Preseason games are torture; here's my alternative

[Vern]

There will never be a typical odd number of preseason games because each year half the league gets to have an extra home game over the other half....$$$$

Converting a pre-season game into a regular season game is what the proposal is. That does = more $$$$ for the teams, whether it's a home or away game.

And in fact, it would be a "neutral" game that is away for both teams - played over seas or in guest cities that do not have a franchise.

The Miami game in London this year is just a trial run. Then maybe China the year after that. Then, if the plan works, you have every team in the league playing 8 home, 8 away, and 1 over seas. This concept is part of why they killed NFLE. With the extra game, they can put a whole season of real NFL football anywhere they want.

 

[Tunescribe]

The problem is your argument proceeds from a false assumption... You are acting as though the purpose of preseason games is player development. That's not the case. The purpose of preseason games is to fleece the fans (and networks) out of more money.

No, that's the very point I'm trying to make (read my prior posts): If it wasn't for the revenue issue, the preseason might be radically different with player/team development receiving due emphasis in controlled scrimmages rather than faux games.

 

[QuiGon]

No, that's the very point I'm trying to make (read my prior posts): If it wasn't for the revenue issue, the preseason might be radically different with player/team development receiving due emphasis in controlled scrimmages rather than faux games.

Then I apologize for misunderstanding your message. I agree development could be easily achieved without 4 full preseason games. Hopefully the system will change sometime over the next couple of years.

 

[JoeSixPat]

In a perfect world...

...preseason games would not exist. The only reason they DO exist is greed, so the owners can charge regular-season prices for games that mean nothing while coaches settle their rosters for the upcoming season.

Instead of preseason games the teams should have controlled scrimmages against one another in training camp, not masquerade the events as real NFL "games." The scrimmages should occur on Saturday evenings or Sunday afternoons and tickets should be $25 apiece. Season ticket holders should be able to re-sell tickets for these scrimmages without penalty if they so desire.

Controlled scrimmages would involve teams within regional proximity of one another to minimize travel. For instance, the Patriots would scrimmage the Giants, Eagles, Redskins, etc. Controlled scrimmaging would help minimize injuries while giving teams a chance to hit someone else.

The coaches would meet beforehand to determine which specific drills/scrimmage situations are needed to test their new players and personnel groupings, respectively. For instance, if one team has an unsettled offensive line and the other team wants to figure out its defensive backfield, certain drills and game situations would be tailored for those purposes WITHOUT EXPOSING OTHER KEY PERSONNEL (starting quarterbacks, etc.) TO THE HAZARDS OF LIVE CONTACT.

The upside for controlled camp scrimmages vs. preseason games: fewer injuries/less wear-and-tear on players, a price break for season ticket holders and the opportunity for those without season tickets to affordably see the team in action.

The downside: less money in the owners' pockets.

My main concern is injuries in preseason games. Every year, some teams lose starters to injury in preseason games and it just isn't worth it. Of course, I'm speaking as a fan, and not an owner.

I don't know of anything you described that limits owners profiting from the games (and I'd point out that organizations employ a lot of people that benefit from these things as well)

Nor do I see how injuries are avoided.

The pre-season games as they stand do as good a job of replicating actual games as I can imagine - having the coaches know what games are coming doesn't strike me as something that helps.

Injuries are part of the game, as is the mental chess game of not knowing what's coming and being prepared.

Keep the games as is. Limit the games to 3 quarters if need be but I don't see what needs to be changed. The coaches can put in scrubs the entire pre-season for all I care - there's no expectation for seeing starters in any games.

Otherwise we might need to refund Game 16 to all season ticket holders when we wrap up the bye and home field advantage and want to rest our starters, right?

 

[PatsFan37]

The problems are:
(a) pre-season games don't count. With nothing on the line, starters don't play other than to tune up.
(b) no one wants a starter hurt in a game that doesn't count
(c) the team needs the pre-season to settle the roster and warm up the starters

How about games that count a little, but not a lot. Schedule two games (call them 'early season' instead of 'pre-season'), one home and one away, against non-conference opponents and have them count toward the playoffs, each as half a non-conference game. These are full-price games.

Prior to that, have two live scrimmages with paid seats at a lower price.

Final roster cutdowns occur in the week following the last of the 'early season' games.

 

[richpats]

Converting a pre-season game into a regular season game is what the proposal is. That does = more $$$$ for the teams, whether it's a home or away game.

Did the NFL agree with your proposal? :lol:

I'd love to see all these "proposals" when we're a couple of months into the season.

I'm bored too, I can't wait for football season to start, but it doesn't need to start in August.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

This is an interesting and thoughtful proposal. The problem is that for some players, showing how they react and perform in a game is an important opportunity if they are to make the team. I think we watch these games and think, probably correctly, that the Starters are going maybe 90%. However, there are guys trying to make the team who are playing 110%. Matt Cassel, for example, sees these games as a chance to showcase himself for a possible free agency signing next spring. This, of course, increases the possibility of injuries when a guy going 110% hits a guy going 90%.

 

[Pats726]

The purpose of preseason games is to fleece the fans (and networks) out of more money.

I thought fossilized arguments like this vanished years ago.

 

[godef]

In a perfect world...

...preseason games would not exist. The only reason they DO exist is greed, so the owners can charge regular-season prices for games that mean nothing while coaches settle their rosters for the upcoming season.

Instead of preseason games the teams should have controlled scrimmages against one another in training camp, not masquerade the events as real NFL "games." The scrimmages should occur on Saturday evenings or Sunday afternoons and tickets should be $25 apiece. Season ticket holders should be able to re-sell tickets for these scrimmages without penalty if they so desire.

Controlled scrimmages would involve teams within regional proximity of one another to minimize travel. For instance, the Patriots would scrimmage the Giants, Eagles, Redskins, etc. Controlled scrimmaging would help minimize injuries while giving teams a chance to hit someone else.

The coaches would meet beforehand to determine which specific drills/scrimmage situations are needed to test their new players and personnel groupings, respectively. For instance, if one team has an unsettled offensive line and the other team wants to figure out its defensive backfield, certain drills and game situations would be tailored for those purposes WITHOUT EXPOSING OTHER KEY PERSONNEL (starting quarterbacks, etc.) TO THE HAZARDS OF LIVE CONTACT.

The upside for controlled camp scrimmages vs. preseason games: fewer injuries/less wear-and-tear on players, a price break for season ticket holders and the opportunity for those without season tickets to affordably see the team in action.

The downside: less money in the owners' pockets.

My main concern is injuries in preseason games. Every year, some teams lose starters to injury in preseason games and it just isn't worth it. Of course, I'm speaking as a fan, and not an owner.

Meet you half way... two of these, plus two actual games. As Pats726 points out, you do need some real-game situations, but perhaps you can build up from the first session which is more-controlled-scrimmage-like with all your suggestions, and then build up each week to become progressively more game-like such that the 4th preseason is completely played like a real game. I think this would be the best combination of regular-season-preparation and injury-minimizing.

Actually, most teams do a lot of what you suggest... for example, Payton only played one series last night. You don't think the desire to minimize risk of injury had a lot to do with that?

However... it's really up to the owners to decide to charge realistic prices for preseason games *regardless* of how they are conducted... we don't want to put the cart before the horse here. And as Danny Boy so correctly points out, the owners will never do this. So I'm afraid none of this will ever change.

And even if they did, you know they would then just jack up the price of regular season tickets to compensate.

 

[Pats726]

I heard a little bit of talk on ESPN radio about this and it was reported that one nameless vet said that maybe two if even that were needed...and that is fine, but preseason is NOT just about the vets, but roster spots 30-53 as well as the 8 Practice Squad players. Who might a team develop over a few years?? It's these other questions that the Preseason helps answer.
I tend to agree with Goodell pushing out of country play, that it will soon be reduced to 3 games....and it is then that other options will be looked at as a pre=Preseason game addition.

 

[primetime]

Instead of preseason games the teams should have controlled scrimmages against one another in training camp, not masquerade the events as real NFL "games." The scrimmages should occur on Saturday evenings or Sunday afternoons and tickets should be $25 apiece. Season ticket holders should be able to re-sell tickets for these scrimmages without penalty if they so desire.

Teams do have controlled scrimmages in training camps, and do charge about $10-15 dollars for them. Here in Albany, the Jets always come up to scrimmage the Giants once a summer.

It happens, just not at the expense of a preseason game.

 

[PATSNUTme]

I'll agree that pre-season games are meaningless and I'd feel like crap if a valuable player gets a big time injury. I remember years ago we lost 3 or 4 defensive starters for the season in one pre game. It was a diaster.

Having said that and not being able to change things now, I pumped up for tonight game.:rocker:

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Preseason games is like an old man having foreplay with his wife in a hotel on vacation then finding out the Viagra was left at home

In other words its not a bad start but does not satisfy fully