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RockRam
McVay has started something that fundamentally changes the purpose of Preseason football and I hope the NFL and the NFLPA notices.
The idea for decades has been that the team gets 4 "practice" games to get the bugs worked out and the rust knocked off before the regular season. So starters are used in a progressive manner, and or sprinkled in if the coach thinks they need the work.
Instead, McVay uses it as a Development League for the non-starters, and as a place for competition where a position that lacks a clear cut starter can work itself out. This year, for instance, NT and the 2nd starting ILB position were up for competition. But nothing else was.
I hope the idea catches on. The value to the team of creating a 4 game Development League philosophy for preseason is big. These guys get lots of actual game action, within the systems they've been taught, to play extensively and hopefully get better. It allows the team to see if the young guys progress, spot some guys who are gamers, and even showcase guys who might catch on with another team. So its a win-win for the team and the development/bubble players. After all, most of these guys (even the ones to make the team or the PS) will not see the field much, if at all, during the regular season. So their work load is nothing like for the starters once the season begins. I guarantee you that those young guys aren't griping about playing in 4 preseason games, whereas the starters and their union are.
The starters aren't overworked or subject to needless injury, and if the concept were to be adopted and more or less marketed that way by the NFL, I think fans would find a new reason to watch preseason. Since McVay has become the HC and used preseason in this way, I've really come to enjoy Rams preseason football, where before I never did. Instead of it being boring meaningless games where you cross your fingers that a starter isn't seriously injured, I now love watching the young guys compete, because a few of them always start to stand out.
It wasn't hard to spot Edwards, Williams, Thomas, Wolford, Webster, and a couple more. It was cool and fun to see them get extended playing time and see how much better some of these were in Preseason game 4 versus Preseason game 1.
