ones who get the most out of the preseason games and they get the most out of training camp. So cutting out a game or 2 isnt gonna hurt the team too bad.

Sum up: 2 full games, 1 short in the middle of training camp instead of a week before the season. Maybe 12 min quarters. Starters play all 1st game. Then the coaches use 2nd game to decide backups. Final game is for more time.


Wait...hold on.

So you just decided to argue BOTH points of view? Then, if you got out-argued by one of them, you switch to the other one?

"Every team has decided offcially or non officially who they want to cut before the last game."

No. That's not true AT ALL. Because if it was, the final roster would be made before the last game, right? They might have decided who they are LOOKING at to make the team, but not who is going to make it. The games in the preseason are to decide who fills out the 53 man roster.



"you said it yourself that the reason for preseason is to decide depth chart and make money."

No. I did not say that. I said that it was to decide who makes the team and who is cut. I didn't say that it was to make money, that's what YOU said.


But it seems that you agree with me. Neither of us is arguing that four games should be played. However, we both seem to have the same point of view. So the question is: which one of us argued this first? Look at the second sentence in this throwdown...

Comments (17) Add A Comment

September 6, 2008  01:09 PM ET
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I say 2 games. Maybe 3. 1 is a little drastic

September 6, 2008  01:57 PM ET
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Is that EJ Henderson in Champions profile pick?

September 6, 2008  02:42 PM ET
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It's Erin Henderson, but you have been closer than most people :)

September 6, 2008  02:57 PM ET
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ONE preseason game? Unless right has a terrible argument, that's the way I'm going.

September 6, 2008  03:36 PM ET
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It should be 2 games. They don't need more than that to get ready. If they can simulate games in scrimmages inter squad or bring another team in so it can be in a more controlled environment to save on injuries.

No one playing or coaching wants the 4 games. Coaches do most of their evaluation during practice. The only people that want all these preseason games are the people profiting on them, the owners.

September 6, 2008  03:39 PM ET
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To have less playoff games doesn't mean training camp has to be shorter. I think too many people think that.

September 6, 2008  03:57 PM ET
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all i am saying is the whole preseason process is too long. If the coaches cant tell who is on the team by 3 month of training camp and some scrimmages they shouldnt be professional coaches. The preseason should be like a warmup for the season instead of to see who is on the team.

September 6, 2008  04:16 PM ET
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how is this tied? There are holes all over the place in left's argument...for example:

I say let the starters play all 60 minutes in a game or 2.
That is not as much as they play now but if they do 2 full games and then a short game then they can see the starters for a full game and then in the other full game they can compare starters to backups.

-camoratto


What??? If the starters play all 60 minutes, then when do the backups play like you suggest? AND more importantly, how do you deifne who the starters and backups are without giving them equal playing time?

The guy on the right has it cvorrect....injuries AQLWAYS happen in the NFL...what, just cuz Osi got injured everyone is clamoring for fewer games? Plenty of players got injured in preseason in the past, Emmitt got injured in a preseason game prior to the 1997 season,a nd nobody complained about it then even though the Boys were defending champs

this is a load of bs.



Voting right.


And this shouldnt be close at all. The dude on the right should be blowing this out. There are so many holes in the left's argument that you can fit 10 RBs through

September 6, 2008  04:32 PM ET
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i hate preseason

September 6, 2008  04:45 PM ET
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the final game is a joke...its hard to argue against this guy with only 1200 words. there is so much he said i disagree with

September 6, 2008  04:48 PM ET
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"The preseason is to decide the team depth chart and make money." - me
"Yes, that's what I said in my first argument. You agree?" -this is him saying he agrees with both
"No. I did not say that. I said that it was to decide who makes the team and who is cut. I didn't say that it was to make money, that's what YOU said. " in the next arguement he decides that he doenst agree

September 6, 2008  05:51 PM ET
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The preseason isn't for the fans. It's for the starters to get ready, and for the backups to earn roster spots. If you don't like it, don't watch. The preseason is perfect the way its. Better arguments right.

September 6, 2008  06:01 PM ET
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0x has the better arguments so my vote goes to him.

September 6, 2008  06:51 PM ET
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if it is for the starters to get ready then why dont they play in the last game

September 6, 2008  07:06 PM ET
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Pitt the preseason is not perfect and its not for any of the reasons you stated. If the players and coaches had a say on this it would be cut down to two games. Its the owners and the owners alone that keep the preseason at 4 games. They force season ticket holders to buy the tickets and make great money and have a lot less over head than they do for a regular season game.

September 6, 2008  07:37 PM ET
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Left's args didn't flow at all. Vote right.

 
September 7, 2008  07:11 AM ET
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yeah..i had a pretty bad arguement, but really who thinks it needs to be changed

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