Proof the NFL should go to a two-game preseason in 2012 comes Thursday night when Washington plays Arizona.
The Redskins don’t figure to play many starters in the final preseason game before opening against Dallas on Sept. 12. A few will remain home to avoid Washington’s longest preseason trip since 1992. The game even starts at 10 p.m., meaning most Redskins fans won’t watch past the first quarter.
Seriously, this will be Washington’s most meaningless preseason game of the modern TV era.
Why bother? That’s what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is trying to convince NFL owners.
The NFL used to barnstorm six games before the league became “King Football.” It moved to four games in 1978 when the regular season increased from 14 to 16 games. Now Goodell wants the new labor deal to move to two preseason and 18 regular season games.
It’s a crackerjack idea, as the late Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke would say.
The Redskins’ preseason has been one big dud. Starters played one quarter in the first game and two quarters in the second. Without injured quarterback Donovan McNabb, they played another two quarters in the third game, but overall the starting unit spent 45 minutes together in August. Fans, meanwhile, were subjected to mostly watching players who will be cut on Saturday.
It’s boring and expensive because NFL teams now force fans to pay regular season prices for preseason games. The dirty not-so-secret is players receive a fraction of regular season pay for preseason games, meaning owners pocket the difference. And, owners aren’t too eager to increase regular season salaries if they add two more games, saying they already pay players for 20 games. Uh, that’s fuzzy math at best.
Redskins coach Mike Shanahan admitted players could be ready for the regular season on two games of prep. Washington could scrimmage Pittsburgh, Philadelphia or Baltimore like it did in past years when they trained up north. The first weekend of camp is open so returning to scrimmages would help judge rookies.
Critics of a shorter preseason say rookies will get less chance to make rosters. So what? How is the product diminished if a couple veterans remain instead? The players on the bubble barely play anyway once the games matter.
Hopefully, Goodell convinces owners the preseason is too long. Just make them watch the Redskins-Cardinals game before voting on a two-game preseason. It would be a landslide mandate.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
