Are you excited for training camp/preseason or is it meaningless?

[morasp]

Fingers crossed they get through it with no significant injuries.

 

[xwalker]

Preseason is pretty meaningless for the fans. It's for the coaches and players trying to make the team. Does not translate that well for viewing.

You're viewing it incorrectly then. It's a great way to see the new and young players.

I can see that it would be boring for non-hardcore fans.

 

[xwalker]

Fingers crossed they get through it with no significant injuries.

I would only have the established players play and practice a minimal amount. Back when Jimmy was here, Emmitt barely practiced in TC.

 

[AsthmaField]

For me, training camp is simply one of the best times of year, period. I have counted down the days to training camp for the better part of 25 years now, and not much gets me as excited as a sports fan.

I feel like a lot can be gleaned from watching camp practices and pre-season games, but you have to know what matters and what doesn't. What translates to the games that count and what does not. For the most part, we know the players that have been playing for a few years, so really it is the younger guys that have my attention. They are the great unknown about which the pre-season can tell a lot.

If a WR in a pre-season game gets wide open and catches a long pass for a TD, that really doesn't mean that much because the opposing defense might have scrubs playing in the secondary and/or rushing the passer. Plus you can bet that the defensive coordinator didn't put any time into defending what your offense would be doing that day. What does matter though, and what will carry over is; did the WR run a nice, crisp route? Did he catch it smoothly or did he double clutch the ball before bringing it in? Was the throw on time and hit the WR in stride or did he have to slow down and wait for the ball? How did the OL look in their one-on-one battles against the DL? Did an offensive lineman gets beat by his man straight up or was there a stunt that got his guy free?

All of that stuff matters. If the WR ran a crisp route, that says good things about his coaching and how he is picking up the fundamentals of the position. If the WR catches it cleanly then it says he has pretty good hands and isn't an Alexander Wright that can run but not catch very well. If the throw hits him in stride, then it says that the QB and WR are in sync and their timing is coming along nicely.

If an OL wins his one-on-one battle at the line of scrimmage, it bodes well for his athleticism and ability. However, if the defense runs a stunt and gets the DL free to the QB, you can't take much away from that because the OL didn't prepare for the stunts or zone blitzes like they would in a regular season game.

I always hate to see missed tackles because that says a lot about the teams fundamentals and the coaching. Good, solid tackling throughout the pre-season is usually followed by good, solid tacking in season. I think this is like what @TwoDeep3 was alluding to. He also talked about penalties in the pre-season games being a indicator of similar problems when the games count... which I agree with.

In the training camp practices and pre-season games, the fans can learn a lot about what the coaches have in mind. Who is starting, who is coming in on the second team, and who comes in with the scrubs. I have always been able to get a good idea of which UDFA's are making an impression and which are not simply based on if they climb the depth chard from the first preseason game to the last one. A player like Cole Beasley who got more and more playing time as camp goes along, and played earlier and earlier in the PS Games.

To be sure, there is a whole lot that doesn't translate over to the regular season... but if you pay attention to the right things, you can watch little known players grow and earn their way onto the 53 man roster. If one of your pet cats is Bishop or Dixon, it will become pretty clear, pretty quickly if he is making a good impression and has a chance or if he isn't what we hoped for and he doesn't have a chance.

Really for me, the acquisition of college talent is one of the most interesting parts of pro football period, and watching what they do in training camp is one of the more interesting times of the season. I love camp and the pre-season games and can hardly wait for it to start.

 

[KJJ]

I'm excited for every new season regardless what the prospects for the Cowboys are because I'm a Cowboys fan and an NFL fan. I'm always excited about the opening of training camp because that officially puts an end to the offseason. The NFLN shows all the preseason games and I catch parts of most of them. You certainly can't tell how a team is going to perform during the regular season based off their preseason performance because the starters see very little action and teams don't show everything.

Teams are so fearful of starters being injured that the preseason is mostly about young players fighting for roster spots. I'm interested in seeing how the Cowboys draft picks perform but until the real bullets start flying during the regular season you can't put much weight on training camp or preseason performances.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

For me, this preseason is one of the most exciting and meanigful in a long time. Basically, there will be true competition for almost every spot on the defense. 4 DL spots are up for grabs, 3 LB spots are up for grabs, and the one safety spot is up for grabs. As long as Church stays healthy, he probably has one safety spot locked up. The CB position is pretty much set as long as there are no injuries. But, there will be good competition for the final one or two CBs. I don't think we have a good idea yet who will be the starting front 7 to open against SF.

On offense, we have some good competition on the OL. Smith and Fredbeard are locks as long as they stay healthy. The other 3 positions on the OL are up for grabs. Free, Mack and Leary have the inside track but Weems and Parnell have a legitimate shot. We have some WRs with real potential. We will also see if Escobar improves. We will have some good competition for the RB slots.

So, yeah, I think this training camp has a lot of meaning. We had another good draft this year. And we get to see if those drafted last year take the next step up.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

This might be first year I choose not to watch preseason games. I've always gotten excited when they run it 35 times and guys like Phillip Tanner dominate only to never use him or the running game when it counts.

Think I'll lower my expectations this year and tune in when it counts. Or is there value in watching preseason?

preseason games are meaningless. but I always look for individual performances. for training camp its usually about who is standing out. so I read the little details on who did what. usually if you see a name continuously pop up on offense, then you keep an eye...

 

[Blackspider214]

You're viewing it incorrectly then. It's a great way to see the new and young players.

I can see that it would be boring for non-hardcore fans.

What exactly is a "hardcore" fan? Is this supposed to be some sort of jab at me?

You know why it does not translate? Because no one is running their real offense or defense out there. No one is going to tip their hand for the real season. It's hard to get a read on players in preseason because the game is just not the same as regular season. How many guys have we seen make a splash in preseason and then they never play a down of real ball? Defenses are vanilla and so are the offenses. There is a reason people want to keep reducing the size of the preseason. And most fans are not happy they are forced to buy these games at full price. It's definitely not just casual fans who are voicing this.

 

[xwalker]

What exactly is a "hardcore" fan? Is this supposed to be some sort of jab at me?

You know why it does not translate? Because no one is running their real offense or defense out there. No one is going to tip their hand for the real season. It's hard to get a read on players in preseason because the game is just not the same as regular season. How many guys have we seen make a splash in preseason and then they never play a down of real ball? Defenses are vanilla and so are the offenses. There is a reason people want to keep reducing the size of the preseason. And most fans are not happy they are forced to buy these games at full price. It's definitely not just casual fans who are voicing this.

No, it's not a jab. Not every fan has to be hardcore.

A hardcore fan is someone that lives every detail about the team. Any glimpse of unknown players is gold to the hardcore fan. Most hardcore fans can tell you within and inch and a few pounds the height/weight of most players on the roster without looking it up.

It might be preseason, but I can get a good read on a player like OT Darrion Weems in regards to his ability by watching the games. If he makes the roster, I won't get to see him during the regular season unless somebody else gets injured. I want to see how all of the draft picks look against other NFL caliber players. I want to see how well players coming off injury are moving around like Henry Melton.

Schemes are irrelevant when you're studying the power and quickness of individual players.

I'll get to the end of a preseason game and probably not even know the score because I'm rewinding and reviewing individual players and they're often not the ones with the ball.

 

[percyhoward]

Going to training camp in Austin with Jimmy as the HC was awesome. The crowds were small and the fans had easy access to see the players.

I remember in 1992, we were walking to the field and a golf cart pulled up beside us and stopped. Jerry was driving and Jimmy was the passenger. Jerry looks at us and says "how y'all folks doin?"

There was room to just stand along the fence which was similar to the fence surrounding a high school football field. Players would just come by and BS with fans and there was not huge crush of fans looking for autographs that that type of BS. Kenny Gant was one of the players that came by and talked to us for several minutes. I think he was checking out my girlfriend. I was most enamored seeing the size of Erik Williams and Leon Lett.

At the end of practice Jimmy would stand on a milk crate with the team huddled around him.

I went to the 92, 93 and 95 training camps and didn't go again until the Parcells era. I thought for awhile that I jinxed them in the years that I didn't attend. I was very disappointed when I first went to TC again in the Parcells era at the Alamodome. There were thousands of "fans" but they were mostly people that lived in SA and not very knowledgeable of the team. They just came to get autographs. It was more difficult to get a good view of practice and players.

The up-close experience at Austin in the 90's that you describe is exactly what it's like in Oxnard.

 

[CCBoy]

No, it's not a jab. Not every fan has to be hardcore.

A hardcore fan is someone that lives every detail about the team. Any glimpse of unknown players is gold to the hardcore fan. Most hardcore fans can tell you within and inch and a few pounds the height/weight of most players on the roster without looking it up.

It might be preseason, but I can get a good read on a player like OT Darrion Weems in regards to his ability by watching the games. If he makes the roster, I won't get to see him during the regular season unless somebody else gets injured. I want to see how all of the draft picks look against other NFL caliber players. I want to see how well players coming off injury are moving around like Henry Melton.

Schemes are irrelevant when you're studying the power and quickness of individual players.

I'll get to the end of a preseason game and probably not even know the score because I'm rewinding and reviewing individual players and they're often not the ones with the ball.

X, I'm asking a favor from you up front. After the Exhibition games are completed, would you do us a favor, since you have been studying with great furry, just how Weems and Parnell have progressed over the recent years. In your own words, please...and thank you X, if you are able to do this.