CFZ Some Pre-season game reminders about the players who play in those games

Bobhaze

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Ah yes…Pre-season….that time of year when lots of noise and scrutiny are made by us fans and the sports media over games that mean absolutely nothing in the standings, and mostly involve players who will not play much or even be on the roster by the time the regular season starts Sept. 11.

It’s ok. It’s a time honored practice. Make training camp practices, pre-season games and a host of marginal players the center of fan talk and scrutiny. Been a tradition for decades.

But here are some facts to consider about the players who mostly play in the pre-season:
  • Over 30% of the players currently playing the majority of Cowboys pre-season game snaps will never play a regular season snap for us.
  • According to a 2016 study by Pro Football Reference, of the 260 players drafted each year in the NFL, only about 25 will go on to have “significant careers performing at a high level”, and that the “bust rate” for draft choices is actually pretty high. (Here’s link to the article if interested: https://www.dailynorseman.com/2022/4/26/23042105/nfl-draft-pick-bust-rate-remains-very-high)
  • Only about half of 1st round draft picks sign a second contract with their original team. For 2nd-5th rounders it significantly less than that.
  • The vast majority of players playing in our pre-season games will not even be in the NFL three years from now.
So remember- yes it’s fun to watch football again. Even if it’s bad football as we saw Saturday night. But the key thing to remember is this- pre-season games mean a whole lot less than what we as fans seem to think they do.

PS games rarely indicate much about the team’s readiness for the regular season and it rarely shows us a new player that is going to make a big difference when the regular season starts. The real Cowboys will show us what they are starting Sept. 11th.
 

Doomsday101

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I do think the last game which Cowboys plan on using as a dress rehearsal will be a better indicator of this team but even that the no team will be showing much in terms of game planning. Pre season is about evaluation of individual players not about team and not about winning.
 

john van brocklin

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Ah yes…Pre-season….that time of year when lots of noise and scrutiny are made by us fans and the sports media over games that mean absolutely nothing in the standings, and mostly involve players who will not play much or even be on the roster by the time the regular season starts Sept. 11.

It’s ok. It’s a time honored practice. Make training camp practices, pre-season games and a host of marginal players the center of fan talk and scrutiny. Been a tradition for decades.

But here are some facts to consider about the players who mostly play in the pre-season:
  • Over 30% of the players currently playing the majority of Cowboys pre-season game snaps will never play a regular season snap for us.
  • According to a 2016 study by Pro Football Reference, of the 260 players drafted each year in the NFL, only about 25 will go on to have “significant careers performing at a high level”, and that the “bust rate” for draft choices is actually pretty high. (Here’s link to the article if interested: https://www.dailynorseman.com/2022/4/26/23042105/nfl-draft-pick-bust-rate-remains-very-high)
  • Only about half of 1st round draft picks sign a second contract with their original team. For 2nd-5th rounders it significantly less than that.
  • The vast majority of players playing in our pre-season games will not even be in the NFL three years from now.
So remember- yes it’s fun to watch football again. Even if it’s bad football as we saw Saturday night. But the key thing to remember is this- pre-season games mean a whole lot less than what we as fans seem to think they do.

PS games rarely indicate much about the team’s readiness for the regular season and it rarely shows us a new player that is going to make a big difference when the regular season starts. The real Cowboys will show us what they are starting Sept. 11th.
Just curious how the high penalty rate falls into all this vs the regular season penalty rate?
 

Bobhaze

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I do think the last game which Cowboys plan on using as a dress rehearsal will be a better indicator of this team but even that the no team will be showing much in terms of game planning. Pre season is about evaluation of individual players not about team and not about winning.
And almost all of the players doing most of the playing in PS will not be here long or contribute much.

Consider this:
  • 2016 draft- just six years ago- was a really good draft. We drafted 9 players and only 3 are still with the team. Zeke, Dak and Anthony Brown.
  • 2017 draft- 5 years ago. We drafted 9 players and only two remain- Jourdan Lewis and Noah Brown.
  • 2018 draft- 4 years ago- we drafted 9 players and only 4 remain- Dalton Schultz, LVE, Michael Gallup and Dorance Armstrong.
Point is- of those three drafts- 27 players drafted and only 9 are still with the team. That’s 33%.
 

Doomsday101

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And almost all of the players doing most of the playing in PS will not be here long or contribute much.

Consider this:
  • 2016 draft- just six years ago- was a really good draft. We drafted 9 players and only 3 are still with the team. Zeke, Dak and Anthony Brown.
  • 2017 draft- 5 years ago. We drafted 9 players and only two remain- Jourdan Lewis and Noah Brown.
  • 2018 draft- 4 years ago- we drafted 9 players and only 4 remain- Dalton Schultz, LVE, Michael Gallup and Dorance Armstrong.
Point is- of those three drafts- 27 players drafted and only 9 are still with the team. That’s 33%.

I agree. I think in most drafts if you can get 4 to 5 players who can make the team and contribute great and given the fact you will lose players via free agency.
 

jazzcat22

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Ah yes…Pre-season….that time of year when lots of noise and scrutiny are made by us fans and the sports media over games that mean absolutely nothing in the standings, and mostly involve players who will not play much or even be on the roster by the time the regular season starts Sept. 11.

It’s ok. It’s a time honored practice. Make training camp practices, pre-season games and a host of marginal players the center of fan talk and scrutiny. Been a tradition for decades.

But here are some facts to consider about the players who mostly play in the pre-season:
  • Over 30% of the players currently playing the majority of Cowboys pre-season game snaps will never play a regular season snap for us.
  • According to a 2016 study by Pro Football Reference, of the 260 players drafted each year in the NFL, only about 25 will go on to have “significant careers performing at a high level”, and that the “bust rate” for draft choices is actually pretty high. (Here’s link to the article if interested: https://www.dailynorseman.com/2022/4/26/23042105/nfl-draft-pick-bust-rate-remains-very-high)
  • Only about half of 1st round draft picks sign a second contract with their original team. For 2nd-5th rounders it significantly less than that.
  • The vast majority of players playing in our pre-season games will not even be in the NFL three years from now.
So remember- yes it’s fun to watch football again. Even if it’s bad football as we saw Saturday night. But the key thing to remember is this- pre-season games mean a whole lot less than what we as fans seem to think they do.

PS games rarely indicate much about the team’s readiness for the regular season and it rarely shows us a new player that is going to make a big difference when the regular season starts. The real Cowboys will show us what they are starting Sept. 11th.

That 30% number is pretty valid.
Bill Parcells, made a comment when he took over as HC. That most teams experience a 30% turnover in the roster every year. The better teams do less, the worse teams do more in most of the time.
I think that year we had about a 36% turnover.

I know it is turnover vs. contribution, but 30% seems right.
 

Oz-of-Cowboy-Country

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Wow... imagine having to make a thread reminding readers that a lot of players suck. @Bobhaze we know what we saw, and we saw suckage. The offensive linemen were not our best, but their technique was seriously flawed. And that's on the coaches. So how much of a chance does a team have if they have bad players and bad coaching? So the suckage we saw comes from two different sources, IMO.
 

jazzcat22

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Wow... imagine having to make a thread reminding readers that a lot of players suck. @Bobhaze we know what we saw, and we saw suckage. The offensive linemen were not our best, but their technique was seriously flawed. And that's on the coaches. So how much of a chance does a team have if they have bad players and bad coaching? So the suckage we saw comes from two different sources, IMO.

Did you watch all the other teams games to see how good or bad they looked?
 

Motorola

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And almost all of the players doing most of the playing in PS will not be here long or contribute much.

Consider this:
  • 2016 draft- just six years ago- was a really good draft. We drafted 9 players and only 3 are still with the team. Zeke, Dak and Anthony Brown.
  • 2017 draft- 5 years ago. We drafted 9 players and only two remain- Jourdan Lewis and Noah Brown.
  • 2018 draft- 4 years ago- we drafted 9 players and only 4 remain- Dalton Schultz, LVE, Michael Gallup and Dorance Armstrong.
Point is- of those three drafts- 27 players drafted and only 9 are still with the team. That’s 33%.
I'm sure the percentages are close to that for many of the other 31 teams...and some are probably lower considering head coach/ GM turnovers in the league.
 

75boyz

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Or the coaches that aren't teaching basic principles of football

So true. Even the least talented of the roster should have been game prepared enough by the coach to avoid the constant simple and same infractions.
If he's doing it in practice and no real repercussion then it will happen in a game as well.
Player accountability is Head Coach responsibilty.

Yet here we are.

Again.
 

Jake

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I do think the last game which Cowboys plan on using as a dress rehearsal will be a better indicator of this team but even that the no team will be showing much in terms of game planning. Pre season is about evaluation of individual players not about team and not about winning.

Even the "dress rehearsal" is becoming a thing of the past, especially with younger coaches like McVay (who doesn't have one). If starters get a few reps in one game it won't be an indicator of anything, because there's no specific game plan for the opponent. It's just getting a few reps in a game environment.
 

ItzKelz

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Ah yes…Pre-season….that time of year when lots of noise and scrutiny are made by us fans and the sports media over games that mean absolutely nothing in the standings, and mostly involve players who will not play much or even be on the roster by the time the regular season starts Sept. 11.

It’s ok. It’s a time honored practice. Make training camp practices, pre-season games and a host of marginal players the center of fan talk and scrutiny. Been a tradition for decades.

But here are some facts to consider about the players who mostly play in the pre-season:
  • Over 30% of the players currently playing the majority of Cowboys pre-season game snaps will never play a regular season snap for us.
  • According to a 2016 study by Pro Football Reference, of the 260 players drafted each year in the NFL, only about 25 will go on to have “significant careers performing at a high level”, and that the “bust rate” for draft choices is actually pretty high. (Here’s link to the article if interested: https://www.dailynorseman.com/2022/4/26/23042105/nfl-draft-pick-bust-rate-remains-very-high)
  • Only about half of 1st round draft picks sign a second contract with their original team. For 2nd-5th rounders it significantly less than that.
  • The vast majority of players playing in our pre-season games will not even be in the NFL three years from now.
So remember- yes it’s fun to watch football again. Even if it’s bad football as we saw Saturday night. But the key thing to remember is this- pre-season games mean a whole lot less than what we as fans seem to think they do.

PS games rarely indicate much about the team’s readiness for the regular season and it rarely shows us a new player that is going to make a big difference when the regular season starts. The real Cowboys will show us what they are starting Sept. 11th.
img_6551.jpg
 

Doomsday101

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Even the "dress rehearsal" is becoming a thing of the past, especially with younger coaches like McVay (who doesn't have one). If starters get a few reps in one game it won't be an indicator of anything, because there's no specific game plan for the opponent. It's just getting a few reps in a game environment.

True but it does allow to get starters on the field in a non controlled environment to help establish continuity and timing. I don't think you want the 1st action by the starters to be week 1.
 

CouchCoach

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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.
 
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