I will begin with a disclaimer, I agree with McVay's philosophy and believe it's both wise and in the NFL, long overdue. NOTHING derails a season like injuries to key players on a team.
With that said, Sean McVay was the first coach to hold his starters out an entire preseason and with his success, more teams have followed suit. While the NFLPA has lobbied for a reduced offseason and in-season workload, the Rams have been at the forefront of resting their veterans even more than what the players union requires. This has led to a reputation in the league that LA is a destination that veteran free agents prefer with all other things being equal. We should expect this trend to increase throughout the NFL.
Which leads me to my point. Preseason football has always been ugly but never as hideous as it is today. Canadian Football, The World Football League, USFL, and the Arena League were all more watchable than ANY NFL pre-season game. We came to expect vanilla playcalling and lamented lower tier clubs who would show out to give their fans false hope. Heck, that's not even a thing anymore. When they combine non competitive schemes with mostly players who will not make an NFL roster, even a guy like me who waits with baited breath for anything football through those dreadful spring and summer months will struggle to watch even a half of this awful product.
In short, Sean McVay is responsible for ruining pre-season football games (which was always marginal anyway). As this trend continues, I expect this charade to lead to NO PRESEASON games but just these controlled scrimmages because there is only ONE REASON it continues....MONEY. The NFL wants their money. Scrubs need a chance to show what they can do on film to further their careers. But as fans, we shouldn't be buying it. All this due diligence can be accomplished without televising "games" that simply don't matter.
Is it September yet? No? F you very much Sean.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2021 03:30AM by Leoram.
