1-Man’s Opinion-Friday-August 21st
“NFL Preseason Games-Needed but Awful”
The games do not mean a thing in the standings, but they mean alot to the players and the coaches.
These NFL preseason ‘money grab’ games, run by the owners, sanctioned by the league, you know, the ones who charge fans full price to see bad football with guys about to be cut.
Oh the NFL keeps preaching about cutting back the schedule of exhibition games, but when was the last time the NFL gave back money to its fans.
Exhibition games are where you can find a Brandon Oliver, who flashed enough to become a key component of the Chargers running game last season, when they really needed him. But for every good player from some far off college you find, fans have to watch 30-other guys struggle to play at this next level.
Cleveland-Buffalo was really unwatchable last night. Sure there might have been the glitter of watching Johnny Manziel try to resurrect his career coming out of rehab, or to see if Bills QB-EJ Manuel could impress enough to hang onto a roster spot after two years of struggles.
By early in the 4th quarter, with the game tied at (3-3), we had more penalty flags than first downs. The total offense was almost even-steven, 231 for one team, 232 for the other.
Frantic was the style of play of the two struggling quarterbacks, playing behind bad offensive lines, and whose coaches Rex Ryan and Mike Pettine seemed destined to blitz all night, creating havoc.
Manziel threw a TD pass late; Manuel threw one also, and Buffalo wound up with an (11-10) win. When they were finished, the quarterbacks were sacked 8-times, and there were 17-penalties marched off, and that did not include off-setting penalties that wiped out plays.
Coaches need to see players on tape, to see how they held up in individual battles. They saw linemen get beat time and time again, quarterbacks running for their lives, overthrows, pitiful run games, plus flags and sacks. I don’t know what type of video you get from watching chaos.
I know the Browns Stadium had lots of empty seats and no one could be pleased by the quality of the game they saw.
Thank goodness there’s just two more weeks of this, though the third games of the preseason schedule, are when the starters play the most, if the coaches play their starters.
The continuing saga of losing players to injuries continues to be a preseason problem too.
You don’t want to get your starters hurt, just ask Redskins QB-Robert Griffin III, who went down last nite again. You don’t see a good game either, when third and fourth stringers play the most, guys who are about to get cut next weekend.
The NFL realizes it has a problem, but won’t-can’t do anything about it. Coaches need to see players. Teams want to make money. The quality be damned, buy my tickets.
No solution, just waiting for Labor Day weekend when the real games and real players get on the field for something meaningful.
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Its a good point Lee. As a season ticket holder I don’t attend pre-season games. I just suck it up as the cost of having to buy them. But they are truly pointless to the fans. It is a good gauge for how a potential player will play, but as a spectator? I don’t think so. Really the NFL has bigger issues to deal with, yet I really don’t see them caring much. They are making money hand over fist, and even players who are cut for disciplinary reasons, just end up in anther franchise. Until sponsors say enough is enough, nothing will happen. The fans are too fanatical to care right now, they need football, like a drug addiction.