PSA for preseason: Use it to scout for positive things, not negative things.

[tanatastic 2,061]

Use the preseason as a tool to scout for positives in players or teams and generally ignore negatives. Coaches and teams use vanilla defenses, play backups and generally are just trying to get out of there without injury and to get some hitting done. Here are some examples of what I mean.

 

Good tidbit: "Wow, so and so looks great out there, running hard and shows burst he didn't have last season." Or, "This qb is making accurate passes and looks like he has command of the huddle and offense."

 

Why is it good?: We can see if a player looks right or has recovered from any injury or fatness or whatever it is. We saw that Lacy looked better out there compared to last year. We saw today that McCoy looks good and made some explosive catches and has rapport with Tyrod. For QBs, we can see if they have the ability to stand and deliver a ball accurately in traffic. These are helpful tidbits.

 

BAD tidbit: "So and so barely got any carries, his backup got all the work! Looks like it's a timeshare! The sky is falling!" Or, "He barely throws to so and so! They have no confidence in him! He is DND!"

 

Why is it bad?: Useage is mostly irrelevant in preseason. If a guy gets a lot of carries like Langford, that's good, take note. But if your guy doesnt get carries, don't worry. Teams want to get a look at the backups and fringe players trying to make the team. Veterans that play at all are usually kept under wraps for the most part. Obviously there are exceptions, but generally don't worry if your WR got 0 catches. Even in the third game dress rehearsal, they are still ironing out the kinks.

 

Bad tidbit: "This teams defense stinks! They getting balled on." Or, This teams defense is godly! 2 pick 6!" Or, "this team went 0-4, they suck!"

 

Why is it bad?: Coaches use vanilla defenses and offenses in preseason all the time. Wins and losses are irrelevant in preseason. The 0-16 lions went undefeated that preseason lol! Why would a coach show off his new schemes and plans during preseason? They don't, so just ignore all scores and defensive stats.

 

Conclusion: Use preseason to watch players and see how they look, how they run routes or read blocks or make reads. Don't worry about negative things, look for positives.

[nobody 2,044]

What if the redskins average like 2 yards per carry and it looks like a jailbreak every time the run the ball?

[tanatastic 2,061]

What if the redskins average like 2 yards per carry and it looks like a jailbreak every time the run the ball?

No biggie. Sometimes those things completely flip when real games start. Preseasons leaky lines can become solid regular season units.

[Ray_T 591]

Use the preseason as a tool to scout for positives in players or teams and generally ignore negatives. Coaches and teams use vanilla defenses, play backups and generally are just trying to get out of there without injury and to get some hitting done. Here are some examples of what I mean.

 

Good tidbit: "Wow, so and so looks great out there, running hard and shows burst he didn't have last season." Or, "This qb is making accurate passes and looks like he has command of the huddle and offense."

 

Why is it good?: We can see if a player looks right or has recovered from any injury or fatness or whatever it is. We saw that Lacy looked better out there compared to last year. We saw today that McCoy looks good and made some explosive catches and has rapport with Tyrod. For QBs, we can see if they have the ability to stand and deliver a ball accurately in traffic. These are helpful tidbits.

 

BAD tidbit: "So and so barely got any carries, his backup got all the work! Looks like it's a timeshare! The sky is falling!" Or, "He barely throws to so and so! They have no confidence in him! He is DND!"

 

Why is it bad?: Useage is mostly irrelevant in preseason. If a guy gets a lot of carries like Langford, that's good, take note. But if your guy doesnt get carries, don't worry. Teams want to get a look at the backups and fringe players trying to make the team. Veterans that play at all are usually kept under wraps for the most part. Obviously there are exceptions, but generally don't worry if your WR got 0 catches. Even in the third game dress rehearsal, they are still ironing out the kinks.

 

Bad tidbit: "This teams defense stinks! They getting balled on." Or, This teams defense is godly! 2 pick 6!" Or, "this team went 0-4, they suck!"

 

Why is it bad?: Coaches use vanilla defenses and offenses in preseason all the time. Wins and losses are irrelevant in preseason. The 0-16 lions went undefeated that preseason lol! Why would a coach show off his new schemes and plans during preseason? They don't, so just ignore all scores and defensive stats.

 

Conclusion: Use preseason to watch players and see how they look, how they run routes or read blocks or make reads. Don't worry about negative things, look for positives.

True. good points.

 

what I like to look for is whether a player looks sharp.

 

if they were injured, I like to see that the injury is not affecting their play. If they were ineffective in the past, I like to see that they've worked on holes in their game and improved themselves.

 

as for how they fit in the scheme used in that particular game..... irrelevant.

 

I will look at negatives in specific cases. ie. so and so ran the ball ineffectively and didnt seem to be hitting the hole with authority like he should. or so and so danced too long in the backfield.

 

these are things I notice.

 

but if a RB runs the ball 3 times for 6 yards, and the blocking on those plays was terrible, I'm not gonna go out and blame the back for that.

 

If a starting QB throws a pick, in pre season it's not always his fault.

 

sometimes the OC wants to try out something different and this is the test run to see if the play is worth keeping in the playbook. if it's a poorly designed play to begin with, the QB can look bad. and chances are good that you wont see enough of the play with the camera angle to see that this is the case, but you can bet the coaches notice it on their game film.

 

sometimes its also a case where the WR makes the wrong read, and the QB throws the ball to where the WR should be, but because the WR didnt do what he should, a defender was standing there instead.

 

This happens in pre season a lot. Especially if the starting QB is working with a new WR or a player who doesnt normally play with the first team. Developing that kind of chemistry takes time and anyone who says it should happen immediately has never played football.

[nobody 2,044]

What if a receiver drops the ball a lot?

[nobody 2,044]

Okay, what if a kicker gets drafted in the 2nd round, and misses kicks in the preseason?

[tanatastic 2,061]

Okay, what if a kicker gets drafted in the 2nd round, and misses kicks in the preseason?

To justify being taken in the 2nd round, you cannot miss a single extra point and you have to be in the top 3 or so for fg%. Also just learned he missed 2 sup 40yd kicks in the latest game. That is Inexcuseable and he is a co plate and utter bust for that draft position. If he was a guy off the street I would say no big deal, it's just preseason.

What if a receiver drops the ball a lot?

Nothing to worry about, just a case of the dropsies, happens to the best of em. Better to happen in preseason than real games. Yes, kickers are different.

[Ray_T 591]

To justify being taken in the 2nd round, you cannot miss a single extra point and you have to be in the top 3 or so for fg%. Also just learned he missed 2 sup 40yd kicks in the latest game. That is Inexcuseable and he is a co plate and utter bust for that draft position. If he was a guy off the street I would say no big deal, it's just preseason.

Nothing to worry about, just a case of the dropsies, happens to the best of em. Better to happen in preseason than real games. Yes, kickers are different.

I think it depends how many drops we are talking about.

 

everyone drops one or two now and again. sometimes 3 if you have a bad game.

 

but if its happening almost every game, its something to be concerned about.

[jdon 28]

I think it depends how many drops we are talking about.

 

everyone drops one or two now and again. sometimes 3 if you have a bad game.

 

but if its happening almost every game, its something to be concerned about.

 

exactly.

 

i am worried about Agholar looking like ... I think I should be... not that there is anything I can do about it.

[nobody 2,044]

You say a qb being accurate is good. What if a qb is inaccurate? Should I care?

[tanatastic 2,061]

You say a qb being accurate is good. What if a qb is inaccurate? Should I care?

No. You keep trying to appear cute and "gotcha" me but it's falling flat. If you disagree, you disagree. I am saying you can bump people up for looking good if you want but don't bump people down for having bad games. Tom Brady and Rodgers can look in accurate at times too, it's nothing to take note of. But if a rookie qb looks sharp, it's at least a positive sign for him and his team.

[nobody 2,044]

What if a player shows up to camp and weighs like 261 pounds and is suspendicated for the first 4 games, and doesn't get any carries in preseason. Is that something I should note?

[weepaws 2,461]

Ponder looked amazing last night.

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

What if a player shows up to camp and weighs like 261 pounds and is suspendicated for the first 4 games, and doesn't get any carries in preseason. Is that something I should note?

No ignore that

[tanatastic 2,061]

What if a player shows up to camp and weighs like 261 pounds and is suspendicated for the first 4 games, and doesn't get any carries in preseason. Is that something I should note?

That would fall under the obvious negative category so no need to take note of it. So yes, FBN is right, ignore it for draft purposes. You wouldn't be drafting him anyway.

 

Actually, you could take note of it and see Karlos Williams value increase. If the right team picks him up and he gets in shape he potentially is in a good position to help someone's team in the 2nd half of the season. Def worth noting for a free agent pickup down the line.

[polecatt 403]

What if a player shows up to camp and weighs like 261 pounds and is suspendicated for the first 4 games, and doesn't get any carries in preseason. Is that something I should note?

Wait until he gets cut

[Maulers1973 117]

What if your darkhorse gem at RB gets cut by the Bills? Ignore that.

[tanatastic 2,061]

Wait until he gets cut

Correct.

 

What if your darkhorse gem at RB gets cut by the Bills? Ignore that.

See post #15.

[davidbostonisgood 2]

What if you've already drafted, and you find out one of your players smokes the marijuana a lot? I mean like a lot.

Do you try to trade that player to another owner? Do you tell that owner why you are trying to trade them?

[davidbostonisgood 2]

What if you see a "star" sitting out and not playing....but the thing that worries you is that whenever the camera goes on them they are always joking around on the sideline and don't seem to be paying attention to the game?

[davidbostonisgood 2]

What if you are targeting a WR to be a good ppr option because the are quick and a good possession receiver...but then in the preseason game you see the team has them run two deep routes (20+ yards) and they catch one of them?

...Should you still target this WR in ppr? Or avoid because their usage is likely changing?

[Maulers1973 117]

What if you've already drafted, and you find out one of your players smokes the marijuana a lot? I mean like a lot.

Do you try to trade that player to another owner? Do you tell that owner why you are trying to trade them?

 

Then you got in a bad league.

 

I love that my league drafts on Saturday of Labor Day weekend. By then, most of the really bad things that could happen will have already.

[tanatastic 2,061]

I know it's fun to make funny comments and troll (the attempts were fails) but this is the main week to take this advice. Don't be swayed by small sample sizes, bad ypc (Adrian Peterson had 3 bad games in a row before having his huge season a few years ago), low rec, low targets etc. All those things are negligible in preseason. Rbs need entire halves or even games sometimes to get in sync, 7 carries doesn't tell any tale. Your fav wr doesnt need to be locked onto and if he gets no rec it doesn't mean he is suddenly phased out of the offense.

 

Look for young QBs making big boy throws like Winston did. Look at Dak who appears pro ready as a 4th rounder in case Romo gets hurt. Look at Lacy moving quicker and getting free reign in secondary's when Rodgers is dropping dimes. Look at the positive things that game flow, play calling and volume don't affect.

[nobody 2,044]

Then why did you say this?

 

I had Coates as a sleeper but he is looking like a potential Davonte Adamsy type, worthless. Wheaton is about as exciting as a bowl of wheaties so I donno.

[tanatastic 2,061]

Then why did you say this?

 

 

Speculation? His role as its developing outside of the actual games like from the team. Didn't watch any steeler preseason games bro, I'm not commenting on how he literally and physically looks on the field.

 

It's not some hard lock rule, it's a suggestion, a guideline, my opinion. Diipshiit.

[nobody 2,044]

What if you think a qb might be good, but you notice he lick his fingers before receiving the snap even after he's had his hands all up in his center's sweaty crotch all game. Does that show a lack of awareness?

[tanatastic 2,061]

What if you think a qb might be good, but you notice he lick his fingers before receiving the snap even after he's had his hands all up in his center's sweaty crotch all game. Does that show a lack of awareness?

I think they consider that good luck.