8/1/00
Mired in the controversy of creating safer penalty flags, multiple
arrests, violence on and off the field, public perceptions of the
league, the National Football League faces yet another issue beginning
July 29. The issue is the length of the NFL preseason. The detractors
of the preseason argue that four or five games is too long and players
are more apt to get injured in "non-game" action. They also say that
today's players show up in shape and that leagues like NFL Europe,
Arena Football and the CFL provide ready players for the regular season.
They further argue that veteran players already know the teams systems
and two or three games in the NFL "non-season" is plenty of preparation
for the regular season. These arguments are valid, but people who
would make these arguments ignore some of the realities many teams
face.
One of the realities is the attitude that a team needs to develop
a "winning attitude" and this attitude begins the first day of training
camp and is nurtured by having a successful preseason. There are essentially
three types of teams who must develop a winning attitude. They are
teams who have something to prove either because they have a new coach
or a coaching staff on the hot seat and teams coming off a horrible
regular season. These three variables determine the need for a winning
preseason and the probable time key players will be involved in a
non-game.
In week one of the 2000 preseason there are ten teams playing and
all but one of them face one or more of excuses to create a "winning
attitude." (The Colts will play five preseason games this year and
they had a great season with no major changes during the off season.)
Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Cleveland, Philadelphia, New Orleans and
Atlanta are all coming off of lackluster seasons. The Jets, Saints,
Patriots and the Cowboys all have new coaching staffs looking to establish,
or continue, successful programs. Both the 49ers and the Steelers
have coaching staffs that have questionable futures if they do not
have immediate success in the year 2000, but these are not the only
teams who may risk key players because they have something to prove.
Despite the fact that the Redskins had a fairly successful '99 season,
the ownership of the club is demanding a winner. This puts Norv Turner
and his staff on the hot seat. Last preseason they were 3 and 1, the
only loss to Tampa Bay, and they lost to the same team in the playoffs
after fading in the second half of the season for the second straight
year. Expect the same strategy this preseason and, hopefully, different
results. Other staffs under pressure are the Vikings, the Packers
and the Chargers. If these teams do not come out of the box ready
to play and win all of these staffs may be facing the unemployment
line and revolving door inherent in the NFL. The owners and the fans
expect to have a winner and that means their team must have a "successful"
preseason. This builds momentum and raises expectations for the real
season, but these are not the only staffs facing the gun. There are
more then a few teams who had success in the '99 season, but have
new coaching staffs.
The Dolphins made the playoffs, but Jimmy Johnson retired, at least
for this season, and Dave Wannstedt is in charge. The Rams may have
won the Super Bowl, but they also had an experienced coach retire
and the team is in the hands of Mike Martz. The Cowboys Dave Campo
is facing the always-high expectations of fans and management. Both
the Patriots and the Jets not only had disappointing season, but they
have new coaches. The experts guess is that these teams will need
to win in the preseason so they can begin to develop the required
"winning attitude". Losing is not tolerated and these new coaches
are faced with the pressure of continued success for their franchises
or they will be seeking greener pastures in the coming seasons. The
coaches are not the only ones who must produce and be a success quickly;
there is a whole new crop of high priced and highly touted rookies
coming into the league.
Courtney Brown, Lavar Arrington and Ron Dayne are all carrying heavy
credentials coming into the 2000 season. These players, among others,
will be expected to be just what their team needs to go over the top
and reach the next level of NFL competition. Despite the fact that
they have great résumés, they have yet to be tested at the NFL level.
Ownership will be expecting great returns on their investment. Coaches
will be under pressure to develop this new talent as quickly as possible
and have it in place for the regular season. This will require staffs
to play these players as much as it takes for them to fit in, know
the system, and fulfill the promise management expects from their
investment. Nothing in the NFL is a greater sin than not fulfilling
promise and it is a sure ticket to a short career, just ask Desmond
Howard, Lawrence Phillips or perhaps even Ryan Leif. These players
need time to develop and it may take four or five games in the preseason
to get them game ready for the real thing. Still, people who would
make these arguments for the extended preseason are missing the boat.
There are more compelling reasons to keep the preseason at four or
five games.
Players who hold out in the preseason get hurt. Two glaring examples
are Dorsey Levens and Jamal Anderson. Both held out most of the preseason.
Both were hurt early in the regular season and both hurt their teams
for the entire season. Neither had ever had a serious injury during
the preseason but, by not playing in the preseason cost both them
and their respective organizations. Players may work out all year
in the weight room, on the track or with personal trainers, but none
of this can prepare a player for the pounding and the speed which
is a part of the NFL. The preseason is the time when players can take
the pounding in smaller doses and get themselves up to game speed.
No amount of shaping off the field can prepare a player for the real
thing and all teams begin the preseason in essentially the same game
shape, nada. Aside from preventing injury, the preseason is also a
time when the surprise player can establish themselves as a vital
part of the team.
Every year there are players who report to training camp with no assurance
of having a position. They are not big bonus babies and they may not
have played in the larger college programs, but they make an impact
during the preseason. Neither Howie Long, Terrill Davis or Curtis
Martin came to camp with a lot of fanfare, but one is already in the
Hall of Fame and the other two have a good shot at it. Stephen Davis
and Gus Frerotte were not expected to be impact players at the start
of any regular season. Davis was known for being beaten up by Michael
Westbrook and the million-dollar answer, Heath Shuler, had the nod
at quarterback. The preseason performances of Davis and Frerotte put
Hicks and Shuler on the bench. Preseason performances also created
quarterback controversies in San Francisco between Joe Montana and
Steve Young and in Detroit between Scott Mitchell and Charlie Batch,
both of the former were traded at the seasons end to Kansas City and
Baltimore respectively. Young is a sure fire bet for the Hall of Fame
and Batch's future is still in question. These "surprises" helped
their teams during the regular season, and team is what the preseason
should be all about. The question is, do you need to win in the preseason
at the risk of key personnel to develop a winning attitude?
In the past there were teams who seldom won in the preseason, but
managed to tear the league apart in the regular season. They included
the likes of the Raiders, the Steelers and the Cowboys. During the
seventies and early eighties their fans expected their teams to lose
in the "non-season" and management supported it, because they were
busy developing talent for the regular season. With injuries being
a given in the NFL, having players who experienced pressure situations
and learned from their experience was thought to be critical for a
successful run at the championship. The Raiders developed the likes
of Dave Dalby, Ken Stabler and Dave Casper when they already had established
players in those positions. The Cowboys used the preseason to develop
Roger Staubach and the Steelers gave John Stallworth the opportunity
to contribute to winning programs. The fans may not have enjoyed the
losses these teams had during the preseason, but they enjoyed the
championships and Super Bowls the team collected.
The development of a winning attitude does not begin with the playing
of the first preseason game for any team, it begins at the end of
last season, the first day of mini-camp, the first day of spring training
and the first day of regular practice. It begins with the development
of individuals who will contribute to the whole and not focus on their
individual performance or playing time. The development process accelerates
when everyone on that team knows they can be replaced and that their
replacement will have the experience and maturity not to let the team
down. These players may not have the skill level of a regular starter,
but they have the attitude of a winner and winners are developed on
and off the field of play. The preseason should not be referred to
as the "non-season" it should be known as the "surprise season" because
it is here that fantasy players and coaches find the next surprise
in the NFL. It will not be found in a preseason game where victory
is on the line in the fourth quarter and the coach puts the starters
back in for the win, it may be in keeping those marginal players on
the field so they can taste the urgency of the situation.
For those preseason detractors who may disbelieve, these are a few
of the highlights from last preseason. The lowly Saints beat the play-off
bound Dolphins and the Super Bowl Titans in preseason. Only 38% of
the teams that made the playoffs had winning records in the preseason
and Dallas and Seattle were 1&3. The Forty Niners were 3&1 as were
the Redskins, Buffalo, and Jaguars. The Browns beat Dallas yet lost
to the Eagles. It should be pointed out that Tampa Bay went 4-0, but
so did Baltimore, and without the same final results. The preseason
should be treated as the preseason, a time for experience and surprises.
Developing a winner lies not in the risk of losing, but in the organization's
attitude and definition of winning.
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