RockHawk
Active member
Hey Everyone,
Yes it's that time of year! The time where the 12th man starts to get extremely excited about the coming season as the first Preseason game approaches. As with the last 2 years, I feel it's my civic duty to list out some of the most common pitfalls we as fans seem to step into each and every preseason and hopefully learn from the past mistakes so we don't keep doing it.
So, without further ado, here's my list of the most common "The sky is falling" posts about the preseason. Please feel free to add your own and hopefully we can help to avoid the overly dramatic posts of the past (I'm not going to hold my breath).
* First and foremost, It's the preseason and therefore the results of the games mean nothing. Just because we go 4-0 or 0-4, it doesn't have any reflection of the coming season. Wins & loses mean NOTHING!
* The Offense, Defense, and special teams will either look great or horrible at different times. THIS DOESN'T MATTER! There's no gameplanning & no schemes, so again the result has nothing to do with how these groups will look in game 1.
* Key players will look bad: Yep, even the mightly Russell Wilson may go 7 of 18 with a pick and no TD's in preseason game 3, but it doesn't matter. The pass rush may look weak, and the run defense might give up 160 yards rushing. Again, none of this matters as it has no resemblence to the regular season.
* One or more rookies will shine: Throughout the preseason, one or two rookies will have an excellent game (or 3) therefore creating a huge buzz throughout the fan base. Most will make statements about "we have to get him on the 52 man roster" because if we try to add him to the practice squad, another team will snatch them up. Guess what; the team knows what they're doing, and 9 times out of 10 the player clears waivers and gets on the PS. But inevitably there will be a huge outcry about a fringe player not making the squad even though they had a great preseason. Why? Because it's preseason!
* People will talk about "momentum": Folks will talk about how important it is to win games 3 & 4 to create positive momentum going into the regular season. That's bunk. Aside from the actual usefulness of evaluating fringe players, the W's & L's have no effect on game 1.
* A key starter will sit out with an injury: Yes, several key starters will sit out of the preseason with various injuries, and inevitably this will cause some people to question everything from their ability to stay on the field (Okung, Carp, Baldwin) or worse, they'll moan that the player might not be ready for game 1. This isn't the case, and the coaching staff is usually being cautious about playing certain positions to ensure they do not get an actual major injury. The key people i see this potentially happening with is Zach Miller, Cliff Avril, Sydney Rice, and Marshawn Lynch.
* Playcalling will come under fire: Please see point 1 above referencing that there isn't a scheme or gameplan, so even if the offense goes 3 & out 5 straight times, it has no reflection of the regular season.
* Some big names will be cut from the other NFL teams, and people will be screaming to pick them up. Understand that they are being cut for a reason, and generally the big names have big salary cap implications. That, along with the depth in almost every position means the coaching staff can be very selective and may not sign any FA's. Try not to let your fantasy football mentality spill into the real NFL.
* .NET will blow up with trolls from other NFC West teams after a preseason loss: It's already been a very active offseason with tons of 49er & Rams fans becoming active in the forum. Some have been welcome additions with civility and respect, but others are just here to troll. This will become 10-fold after a loss in the offseason. Just remind them the preseason means nothing, and that they'll see that proven in week 2 of the regular season (if 9'er fan)
That's a bunch of the bigger things I wanted to get out. Please feel free to add your own, and share this with everyone else so we can try to avoid the extremes that seem to come every year. GO HAWKS!!
Yes it's that time of year! The time where the 12th man starts to get extremely excited about the coming season as the first Preseason game approaches. As with the last 2 years, I feel it's my civic duty to list out some of the most common pitfalls we as fans seem to step into each and every preseason and hopefully learn from the past mistakes so we don't keep doing it.
So, without further ado, here's my list of the most common "The sky is falling" posts about the preseason. Please feel free to add your own and hopefully we can help to avoid the overly dramatic posts of the past (I'm not going to hold my breath).
* First and foremost, It's the preseason and therefore the results of the games mean nothing. Just because we go 4-0 or 0-4, it doesn't have any reflection of the coming season. Wins & loses mean NOTHING!
* The Offense, Defense, and special teams will either look great or horrible at different times. THIS DOESN'T MATTER! There's no gameplanning & no schemes, so again the result has nothing to do with how these groups will look in game 1.
* Key players will look bad: Yep, even the mightly Russell Wilson may go 7 of 18 with a pick and no TD's in preseason game 3, but it doesn't matter. The pass rush may look weak, and the run defense might give up 160 yards rushing. Again, none of this matters as it has no resemblence to the regular season.
* One or more rookies will shine: Throughout the preseason, one or two rookies will have an excellent game (or 3) therefore creating a huge buzz throughout the fan base. Most will make statements about "we have to get him on the 52 man roster" because if we try to add him to the practice squad, another team will snatch them up. Guess what; the team knows what they're doing, and 9 times out of 10 the player clears waivers and gets on the PS. But inevitably there will be a huge outcry about a fringe player not making the squad even though they had a great preseason. Why? Because it's preseason!
* People will talk about "momentum": Folks will talk about how important it is to win games 3 & 4 to create positive momentum going into the regular season. That's bunk. Aside from the actual usefulness of evaluating fringe players, the W's & L's have no effect on game 1.
* A key starter will sit out with an injury: Yes, several key starters will sit out of the preseason with various injuries, and inevitably this will cause some people to question everything from their ability to stay on the field (Okung, Carp, Baldwin) or worse, they'll moan that the player might not be ready for game 1. This isn't the case, and the coaching staff is usually being cautious about playing certain positions to ensure they do not get an actual major injury. The key people i see this potentially happening with is Zach Miller, Cliff Avril, Sydney Rice, and Marshawn Lynch.
* Playcalling will come under fire: Please see point 1 above referencing that there isn't a scheme or gameplan, so even if the offense goes 3 & out 5 straight times, it has no reflection of the regular season.
* Some big names will be cut from the other NFL teams, and people will be screaming to pick them up. Understand that they are being cut for a reason, and generally the big names have big salary cap implications. That, along with the depth in almost every position means the coaching staff can be very selective and may not sign any FA's. Try not to let your fantasy football mentality spill into the real NFL.
* .NET will blow up with trolls from other NFC West teams after a preseason loss: It's already been a very active offseason with tons of 49er & Rams fans becoming active in the forum. Some have been welcome additions with civility and respect, but others are just here to troll. This will become 10-fold after a loss in the offseason. Just remind them the preseason means nothing, and that they'll see that proven in week 2 of the regular season (if 9'er fan)
That's a bunch of the bigger things I wanted to get out. Please feel free to add your own, and share this with everyone else so we can try to avoid the extremes that seem to come every year. GO HAWKS!!
