As Preseason Gets Closer, 5 Things To Remember

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Today rookies, injured players, and QBs will be arriving at Cowboys Stadium for a Pre Training Camp workout. Then the Cowboys are off to Oxnard for Training Camp.

Pre-Season football is just around the corner. This means a lot of people are going to be happy and a lot of people are going to be miserable. Some things to hopefully remember as Pre-Season arrives.

1. The purpose of pre-season football is to knock the rust off and see what guys can do. Teams do try to win the games, but they are not game planning the way they would during the season. They are looking for glaring errors, hidden cracks, and the occasional Cinderella story.

2. Though teams try to win these games the games do not matter. If the Cowboys go 4-0 in the pre-season it does not mean they are Super Bowl bound. It also does not mean they are headed for a top 10 draft pick if they go 0-4. We all know this, yet every year people freak out over pre-season wins and losses. For the record, last year's Super Bowl teams were both 2-2. The previous Super Bowl winner was also 2-2 and the runner up was 3-1. That means the last 4 Super Bowl teams were 9-7 over a 16 game pre-season schedule. Don't get too high after wins, nor too low after losses. Keep the pre-sesaon in perspective.

3. This year the teams are taking 90 players to Camp instead of 80. This is important for those of us who enjoy watching the roster churn moves. The cut down dates for this season are August 28 to 80 players and then September 2 to 53 players.

4. Sometimes a player is cut by a team who hopes to bring him back after week 1. There is a strategic reason teams do this. Last year Dallas did this with Laurent Robinson, who ended up being a most pleasant find and whose loss to the Jaguars most of us lament.

5. Every year someone asks about a player who is injured in Training Camp being placed on the PUP list. They cannot be placed on PUP once they have practiced with the team. For instance, this year, Mike Jenkins could end up on the PUP list due to his off season shoulder surgery. However, if Jenkins goes to Oxnard and participates in a practice he then cannot be placed on the PUP list. if a player tweaks a hamstring in week 3 of the pre-season and won't be able to play week 1 at new York, he cannot be placed on the PUP list so that he can come back later. In the past a player who is injured and placed on Injured Reserve was gone for the year. This year that has changed. There is a new marquee player designation where if a player is possible to make it back before the end of the season a team can place that player on IR and still get to use him in 2012.

Let's get some Cowboys news today at the practices and let's enjoy it. Training Camp is right around the corner.
 
Yes, these are game-practices. Good to see the starters leave with a lead and it's also good to see the non-starters hold their own, but it is all about individual play. And maybe the most important goal is to stay healthy.
 
I dont think teams really try to win preseason games. Plus you cant really even get to excited about winning a regular season game unless the team we played was way good let alone care if we win a preseason game.
 
StarBoyz83;4632111 said:
I dont think teams really try to win preseason games. Plus you cant really get to excited about winning a regular season game unless the team we played was way good let slone care if we win a preseason game.
No offense, but that's crazy.
 
Very excited to say the least. Looking forward to as much info we can get from those in the know. Thanks in advance folks.
 
StarBoyz83;4632111 said:
I dont think teams really try to win preseason games. Plus you cant really even get to excited about winning a regular season game unless the team we played was way good let alone care if we win a preseason game.

Each and every win in the regular season is a BIG deal. Don't downplay any win.
 
StarBoyz83;4632111 said:
I dont think teams really try to win preseason games. Plus you cant really even get to excited about winning a regular season game unless the team we played was way good let alone care if we win a preseason game.


Tell that to Romo....Wasn't it his 1st or 2nd year, late in the game, Parcells wanted him to kneel down, kill the clock....everyone thought so too...tony changed it, and did a QB sneak in a way, got a TD.

But somehow, Parcells was still happy...I think that made him keep Tony, and he knew for sure he had a future QB. Even though he went against the play call.
 
You have to get into some type of rhythm in the preseason.

We've seen in years past where we just never got it going offensively in the preseason and it carried over right into the regular season.


Winning definetely does not matter but your first team players have to show a pulse towards the end of preseason.
 
Thanks for the info Hos!

I hadn't heard about being able to put a player on IR and have him back during the season. You said it is a marquee player designation. Does that mean only certain players are eligible? Can it be used on multiple players?
 
and one must remember that someone that shows good in camp does not automatically do well in the regular season( COUGH COUGH COSTUS A SEASON)
 
While the final scores does not matter, the way your first and second squad respond to the competition does matter.

Every year someone will point out that the team had too many penalties from a self discipline nature. Jumping off sides, encroachment ect. Then the added point where they do not seem to be in sync.

Fans come running to say pre-season doesn't matter.

Yet, in some of this teams worst preseason results - in regard to gaffs, out of sync, and mental mistakes - we have witnessed the very same behavior when the lights come on.

So while we sit back and enjoy the fact that football is here, and just put out of our minds the mistakes we see - if they come around - chalking that up to a meaningless pre-season, just keep in mind an undisciplined team cannot just turn it on because the games now have meaning.

I want to see a crisp, focused, mentally alert team that is physical on both sides of the ball.

I do not want to see penalties that stop drives, receivers, blockers, or defenders out of position because they didn't know their assignments, or razzle-dazzle plays that take a long time to develop because we are rehearsing some gadget play because the OC is testing things out.

You don't have to win.

Just don't beat yourself.
 

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