By Jordan Long
The NFL preseason is too long with each team playing 4 games. Coaches pretty much know who will make the team because of their play in practice. Some teams even scrimmage during training camp with an opposing team, which is like another game. The games are played so players can be accustomed to the NFL style, especially for rookies since it is a faster game than college. Preseason needs to be cut down to at most 2 or 3 games.
According to si.com, Cowboys’ Owner Jerry Jones said, “My solution is real simple, cut back on preseason games. Have one at each team’s home, play a couple of them and then add two games to the regular season, which I’ve been a proponent of for several years. That’s a better equity or a better way of players using what they bring to the table, their talents, their skills, their professional time in pro sports. That’ll give them a bigger pay day that’s fair. The other thing it does is it certainly gives our fans what we all think they deserve and that is a competitive game.”
I agree with Jones in slashing the preseason games to 2. The 1st game could be for starters and the 2nd game might be for the players who are on the bubble. This gives the coaching staff enough time to decide who should make the roster, plus they can look at the game film if a player is on the bubble. The athletes who don’t have a chance to make the roster still have some tape to show to other 31 NFL teams for them to have a chance to stay in the NFL.
18 games make sense if they hack 2 preseason games, giving the venders 10 home games to sell and earn money. The Canadian Football league uses an 18 game schedule with 2 preseason games. Each team has one bye week which is the blueprint Jones wants. It seems to work in the CFL so why wouldn’t it work in the NFL? Teams will generate more revenue with one more regular season game.
The problem is NFL players may not want this. The NFL game is difficult and players can be hurt. Adding another 2 games may increase injuries. Participants in the NFL wouldn’t want to risk their health.
The best solution if the NFL wants to increase the number of games, is to make the roster numbers more. Right now with a 16 game schedule, teams have a 53-man roster plus 10 on the practice squad equaling 63 players. The NFL would need to expand the rosters to 63 and still have a practice squad which is a decent solution.
The NFL should look at the preseason. There needs to be a better answer than playing 4 preseason games every year for teams to generate a roster. Hopefully the NFL will figure out a way to decrease some of the preseason.
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