Analysis
8/8/23
8 min read
2023 NFL Preseason: What's Meaningful, Pointless in August
Fans will say the preseason is too long, particularly those who have to pay big bucks to attend the games included in season ticket packages. Veteran players will generally agree, pointing to the exhausting training camp sessions in the heat of late July and all of August.
Team owners have longed for an 18-game regular season and a reduction in the number of exhibition games to two (maybe one?) that would come with such a switch down the road.
For now, we have about six weeks of the preseason, three contests for all but the two squads — this year the Browns and Jets — participating in the Hall of Fame Game, and lots of eagerness to get to the second weekend in September.
Here are the items that actually are worthwhile during training camp and the preseason. And those things that are pointless.
Meaningful Preseason Takeaways
Staying Healthy
This is priority No. 1.
If you wonder why so many starters see so few snaps in preseason games, well, who wants to see a key performer go down with nothing on the line? So a Patrick Mahomes-to-Travis Kelce connection, among the most exciting plays in the sport, is reserved for the 17 regular-season matches and postseason. So are Aaron Donald and Nick Bosa terrorizing passers and Derrick Henry running through tacklers.
While coaching the New York Giants, the late Dan Reeves was asked how long he would play his regulars against the New York Jets in the alleged Battle of the Big Apple. Reeves shrugged, offered a smile that indicated his answer would be “as little as possible,” then said, “Next question.”
>>READ: Pros, Cons of Traveling for Camp
Incorporating Newcomers, Rookies
Each season brings a new cast; no roster remains virtually the same yearly. After hours of meetings and memorization of the playbook for free agents, rookies or players acquired in trades, those newbies need to display some mastery of the scheme and situational plans.
This is more difficult for guys coming out of college, of course, but it isn’t easy for veterans changing addresses, either. For every smooth transition, such as we saw for Matthew Stafford with the Los Angeles Rams, there can be Russell Wilson struggling with the Denver Broncos.
That hardly applies solely to quarterbacks. Perhaps the most significant position where melding talents is critical is the offensive line.
Scrimmages With Other Teams
These have become so popular – and important – in the last decade that many coaches will tell you they are more valuable than all three preseason games combined.
"Guys are sick of going against each other," Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said about joint practices. "What you don’t want to do is show up without an edge."
Yep, the best way to find that competitive edge is by hitting someone for real, though scrimmages allegedly are in a controlled environment. Even when some fisticuffs erupt, as long as they are isolated, coaches and players accept them as a step in reaching that edge.
So all 32 teams attempt to schedule midweek scrimmages before meeting in the actual preseason contest. Concentrate on the scrimmages if you want to see something far less vanilla than the action in those games.
Position Battles
They exist for many of the 22 starting spots, particularly on special teams (see below). No, Josh Allen, Tyreek Hill, Logan Wilson and Trent Williams don’t need to fret about being starters. For many others, including veterans trying to stave off younger (and less expensive) teammates, July and August take on extra significance.
Plus, there will be unexpected emergencies by players who beat out more established NFLers or see increased roles alongside those vets. Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert showed so much when breaking in Philadelphia was comfortable letting star TE Zach Ertz depart.
There are dozens of such examples, whether such moves are made immediately or down the road. They tend to stem from what a newcomer has shown during the summer.
>> READ: How Players, Coaches, Executives Approach Preseason
Developing Special Teams
This is where the undrafted free agents or the nomad veterans often make breakthroughs during the preseason. Indeed, it can be argued the most noteworthy impact made in the exhibition games comes on kick coverage and return units.
Mike Westhoff, perhaps the best special teams coach the NFL has seen, once persuaded Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson of the value of drafting Zach Thomas and signing Larry Izzo. Westhoff was thinking about fortifying his units, and Izzo became a stalwart of Miami’s strong special teams for three seasons and for his entire 12 NFL seasons overall.
Thomas, who remained on kick teams because he loved playing them, became the team's middle linebacker as a rookie and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this month. Coaches make a bunch of roster decisions based on whether someone can help on special teams. The players don’t prove that in practices or even scrimmages. They do so during the preseason games.
Meaningless Preseason Takeaways
Game Results
They don’t matter.
Repeat: THEY DON’T MATTER!
Building a winning culture is important: Just ask DeMeco Ryans in Houston or Robert Saleh in New York. That doesn’t happen because you win a few games that don’t count in the standings. And win them with a bevy of never-will-be NFLers on the field.
Everything about training camp and the preseason is geared toward the second weekend in September (if we don't include the Thursday night kickoff opener). Do Seattle fans recall the Seahawks going 4-0 in the 2013 preseason? Does Pete Carroll, for that matter?
They recall winning the Super Bowl that season.
Extended Play for Starters
We are OK when we see a starting unit — full unit whenever possible — taking a series or two in a preseason match. Most players will tell you the sensation of that first hit or making that initial catch reminds them of what their jobs are all about.
Playing them for too long — no matter the reason — makes no sense. Do Rams fans want to see Stafford or Cooper Kupp, coming off major injuries, on the field for an extended period in these games? Are Chargers fans eager to see what a hopefully healthy Joey Bosa can do against blockers who might not survive cutdown day?
Perhaps in scrimmages — again, supposedly controlled by both staffs — it’s fitting to give extra snaps to key players. Not in the games when so many men on the field try to establish their credentials without any agreement by each side to limit the aggression.
Statistics
Deep examinations of preseason stats are bad enough. Even worse — and we see this stuff on social media and among real media far too often — are unofficial numbers from practices.
OK, Bryce Young completed seven straight throws one day. Was the drill set up so the offense succeeded at that time? Later, perhaps, the defense would be in win mode, according to the practice schedule.
Maybe a kicker such as Justin Tucker — only the most accurate in NFL history — missed a few field goal attempts during a training session. Were the Baltimore Ravens working on the snaps and the hold rather than the kick itself?
Ignore the numbers until the real games come.
Game Attendance
Maybe the biggest joke in the sport. Here’s who generally shows up at preseason contests:
- Die-hard fans who don’t care how they spend their money.
- Fans with little or no access to regular-season tickets – and don’t care how they spend their money.
- Family and friends of players or coaches who happen to be in town and tend to get freebies.
- Anyone who can get in for a bargain price ... or no price at all.
As a comparison, who wants to pay the same price to see tribute acts to Billy Joel, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift or Kenny Chesney rather than the real thing?
32 Super Bowl Plans
The workable cliché here: Everyone's record is 0-0 when the season starts.
Thus, there is optimism throughout 32 training sites. Add the fact surprise teams make the playoffs every year, and that hopefulness might have some merit.
But are you going to tell us that followers of the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears and Houston Texans should be scoping out hotel availability in Las Vegas in early February? If so, we have some preseason game tickets to sell you. At full price.
Barry Wilner was a sportswriter for the Associated Press for 46 years. He has covered virtually every major sporting event, including 14 Olympics, 9 World Cups, 34 Super Bowls, the World Series, and the Stanley Cup Final, and has written 75 books. Follow him on Twitter @Wilner88.
