"3rd" Preseason Game (without HOF obviously)

That's just it blang College Football doesn't have a preseason, but the NFL does. I've always felt there is no replacement for experience for doing anything, IMO it seems to me you're putting yourself behind the 8 ball before you even start the season. You're giving those other teams a head start unlike college football where you both are at square one.

 

Sad but true but I remember the Smurf making the roster every year because he was soooo good in practice.
Hell I'm convinced Bellamy and Keith Richards could probably survive an apocalypse, and when they were both out scrounging for food and turn over rock the Smurf would pop out.

 

I don't think we're behind the 8 ball because our starters have played one less half of football in preseason than other teams. What evidence do we have that we're at a disadvantage? I see a lot of people worried but no real evidence to support their worries.

In my life as a Bears fan I've never thought that the way the season unfolded had anything to do with how well or how poorly we did in preseason. We've seen Bears starters look like absolute shit in preseason only to be a playoff team, and we've seen the opposite as well. The success of this team (especially in week 1) has never been contingent on whether or not the starters played half of game 3 in the preseason. I remember back in 2001 (could be wrong about the year) but the Rams did not play Marshall Faulk or Kurt Warner in preseason and still went to the Super Bowl.

 

No evidence at all, just a lifelong belief I have that that success more often than not comes from experiences good or bad. Trubisky does not have the experience of Brady or Rodgers, nor is Brady or Rodgers learning a new system. He may have many rep's in practice, but it's quite possible he knows what this defense tendencies are, and it would be nice for him to gain that experience and gauge his development with a piece of strange more or less. Perhaps I should of been more clear, I'm not saying it puts him behind, but it certainly in no way puts him ahead.

 

While I am not super upset like many of you, I also don't necessarily like it. And I'm quoting the above because I don't think the preseason SHOULD be about making money (plus, does it make that much? I mean they screw over season ticket holders, but I also saw Soldier Field 3/4ths empty so it's not like they're hauling in that sweet concession money or TV deals).

If the third preseason game is to do some light gameplanning and knock the rust off, then that's what it should be used for. If this is the new trend, then they might as well do away with half of the preseason games and use it for bubble guys only.

Also blang, remember the CBA limited the amount of practices over prior years, so I do think the real game time is valuable.

Really the only reason I'm not upset is because no one got injured in a meaningless game. The cost to that was real though. And I also don't understand the rationale that the HOF game counts for anything. If it did, why did all the starters sit out that game too? After all, typically the 1st game you get the starters for a series or two....which is what we got in the "real" week 1 of the preseason.

 

“I remember back in 2001 (could be wrongabout the year) but the Rams did not playMarshall Faulk or Kurt Warner in preseasonand still went to the Super Bowl.”

We don’t have Kurt Warner or Marshall Faulk.

Nor have we even sniffed the playoffs in years.

We have a second year QB in a brand new system and a whole shit ton of new receivers he needs to get comfortable with.

I’m not buying for one second that playing the same defense in practice for weeks on end holds the same value as playing a totally different squad, with new looks, on the game day field, in front of a huge crowd does.

No way, no how. Should’ve played the starters.

 

One of the big purposes of the 3rd preseason game is giving your team, in live action, a chance to go into the lockerroom, make halftime adjustments, and come back out prepared to play another half. For the vets, this probably isn't any more important than just giving them another chance to get their routine down / get back into the flow, and likely isn't all that meaningful. But even vets, when talked to at the beginning of the season, talk about how they've gotta get back into the practice and mindset of the season.

Did the starters come out after halftime during any preseason game this year? Because I don't think I've seen another team do that - not run through this exercise with their first team at any point in the preseason.

 

I can concede that.

I agree game time is valuable. I just don't know how much difference one half makes in the long run, especially with such a layoff between that half of football and week 1.

Never said this. But let's not overvalue the third preseason game and suggest that it resembles the pressure or intensity of a regular season game. Do you think teams are actually opening up the playbook on either side of the ball? And in regards to the "huge crowd", maybe Mongo can clarify but it looked like in some of the shots that it was about only 2/3 full at most.

 

So, every other team is doing it wrong? There has to be value in it enough to where everyone else does it.

And even at 2/3 full, that’s still about 38,000 people more than they’re used to playing in front of.

 

I can see both sides of the argument.

I 100% understand why Nagy would want to sit his starters but I can also understand why they need reps. It's risk versus reward. And if he decided the risk is too high than I'm comfortable with that. This is a team that has seemingly had multiple crushing injuries now year after year so it's easy for me to agree with that.

Not that Trubisky and company don't need reps...because they do. But getting to Game 1 in September with a roster that somewhat resembles a healthy, full one that you planned to have from the offseason would be nice too.

 

Brees played ... Brady played ... guess coach Nagy better have them ready to go week 1 , no fn excuses period end of story.

Did I hear correctly he thought the players were tired because of the extra pre season game ??????