Preseason starter snap usage with only 3 games? (1 Viewer)

[IHEARTFF]

Haven't seen much discussion on this topic. What are teams expected to do in terms of how much starters play with only 3 games vs 4 where they ramp up some % each week and then all sit game 4? I have noticed a few more star players may not play any games which makes some sense. 

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

Haven't seen much discussion on this topic. What are teams expected to do in terms of how much starters play with only 3 games vs 4 where they ramp up some % each week and then all sit game 4? I have noticed a few more star players may not play any games which makes some sense. 

I kind of assumed the three games would basically be like the weeks 1-3 in years past, and they'd treat the extra week off between the last preseason game and the first regular season game. It kind of seems like some teams are treating week 1 this year a little bit closer to week 4 in past years. It will be interesting to see if teams treat week 2 as the dress-rehearsal, and use week 3 for rest, and bubble decisions. Or, will they use week 3 as the dress-rehearsal since they will have another week of practice under the belt, and still get the extra week of rest.

 

[IHEARTFF]

I kind of assumed the three games would basically be like the weeks 1-3 in years past, and they'd treat the extra week off between the last preseason game and the first regular season game. It kind of seems like some teams are treating week 1 this year a little bit closer to week 4 in past years. It will be interesting to see if teams treat week 2 as the dress-rehearsal, and use week 3 for rest, and bubble decisions. Or, will they use week 3 as the dress-rehearsal since they will have another week of practice under the belt, and still get the extra week of rest.

I didn't realize there was a "bye" week after preseason ends. That could change the way they think about week 3 of preseason. Good thoughts.

 

[zamboni]

Seems like with the shorter preseason and guys getting hurt in past preseasons, proven starters are going to play less and less. As one example,  the Chargers have already said that Herbert, Ekeler and Allen all won’t play in preseason games.

 

[LawFitz]

Recent years have preseason turning into nothing more than a glorified tryout for bubble players. It's still a spot to glean trends for up-and-comers, but the value in scouting established guys is minimized now (compared to 10+ years ago), given vanilla plays and spotty playing time.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

The Ravens usually use preseason games to fleece the Vikings out of a draft pick for whoever their backup PK in camp is. Though, when they played the Saints a few years ago in preseason, Harbaugh recommended Will Lutz to Peyton since he wasn't beating out Tucker and Lutz turned out ok.

As for the rest of the team, there are only a few rotations that are up in the air for Baltimore. The big one is OL, but half of them are injured so I'm not sure how much we can glean out of at least the 1st game. The WRs are also a MASH unit, but I'm betting the bubble player that flashes best there is James Proche. Backup QB is also up in the air and it's still uncertain if the Ravens keep 2 or 3 QBs in total for the regular season.

I doubt Lamar Jackson plays at all in this game against NO, and doubt he has 4 drives total across all 3 games. Established guys like Calais Campbell and Ronnie Stanley probably won't play at all, or maybe a series. I wouldn't play those guys, either, if I were the coach.

What the hell does Tom Brady or Aaron Donald need to go out there for? They know all there is to know about how to get ready for the season without taking the risk of a fluke injury in a meaningless game half-filled with newbies that won't ever make a team. Given that, how many sleepers can you expect to find - on offense, especially - in a glorified scrimmage?

 

[zamboni]

From a fantasy standpoint, in some ways it’s good that many veterans have limited snaps. It could result in many less informed folks overreacting to guys way down the depth chart/rookies going off in meaningless games; and more informed folks possibly rewarded for doing their homework on guys who barely see the field in preseason.

 

[IHEARTFF]

From a fantasy standpoint, in some ways it’s good that many veterans have limited snaps. It could result in many less informed folks overreacting to guys way down the depth chart/rookies going off in meaningless games; and more informed folks possibly rewarded for doing their homework on guys who barely see the field in preseason.

That’s possible we see some of that, but the shared info is so vast that it might not matter a lot. 

 

[BoltBacker]

Seems like with the shorter preseason and guys getting hurt in past preseasons, proven starters are going to play less and less. As one example,  the Chargers have already said that Herbert, Ekeler and Allen all won’t play in preseason games.

Which is the way it always should have been. There is almost no upside for established players. The entire exhibition season has never been anything but a con by the owners to charge season ticket holders to watch glorified inter-team practices.