What are you looking for in preseason games?

[Jesus Christ 0]

When your doing your scouting/pre-draft work while watching pre-season game how much importance do you put on it? Are you just looking at the players that place vs the first teams? Do you watch all 4 qtrs. hoping to gleam something out of the 6th round rookie who's playing against the 3rd sometime 4th string? We know teams game plans etc. are very vanilla but do you try to see what players fit in said teams system?

 

Or do you not pay attention at all to preseason other then injuries.

[JT 137]

Outside of the point in which starters are playing more than a series (week 3?), injuries only.

 

Oh, and that's based on recaps. I don't watch pre-season games.

[harken34 0]

Outside of the point in which starters are playing more than a series (week 3?), injuries only.

 

Oh, and that's based on recaps. I don't watch pre-season games.

 

 

 

 

I do check stats. But I don't go off them.

[Ras66not99 0]

When your doing your scouting/pre-draft work while watching pre-season game how much importance do you put on it? Are you just looking at the players that place vs the first teams? Do you watch all 4 qtrs. hoping to gleam something out of the 6th round rookie who's playing against the 3rd sometime 4th string? We know teams game plans etc. are very vanilla but do you try to see what players fit in said teams system?

 

Or do you not pay attention at all to preseason other then injuries.

it depends what type of league you are in (just like most things when it comes to fantasy questions)

 

If I was only in a redraft league I'd probably just make sure no one was seriously injured after each pre-season game....

 

However I've been in an IDP Dynasty league with 45 man rosters for about 15 years now... so you gotta peep out a bunch of stuff that you may have interest in... Like with Gore sitting out the first pre-season game i'm a little interested to see what Coffee can do on the first few possessions...

 

and i'll be watching the Steelers/Cards game because I wanna take a look at Ziggy Hood and his DT eligibilty to see if they use him a Defensive End like they said they might at times from what i;ve been reading... it may be nothing, but it's the hard core little things that can make the pre-season fun and interesting to watch....

[WhiteWonder 2,172]

i dont care at all about pre season stats. Im not going to bump up some 4th string WR who has an amazing game going against backup defenders (David Clowney comes to mind last year) just as Im not going to downgrade a star who plays 1 series but doesn't do anything.

 

What I do try to see is how guys im on the edge about are looking.

 

I am interested to see a series or two of Carson Palmer for example. I want to see him air it out a little so I know his arm is ok.

[kmbryant09 1]

I will say this - I followed some of the hyped players last year, specifically Calvin Johnson. In just about every preseason game he scored a TD, and had like 3 catches for 60 yards in very limited action. I reached for him in my draft and it paid off...

[cyclone24 1,814]

Erin Andrews on the sidelines..........thank you.

[Spec7ral 6]

Rookie wow factor against first unit defenses.

[Gladiators 1,904]

I almost never take much out of the preseason, but try to keep an eye on whether it looks like guys are taking a while to get up to speed. However, if Brady dominates this preseason and looks like the Brady of 2007, it would be tough to pass on him if the opportunity presents itself in the middle of round 2. There are so many question mark guys being taken in the first round that I don't think you can argue that Brady's not worth the "risk" to take in round 2. If he's even just somewhat close to '07, he can almost single handedly win the league for you.

 

I've never taken a QB before round 6 (in 14 years), but I'd consider taking Brady if he continues to look this good. You know they're not planning on running the ball much and they have no problem running up the score. Sucks to see them kicking other teams in the balls when they're already clearly defeated, but it's great for FF owners!

[Me_2006 14]

I typically try to look for QB/WR relationships if there have been injuries, new acquisitions, etc.

 

 

also try to look for production and fit out of guys who are #2 behind someone who is injury prone.

 

 

pre-season is also a solid time to find D/STs that may be prolific with some obscure return man or kicker that seems to have an impact every season

[Rynoman 0]

I only pay attention to injuries or how people play coming off injuries

 

preseason playcalling is meaningless

thus trying to find things is also meaningless

[Rynoman 0]

Don't get me wrong I watch and love that football is on

 

But trying to determine what is going to happen fantasy wise is pretty useless, IMO

[Gladiators 1,904]

Don't get me wrong I watch and love that football is on

 

But trying to determine what is going to happen fantasy wise is pretty useless, IMO

 

I agree, but it's reassuring to see the timing between QB and WR. It's also good to see RB's showing good vision. If I see Manning and Wayne misfire, I'm not going to drop either in my rankings, but if they're right on target I'm going to have some reassurance. This is especially true for guys that are more questionable, as Manning/Wayne aren't guys you'd be concerned about to begin with. Maybe a Romo to Williams combo would be better. If they seem to be on the same page during preseason, they're at least starting out on the right foot going into the season.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

Generally, I am looking at boobs, tank tops on ladies, and tight shorts in the warm weather games.

 

Actually, I am looking for guys that have no hands, can't block, can't tackle or can't cover. Normal things that teaching techniques can't help.

[dcgangstas 41]

I generally look at how marquee players (e.g, Brady,Tomlinson, Steven Jackson) that had injuries look playing against an opposing team's number 1 defense. I want to see if Tomlinson has gotten over that toe injury and regained that bounce-step that he has been so adept at over the years. I want to see Tom Brady's pocket presence; I want to see if Steven Jackson has regained that burst he used to have.

 

I also like to see the new crop of rookie skill players.

[Big_Pete 0]

I'm looking for my team (Broncos) to show that they can actually be a compitent NFL team after all this offseason drama.

[mgs316 14]

Players returning from injury and how sharp a QB looks.

 

Crappy QB play through preseason can be a red flag.

 

If a player was hurt do they look as athletic as they used to.

 

Brady passed both with flying colors.

[madd futher mucker 36]

Barring injuries, pre-season games mean almoth nothing as far as guys I have slated in my 1st ten rounds. In fact, for those guys, camp reports are more meaningful than the pre-season games themselves.

 

But the pre-season games sometimes weed out who will/will not make my final 'sleeper list.

 

One thing I looked for specifically tonite was the play of Matt Lineart. I have my supplemental dynasty draft coming up and Lineart could be a pick-up there as well as someone on my final sleeper list in re-draft. In dynasty, Lineart is intriguing because not only is Warner very injury prone (last year is one of only two years in his career where he started 16 games. I don't think it will happen back-to-back).

 

So far in camp, Lineart has looked like the guy Arizona thought they drafted as an early 1st round 5 years ago. He also looked very poised tonite. I'd consider taking him in my re-draft league specifically because of his upside if Warner goes down. With the receiving corps in AZ and Leinart's new-found maturity and defense-reading ability, he could be a great late round flier. So that is one example of the type of situations I look for.

 

Another example: Chaz Schilens had five receptions for 52 yards against the Cowboys first string defense tonight. Schilens was easily the best receiver on the field tonite as Oakland's go-to receiver. He made several catches in tight coverage and drew a 45-yard pass interference call in the red zone.

 

Conversely, I look for guys that I was somewhat high on to play themselves off of my 'late round flier list'.

[kilroy69 994]

With the exception of how Tom Brady is moving not a focking thing. Im a lions fan and we went 4-0 last preseason. Ahhh yea.....

 

preseason is only meant to shake out a few usually backup roles and to see what the rookies have.

[nobody 2,044]

In general I like to see every teams starters just to see how the o-lines look, but more specifically...

 

Arizona - Beanie Wells and Hightower dynamics. I still don't know what to think of Hightower. It didn't look like Arizona could block anybody and it didn't look like he could make anything happen, but it would be nice to compare him to Wells. Also, I thought Leinart looked like crap tonight. He missed too many wide open receivers and seemed to stare down receivers and hold the ball too long. Also isn't Dansby a beast? damn.

 

San Fransisco - I'd like to see if any of the receivers might be serviceable. I like Josh Morgan, but if Hill or whoever is starting is looking elsewhere for whatever reason, I'd like to know.

 

Seattle - It would be nice to see if Julius Jones would be a decent play this year. Also would like to check out Curry a little.

 

St. Louis - Laurianitus or whatever his name is might be an IDP stud. I just want to make sure he's playing every down. Also want to see if any receivers are getting in sync with Bulger.

 

Saints - Meachum was supposedly pushing Deverey Henderson's spot. Want to see if he looks decent.

 

Carolina - Need to check out the split between Stewart and Williams.

 

Tampa Bay - Nothing too interesting to me here. Would like to see how the carry situation looks down there but I pretty much wrote off the Buccaneer backfield already

 

Atlanta - Nothing to see here. Can't really find anything we don't already know. Turner will be a workhorse and Roddy White is the only receiver with value thanks to Gonzalez being there.

 

Detroit Lions - It would be cool to see Stafford play, but not really going out of my way to check him out.

 

Chicago Bears - I'm confused about the receiver situation. Figure Cutler is going to pick a favorite. Hopefully it would be nice to see some clues.

 

Green Bay Packers - Pretty stable. Probably nothing different than last year going on here. Enjoy the 5 wins.

 

Minnesota Vikings - Only thing to even care about here is the QB battle, but it's not like I'm going to be falling all over myself to pick up Sage or Tavaris.

 

Dallas Cowboys - I'd love to see if Roy Williams does anything, anything at all. Would love to see it. Also intrigued by the split of Barber and Felix carries.

 

Bills - O-line looks horrible, huh?

 

Jets - I doubt there is any value this year in Sanchez or Kellen, but it would be nice to check them out as well as the real prize of this team Shonn Greene. Want to see if he's getting a decent amount of work or what.

 

Pats - Nothing interesting. The backfield is a wasteland and BRady is Brady. Moss is Moss. Camera guy is filming walk throughs. Typical Pats.

 

Miami - This could possibly be the most boring team in the NFL.

 

Bengals - I've been reading a lot of good press about that guy Bernard Scott, want to see if they are rewarding him with some snaps at all. If so, I can probably buy into it.

 

Browns - Quinn/Anderson of course. Then they have that Jerome Harrison and James Davis thing going as soon as they can push Jamal Lewis's corpse off the field.

 

Steelers - I was real curious about Mendenhall. He seems pretty average. I don't think there's too much value this year with Willie there, but it's a small sample size.

 

Ravens - Is Rice the real deal? Can't know unless we watch the game... or read up or maybe catch NFL Live or listen to a podcast or something.

 

Texans - I just want to see who's getting goalline carries. That's all.

 

Titans - I watched the Hall of Fame game and Nate Washington seems pretty dynamic. He jumped all over my radar. Want to see if he can make some plays in the coming weeks.

 

Colts - We all know Donald Brown is getting carries just a question of how much.

 

Jags - yawn

 

KC - Heard they are running some spread offense. That would be an interesting sight.

 

SD - Nothing

 

Denver - Orton supposedly is looking good. I'd like to see for myself.

 

Oakland - More like Jokeland. Get it? I replaced Oak with Joke because it rhymes. Anyway, I'd like to see if how the carries are getting broken up between Fargas, McFadden and Bush to see if there is any value there.

[cubbie5150 0]

Like others, I don't put much weight on pre-season performance for so-called "established" players. I do pay attention for injuries, and also depth battles (i.e. backup RB's & who might emerge as a #3 WR). The 2 leagues I'm in is full of pretty smart owners, so unfortunately, I don't get the benefit of some owners drafting a guy too high because of great pre-season performances, nor letting a guy fall too low because of poor pre-season showings

[ty247 0]

With the exception of how Tom Brady is moving not a focking thing. Im a lions fan and we went 4-0 last preseason. Ahhh yea.....

 

preseason is only meant to shake out a few usually backup roles and to see what the rookies have.

 

Anyone who 'watched' the preseason Lions games could see they were outmatched, badly.

 

The thing is, Marinelli was playing to win in the preseason last year instead of using it to get ready for the real season, where it counts.

[FeelingMN 273]

I just wanna see how certain players look: are they quick? run good routes? hard to tackle?

 

I'm not talking about Manning or Jennings or Turner. We've seen those guys perform before and know what to expect from them. But rookies and second year players who still have something to prove, and have yet to approach their ceilings. I'm interested to see how they look against top tier NFL talent.

 

I also look to see how players are used. For example, the Cowboys' running game. Choice got 8 carries to 5 between MBIII/Felix, and he didn't get any carries with the first team. By itself, it means absolutely nothing. But it's something to pay attention to the next two weeks. If that pattern remains, I think it sheds some light on how those three backs will be utilized during the season.

 

And certain players generate a lot of buzz during the preseason which translates to regular season success. DWill had a great preseason last year. So did Turner. As did Cutler and Calvin Johnson.

 

At the same time, so did Jason Campbell, Meachem, LJ....so you can't invest too much in preseason performances.

 

All in all, I just try to get a feel for certain teams/players/situations. Despite what some folks think, the preseason isn't a complete waste of time...at least for scouting purposes for us FF players.

[Ray_T 591]

I look at key training camp battles.

 

I also look at young WR's or RB's to see what they do well and what they do not.

 

sometimes a team will post a depth chart, but sometimes that depth chart is designed to keep players from whining about where they are on it.

 

you may have a vet who is the #2 guy, and a rookie drafted in the first or 2nd round who is playing well, and you put the rookie below the vet to keep the vet from getting angry.

 

so this is the time where you really see what the kid can do.

 

young RB's I look for the following:

 

can he block in pass protection? To what extent is he effective ---> allows you to be able to tell if the kid can play on 3rd down

how does he run? does he have the patience to wait for the hole to develop? when he sees the hole, does he run through it aggressively?

How is his strength/power?

How is his speed and elusiveness?

can he catch passes out of the backfield?

 

As WR's are different I look at the following:

 

Blocking --> an underrated skill. can he do it?

Route Running _---> how good is he at running routes? does he have to slow down when he makes his cuts, or can he do his cuts at full speed?

speed--> Both Straight line speed and speed in his cuts

Hands ----> does he catch the ball with good technique and tuck the ball away?

body control ---> can he control his body to gain an advantage over the defender to get to a ball? can he twist & contort his body in the air to make the amazing grab?

smarts ----> does he make the right call in reading a defense and run his route accordingly

chemistry ---> is he on the same page as his qb with respect to reading the defense and going to where the QB wants him?

finally, how is he after the catch? does he break tackles