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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