The Detroit Lions kick off the 2022 preseason slate on Friday night.
Just in reading that innocuous sentence, you probably already started to think of some of the following clichés:
“Preseason games don’t matter.”
“I don’t know who these players are.”
“How come the starters are playing so much?”
“Why aren’t the starters playing more?”
“They’re only going to win because the other team doesn’t care.”
“They’re only going to lose because the other team cares more.”
If any of those, or myriad related offshoots of the cliché tree, blossomed in your mind, you’re approaching the preseason the wrong way.
Preseason is absolutely critical for not just the Lions but all NFL teams. It’s the first chance for the coaching staff to unleash this year’s team against a foe wearing different uniforms and using a different playbook. That’s important.
Preseason is about validation testing of what’s gone on in training camp and OTAs. Is that hotshot new receiver–DJ Chark in the Lions’ case–really that good? Will Jared Goff attack down the field against the Falcons the way he’s scorched the practice fields in Allen Park? Can Will Harris really play cornerback full-time?
But there’s so much more going on, and none of it has to do with the scoreboard. For rookies like Aidan Hutchinson and James Mitchell, it’s their first opportunity to taste what gameday in the NFL is all about. Guys coming off injuries (Jeff Okudah, Frank Ragnow, D’Andre Swift, pretty much half the Lions roster) get their first chance to truly test their recovery–both physical and mental–in a game situation.
Fans can get into positional battles. The Lions don’t have many on offense above the bottom of the roster, but on defense, both starting LB spots are completely open for the taking. So is slot CB, the third safety, defensive tackle rotation around Alim McNeill and every outside CB spot around Amani Oruwariye. Oh yeah, the kickers too.
Don’t pay attention to the score. It’s proven time and again that winning exhibition games doesn’t actually teach a young team how to win. Losing games in the preseason also has no verifiable impact whatsoever on regular-season performance other than injuries sustained in those games.
But don’t write off the preseason just because the score and outcome matter now. Nothing can replicate the experience for the players, the coaches, the officials and even the broadcast crews. Enjoy the preseason for what it is and don’t hate on it for what it’s not. There’s plenty to enjoy and get excited about–just not the final score.