Starters vs Backups in Preseason

[baltcowboy]

I noticed that basically no one is playing tonight for the Eagles or the Browns tonight. I think the league needs to go to 18 games and play a game before Labor Day. Call it rivalry week. Cowboys-Houston, Washington-Baltimore, Giants-Jets ect……Just eliminate preseason television games.

 

[KJJ]

We'll definitely find out in the opener if it was a good or bad idea. Doesn't matter what anyone says on here. Potential injury is not an excuse for not playing a few series.....can happen in TC or even the opener too. Personally, i feel they should just do away with PS games. Just evaluate your players yourself. But the money is what the NFL is more interested in,................

"surprise, surprise, surprise".......Gomer Pyle.

We’re pretty much doing what we’ve been doing at least the past couple of preseasons. I don’t believe Dak has played in preseason since 2020. We’ve been playing mostly first and second year players or anyone who’s battling for a job or needs some experience. The players we know about that we’re counting on haven’t been playing in preseason. Potential for injury is a good excuse for keeping these players out. You could wreck your season before it even starts if you lose a key player in preseason. Teams are using scrimmages and practices to get their veteran players ready.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Check with NFL coaches. They've been doing it for years.

Some have and some regret doing it. A lot depends on what kind of team you have. A veteran one or not. Or also if your Oline is completely healthy.

For me I could care less. Just to satisfy what a few short sighted fans think?

 

[MajesticRey]

We’re pretty much doing what we’ve been doing at least the past couple of preseasons. I don’t believe Dak has played in preseason since 2020. We’ve been playing mostly first and second year players or anyone who’s battling for a job or needs some experience. The players we know about that we’re counting on haven’t been playing in preseason. Potential for injury is a good excuse for keeping these players out. You could wreck your season before it even starts if you lose a key player in preseason. Teams are using scrimmages and practices to get their veteran players ready.

Isn’t there risk in training camp too? I guess that’s why we have dress rehearsal game….

 

[KJJ]

Isn’t there risk in training camp too? I guess that’s why we have dress rehearsal game….

Of course there’s a risk in training camp, but they don’t tackle in training camp. You can’t practice without some contact, but no teams take players to the ground in training camp. A lot of players suffer non contact injuries like what happened to Joe Burrow in training camp. A dress rehearsal preseason game is pretty much a thing of the past for most teams. Everyone is trying to keep their key players healthy for the season opener.

 

[MajesticRey]

Of course there’s a risk in training camp, but they don’t tackle in training camp. You can’t practice without some contact, but no teams take players to the ground in training camp. A lot of players suffer non contact injuries like what happened to Joe Burrow in training camp. A dress rehearsal preseason game is pretty much a thing of the past for most teams. Everyone is trying to keep their key players healthy for the season opener.

Wonder what changed

 

[KJJ]

Wonder what changed

The last few years, it’s all about player safety and trying to keep players healthy. We’ve seen a number of rule changes to try and prevent injuries. Training camps aren’t what they used to be. Gone are the two a days. Players don’t even put on the pads for the first week of training camp. They’ve eliminated one preseason game. Players salaries and the extra regular season game have made many teams a lot more cautious with their key players. They don’t want to play them until it counts.

 

[noshame]

Some have and some regret doing it. A lot depends on what kind of team you have. A veteran one or not. Or also if your Oline is completely healthy.

For me I could care less. Just to satisfy what a few short sighted fans think?

Yeah, that's it, teams do it just for their short sighted fans.
For me, I care less what you care less about. Cheers.

 

[ActualCowboysFan]

My bigger concern historically is why more often than not the other team's scrubs outplay ours. Are we that poor at choosing the bottom of the roster talent and who we invite to camp? The law of averages says that it should work out to 50/50 but it sure does not seem to play out that way with the Cowboys in the preseason.

I'm not worried about actually winning the preseason games, just noticing long term trends that appear to reveal a management and scouting for depth chronic issue.

People just say whatever.

2021 Preseason-
Jags beat Dallas. Won 3 games
Texans beat Dallas. Won 4 games
Dallas won 12 games. Seems their depth didn’t pan out and the results were the opposite of meaningful

2022 Preseason-
Broncos beat Dallas. Won 5 games.
Dallas again won 12 games


Anyone watching preseason final scores to gauge team performance has no idea what’s going on

 

[Denim Chicken]

and yet you name 2 examples and one of these days someone like Patrick mahomes is gonna get rolled up on is gonna have a season ending injury and they're gonna wish they didn't put him in in a meaningless game I don't think you need that many reps when you have a 17 game season thinking that 1/2 of football is somehow gonna get ready for 17 games or are you worried about game one? I think they get plenty of reps in practice and then scrimmages that they don't need to be in the preseason games that is a personal preference by the coaches and the players themselves that say they're OK with it but you say almost always dude some of these dudes barely played 15 snaps and if you think that that somehow got them ready for the regular season I think people are being delusional in here if they wanted to do it that's fine if the coaches think it's not is worth the risk that's also fine..

I mean I don't see how a player can be out say five or six games like Prescott was last year didn't really play in the preseason got hurt in the first game and come out and lit it up after a broken thumb to boot not just time off,​

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I mean if that doesn't tell you something then I don't know what else we can help you understand that that stuff in the preseason is not really necessary anymore... when there were five games of course on the third game some of vets knocked some rust off because the preseason was very long and in 14-16 game season sure why not..3 game PS and 17 game season..im not risking it..​

a 2nd example for dak and this offense would be 2021 the way they came out against the buccaneers and had what 500 yards of offense against the eventual SB champs..no rust

If its good enough for the QB winning 90% of Championships, it's good enough for me.

 

[blueblood70]

If its good enough for the QB winning 90% of Championships, it's good enough for me.

that's nice that you have no data to support playing in preseason somehow relates to winning the bowls..

might be all the talent they had on that team, might be that no way 20 PS snaps helped them past game 1 LMAO.. no freaking Way!!!

you are delusional trying to use results of sb to them starting a few snaps in PS vs what really won it.. Shear Talent. You know might have had something to do with two of the best coaches and best quarterbacks in NFL history! huh? crazy idea huh that pairing those 2 types is what creates winning. ​

that's the truth, not what you are trying to create a narrative. not buying any of it..

If this were true and any coach & GM believed that winning super bowls hinges on preseason playing starters, the league literally would just go ahead and start their players the entire preseason. . RIGHTTTT! umm nope

 

[MajesticRey]

People just say whatever.

2021 Preseason-
Jags beat Dallas. Won 3 games
Texans beat Dallas. Won 4 games
Dallas won 12 games. Seems their depth didn’t pan out and the results were the opposite of meaningful

2022 Preseason-
Broncos beat Dallas. Won 5 games.
Dallas again won 12 games


Anyone watching preseason final scores to gauge team performance has no idea what’s going on

I’m not even concerned with the final score. Merely focusing on playing some starters to see how they are faring this year. With a new offense under Mike, it MIGHT be good for Dak & Co. to air it out a series or two just to get a feel for it versus a non-Dallas defense.

 

[AtlCPA]

My bigger concern historically is why more often than not the other team's scrubs outplay ours. Are we that poor at choosing the bottom of the roster talent and who we invite to camp? The law of averages says that it should work out to 50/50 but it sure does not seem to play out that way with the Cowboys in the preseason.

I'm not worried about actually winning the preseason games, just noticing long term trends that appear to reveal a management and scouting for depth chronic issue.

I don’t know that I really care that they’re players who likely will not make the team beat our guys who likely will not make the team. I doubt the Jags were happy about the team’s performance even though they won the game.