Preseason too long for NFL teams
PITTSBURGH – Five preseason games is too many.
Heck, four preseason games, which every team except the Steelers and Vikings are playing this year, is probably too many.
Football is a dangerous game in which injuries are always part of the equation. But when NFL teams lose star players in preseason games, as the Steelers and Packers did in Sunday’s 24-19 win by Pittsburgh at Heinz Field, it’s robbing them of key components for a game that doesn’t matter to anyone not fighting for a roster spot.
And that stinks.
Don’t think so? Ask Packers All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“It’s difficult to lose a guy like that over a meaningless game,” Rodgers said of Green Bay wide receiver Jordy Nelson.
“I think that it’s disappointing that you have injuries like this one in the preseason.”
Nelson, a Pro Bowl receiver, suffered what the Packers fear is a torn ACL when he went down untouched while attempting to make a cut after a catch in what was Green Bay’s second preseason game.
The Steelers, who have now played three preseason games thanks to participating in the Hall of Fame Game and still have two remaining, have now lost a pair of starters this preseason.
Placekicker Shaun Suisham suffered a torn ACL against the Vikings two weeks ago at Canton, and Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey broke his fibula Sunday against the Packers. Pouncey could be back at some point this season.
“It’s a lot of wear on the guys, especially five preseason games before we get to the regular season games,” said Steelers right tackle Marcus Gilbert. “We’re trying to take care of ourselves and the coaches are doing a good job of that as well. Injuries come with the game. You never know when they come.”
Because of injuries such as the ones that occurred Sunday, most teams try to limit the playing time of their starters. But that has to be balanced with getting them ready to play.
With that in mind, Rodgers played in two series and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who played just one offensive series in the first two preseason games, appeared in three Sunday.
The only guys the preseason games really matter to are those four or five players battling for one or two spots at the end of the roster.
“We all have to get ready and the coaches need the games to evaluate the young guys,” said Cody Wallace, who will be called on by the Steelers to replace Pouncey. “They have to figure out who to have on the 53, so I think it’s important to have.”
But no team can afford a major injury to their front line players and the Steelers and Packers, both division winners last season, are no different.
Now, both teams face the unenviable task of replacing a pair of players who are considered two of the best at their respective positions in the league.
All for a game that had an attendance of 44,517, about two-thirds of the capacity at Heinz Field.
There is a need for some preseason, but scrimmages against other teams just don’t work as well – see the recent brawls at joint practices involving the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams as an example.
And guys can get injured in practice, too.
But ask any fan, player or coach what they want to see in a preseason game and the No. 1 thing they’ll tell you is to come out of it injury-free.
That didn’t happen for the Steelers or Packers Sunday.
Both teams, both legitimate Super Bowl contenders, came away as losers.
F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.