Seahawks coach Pete Carroll elected not to put his most important players on the field this entire preseason. No Russell Wilson. No Jamal Adams. No Bobby Wagner. No Tyler Lockett. No D.K. Metcalf. No Chris Carson. None of the cornerstone pieces for this franchise saw a single snap. While it didn’t make for great Saturday night television, it is the correct way to approach the NFL’s high-risk, low-reward and increasingly irrelevant preseason schedule.
While there’s something to be said for getting in rhythm, the idea that 11-on-11 games is the best way to do so has always been flawed – especially when teams have several weeks of training camp practices to prepare for the season, to say nothing of the rest of the offseason program. For bubble players these games may be critical. The same can be said for coaches evaluating the bottom end of their rosters, as well as their opponents’. However, for established stars there’s never been much to gain from playing significant snaps in August. Never enough to justify the risk of injury, anyway.
As the NFL inexorably creeps towards longer and longer regular seasons – 18 games seems an inevitability in the foreseeable future at the least – preseason games will become more in danger of going extinct.
The increasingly popular joint practices will eventually replace these games. For now, the best way forward for smart teams is to never expose their stars to real contact.
General manager John Schneider certainly seems to be leaning in that direction. In his pregame radio spot before his team’s 27-0 route of the Chargers, Schneider said the Seahawks are in a “revolution” in regard to how they handle preseason.
Seattle fans should be elated and relieved at this development. Nothing could be worse than losing a starting QB or a defensive chess piece in what’s ultimately a meaningless exhibition game – especially when you’re in the middle of a Super Bowl window.
Viva la revolution!
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