Let’s get this out of the way. If you’re not watching your team’s preseason games, you’re a casual. Not sorry. That’s right, I am talking to all you tailgate heroes, fantasy nerds, and dudes that think they actually like football because they have a flag of their favorite team in their garage. You don’t have to watch all 32 teams, it’s not a full time job. We’re not insiders that pretend to actually like watching it all(even though we know every media dude doesn’t really know football, they know MEDIA that’s beside the point). But if you’re not watching your own team in August, then what are we doing? Literally, all it takes is a sprained ankles for your quarterback to change your entire team. And you don’t even know who your backup is? You’re an absolute bum. You had 4 games to be able to watch and learn about the second team guys.
It ain’t just about the guys on the field, did your team get a new coordinator? What’s the new defensive scheme? You guys running a 3-4? 4-3? As a cowboys fan, I knew we were screwed watching preseason last season when I saw them running man almost every damn play. I knew we would have an absolutely disaster season, now I didn’t know how bad Eberflus would be but, I don’t think that anyone could know.
And for the absolute sickos, special teams are basically cinema. Who’s the new coordinator? Are they aggressive? Are they faking punts, attacking kicks, putting actual juice into returns? What’s the gunner doing? Are they gonna earn a spot? That’s the stuff that gets the football perverts absolutely rock hard. And if you wanna call yourself a die hard, having a new special teams coordinator better be better for your sex life than viagra.
Preseason’s where you notice the small details that end up mattering in December. And look, if you’re skipping August entirely, if the first time you’re asking questions is week 1, don’t call yourself a diehard. That’s cool if that’s who you are, but just own it. Preseason’s the litmus test. If you don’t give a damn now, then maybe, deep down, you’re just here for red zone and fantasy scores.
AVERAGE SPORTS FAN
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