If any coach needs pretend games to make roster decisions, he needs to hand in his whistle.
These coaches learn very little in pretend games because of the competition level, which they are far more familiar with than the fans. They learn more in their controlled scrimmages where they control both sides on the line.
Some may not know but this whole pretend games thing came about as Exhibition games and most were played in regional smaller venues like the Cowboys played in Memphis and Shreveport and we drove there to see them. The stars mainly hung around with their jerseys facing the crowd so you could say you saw them.
I had the opportunity to talk to Bob Lilly a couple of times as my son worked in his restaurant and while he would not come out and admit it, there was an agreement between the vets in exhibition games to make it look good. No player wanted to lose his spot or his job because of some injury suffered before the game checks began.
The other thing about the pretend games, they did nothing to prepare the real teams because in the first couple of weeks every year, it was pretty sloppy and the timing of the offenses was way off. And there were many guys on the sidelines, bent over gasping for air in the early going and not all were the big uglies.
Anytime anyone brings up pretend games, I always think of that magic season of the New York Football Giants. 5-0 in the preseason and the talk of the town and blown out 0-4 to start the season. That very same franchise had a winning preseason and started out 0-2, giving up 80 points, and went on to win it all. So, even early on in the real season, we can't be sure.
It is perfectly fine for you to fool yourself into thinking you are watching football because you are gridiron starved, but you are not. It's just pretend.
