A thought about no Preseason (innovation)

I think not having the preseason games is an advantage to the coaching staff because they can focus on installing a new O and D and not worry about travel.

I do not agree that they need preseason games to evaluate bubble players on their own team. The disadvantage is not seeing bubble players on other teams that they don't have as much inside info on. Preseason games end up being bubbles against bubbles so they're really not getting a look at what that player might do up against the starting O or D but they all keep a list of target bubbles on other teams that might be available and this year with only 80 players in each camp, fewer decisions to make in the early going.

The real advantage for the coaching staff is a built in sense of urgency with a team with a new coaching staff, they can't go through the motions, they have to get it and get if fast. McC keeping Moore as the OC was a real bonus, he's a smart guy and can help translate and transition the new offense to his guys.

The DC has his work cut out for him with almost half his starters new to the D and the team and a secondary a real work in progress and basically unknown and will any of his 3 LB's be 100%?

Silly said:

with 16 games in a season, you probably don't need a preseason anyway. They don't need a preseason in college. Make the coaches do their jobs in training camp & starting rookies will make the games more exciting and unpredictable. The games will be more fun.

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In a way there actually is a preseason in college in that there are games before the conference season starts, some of which can be pushover games for quality teams. Obviously it's different because although those games don't count toward the conference championship, they do count in national rankings, but then again there are lots of ways college isn't an apples to apples comparison to the NFL, so what works for one may not be appropriate for the other.

I understand your point, but the Blueprint for stopping the Cowboys offense will be the same as its been for the last 4 years, "stop the run=stop the Cowboys".

No mystery for any opposing DC's that have played us or seen game film.

Lack of actual game play can make you rusty. I expect the first two games to look sloppy throughout the league.

We've never had a cancelled preseason games before to my limited knowledge.

In that sense, it should prove intriguing what the results of that situation may be.

In one aspect, travel time will be eliminated. In another, players need live action.

Will being afforded that benefit in practice be enough to ensure a good season?

The end results will possibly speak for themselves. Here's hoping it's a success.

GMO415 said:

Lack of actual game play can make you rusty. I expect the first two games to look sloppy throughout the league.

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The first one always is even with 4-5 preseason games, these coaches don't want to risk players.

One thing that is also different about this season, we don't know how complete it will be. If it becomes an abbreviated season, those early games are going to be more critical. In the past, teams could come out sleepy and sloppy and overcome that with at least 14 more to play but it is unknown about just what this season is going to look like. How many games will constitute a full season?

I don't think the most optimistic among us really thinks an uninterrupted 17 week regular season and 11 playoff games are coming off without a hitch.

CouchCoach said:

The first one always is even with 4-5 preseason games, these coaches don't want to risk players.

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I could be wrong of course, but I believe if you secretly polled NFL head coaches, a majority would say they would rather not have ps games. They don’t game plan for them, never reveal anything from the playbook on either side of the ball, and they’re always paranoid of losing a quality player. At best, they are an exhibition for the fans. At worst, they are just plain crap football starring mostly guys that will never play in the NFL.

IMO, the ONLY reason coaches don’t say this publicly is because their employers, the owners, see ps games as a big moneymaker.

Does camp open tomorrow?

Preseason games are needed to weed out the bottom of the roster. There's only so much a player can prove in practice and training camp. Actual game action is needed to separate the camp bodies from those players who have real promise.

Bobhaze said:

I could be wrong of course, but I believe if you secretly polled NFL head coaches, a majority would say they would rather not have ps games. They don’t game plan for them, never reveal anything from the playbook on either side of the ball, and they’re always paranoid of losing a quality player. At best, they are an exhibition for the fans. At worst, they are just plain crap football starring mostly guys that will never play in the NFL.

IMO, the ONLY reason coaches don’t say this publicly is because their employers, the owners, see ps games as a big moneymaker.

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I agree and would be right there along with them.

We've never really heard any comments made about the preseason and lack of quality play from anyone, no one within the game or those talking about it. I think it is just understood this is the way owners make extra coin before the game checks kick in and when they didn't get push back from season ticket holders for paying the full rate on those games, they knew they were fine.

The coaches go along with it with enough names showing up at the start of the game that fans don't complain and when that thing happens that every HC dreads, a name going down and lost for the season, then the true fans don't want to see the names on the field during a preseason game at all.

Bob Lilly told me that the vets who would play at the beginning of the exhibition games back then had an understanding, they held back and tried to make it look good but no player wanted to risk another's health because those guys had to have part time jobs in the off season. Once the starters were off the field, it was different because those players were fighting to make the team and the vets knew it.

The irony is one of the most famous games in Cowboys history was a preseason game. The passing of the torch from Romo to Prescott.

movaughn88 said:

So I'll start by assuming that the Cowboys have a very good chance to be a top 10 offense. I don't think that should be too controversial, but feel free to bark at me.

My thought today was, without preseason there will be a lot of rust, uncertainty, and honestly some wacko stuff going on the first few games of the season. There are arguments that both offense and defense have some advantages to not showing their packages and plays before getting to the real games. None of what I'm saying has to do with players, everyone is on the same short stick of internal personnel evaluation.

Main thesis is: if the Cowboys are a top 10 offense, I think in addition to that our group of offensive coaches (MMc, Kellen) are also at the *least* top 10 in innovation and that could lead to an edge in early games with new wrinkles. I'm not saying they will have people standing around with their jaws on the ground, but I believe we are, lets say top 5 teams to take advantage of no preseason on offense.

Thoughts?

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A top offense last year, with most everyone coming back, and a big add in Lamb. The best way to press our advantage is to mainly play the same system from last year, evolving it as the season goes on.

Making big changes makes us worse this year, but maybe MM wants to see how Dak plays in his system.

Romo was an undrafted player who sat for 3.5 season and without pre season game especially one vs Oakland that caught Parcells eyes it would be very possible that Romo would never have gotten his chance. Pre season is about putting guys in game situations that you do not have in practice where QB are off limits, plays are blown dead at 1st contact. Pre season allows a game like situation.

dragon_mikal said:

Preseason games are needed to weed out the bottom of the roster. There's only so much a player can prove in practice and training camp. Actual game action is needed to separate the camp bodies from those players who have real promise.

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Disagree, you will not discover the value of a player up against scrubs. These coaches see them go against their own set ups and let's not forget, every player knows it is what they do at camp and practice that gets them on the roster. How else could you explain some players really showing up in a preseason game only to be passed over by another player? Every preseason we get these pretend superstars and most of them don't even make the final roster.

Coaches know. It's not how they're playing but who they're playing against that matters.

Silly said:

with 16 games in a season, you probably don't need a preseason anyway. They don't need a preseason in college. Make the coaches do their jobs in training camp & starting rookies will make the games more exciting and unpredictable. The games will be more fun.

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Most schools that matter schedule a bunch of cupcakes early in the season which functions like a pre-season. That's why its such a big deal when they have the Chick-Fil-A kickoff matchup or other big week 1 games.

dragon_mikal said:

Preseason games are needed to weed out the bottom of the roster. There's only so much a player can prove in practice and training camp. Actual game action is needed to separate the camp bodies from those players who have real promise.

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Here’s where I disagree: Preseason games are hardly real game action. Sure it’s better than an intra-squad scrimmage, but when you see a guy like Rico Gathers looking like a superstar in a PS game, it’s usually because he’s making plays against a UFA safety from Eastern North Dakota Tech who has no business ever being in a meaningful NFL game. Only occasionally do ps games really reveal much about a player that you didn’t already know.

Bobhaze said:

I could be wrong of course, but I believe if you secretly polled NFL head coaches, a majority would say they would rather not have ps games. They don’t game plan for them, never reveal anything from the playbook on either side of the ball, and they’re always paranoid of losing a quality player. At best, they are an exhibition for the fans. At worst, they are just plain crap football starring mostly guys that will never play in the NFL.

IMO, the ONLY reason coaches don’t say this publicly is because their employers, the owners, see ps games as a big moneymaker.

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So what's wrong with that? Everything the NFL does is about making money. No news there.
I really don't see why exactly anyone is against the preseason games. I could see cutting back to 2 or 3 instead of 4, but it does indeed give the teams a chance to look at their 2nd and 3rd string players plus give some real game time practice to their backups.
I don't see why anyone has a problem with that.

Buzzbait said:

So what's wrong with that? Everything the NFL does is about making money. No news there.
I really don't see why exactly anyone is against the preseason games. I could see cutting back to 2 or 3 instead of 4, but it does indeed give the teams a chance to look at their 2nd and 3rd string players plus give some real game time practice to their backups.
I don't see why anyone has a problem with that.

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I think it’s fine if anyone says they like preseason games for whatever reason. I’m just saying we don’t need them. We have them because the owners want their cash registers to ring 4 more times. But let’s not pretend these professional coaches and players “need” those jokes known as preseason games.

Before the 1970s, at least the owners were honest enough to call them what they really are: “Exhibition Games”. Its like a show more than a game. It’s a money making show made up mostly of players who will either never make the roster or some that will be making a few ST tackles a year. Sure ps games help coaches make “final decisions” on final roster spots, but they could do the same decision making without those games.

movaughn88 said:

So I'll start by assuming that the Cowboys have a very good chance to be a top 10 offense. I don't think that should be too controversial, but feel free to bark at me.

My thought today was, without preseason there will be a lot of rust, uncertainty, and honestly some wacko stuff going on the first few games of the season. There are arguments that both offense and defense have some advantages to not showing their packages and plays before getting to the real games. None of what I'm saying has to do with players, everyone is on the same short stick of internal personnel evaluation.

Main thesis is: if the Cowboys are a top 10 offense, I think in addition to that our group of offensive coaches (MMc, Kellen) are also at the *least* top 10 in innovation and that could lead to an edge in early games with new wrinkles. I'm not saying they will have people standing around with their jaws on the ground, but I believe we are, lets say top 5 teams to take advantage of no preseason on offense.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

There isn’t a need for preseason games for starters, but would be nice to give depth guys a chance.

It’s not a big deal on the grand scheme of things BUT the team has from Aug 17-Sept 6 for practice before the season.

A team that had no OTAs, no strength and conditioning, gets 20 days before an NFL game week.

To put in perspective, MLB is seeing a lot of pitchers hurt in their first start because 3 weeks wasn’t long enough for them to prepare. You can’t convince me that it’s harder to prepare to pitch than play football.

There needs to be 5-6 weeks of practice for performance and safety. I’ve posted in multiple threads but there’s just no way the NFL can say it cares about the players and not backup the season.

Add players that test positive for COVID and miss a week or 2 of practice in that 3 week period and it’s impossible. These guys have been sitting on the couch or running in their back yard since January.

Im going to watch like every year but even if the Cowboys go 0-16, I won’t blame McCarthy or the players. This is a brand new system defensively and a different approach to coaching QBs. Any team with a new coach has very little chance of doing well. The only good thing for Dallas is the Commanders and Giants are in the same position.

As far as I’m concerned this is like a fantasy season. Yeah it’s cool if your team wins, but you can’t take much stock out of anything other than maybe the last 8 weeks.