(09-03-2024, 11:00 AM)Jaguarmeister Wrote: In addition, I don't get the fear of injury in the preseason as approaching the situation rationally (except maybe for QB).  If dude gets injured and out for the season in preseason game 2 or week 1 of the regular season, what's really the difference?  The only argument that makes sense to me is you have guys competing to make the roster that probably have little chance of making it and their mentality in the preseason game may be to throw caution to the win in order to make a play and get noticed which might put other guys on the field at greater risk.  I agree with that being a concern and the solution is to have an agreement by both squads or by the league on how long 1's will play in preseason games and perhaps even how long the 2's will play.

I agree with others that it is about risk/reward.  Coaches have calculated that the risk of injuries will hurt the team more than the benefit of playing significant time in a preseason game.  Someone can still get hurt in practice, but it's seen as less risky because it's more controlled.  Players are less likely to take cheap shots against their own teammates.  They can also blow the whistle quicker at the end of plays, put a red jersey on the quarterback, etc.

While I like the idea in theory of forcing teams to play starters in the preseason, the reality is that it would impractical.  First, who is to say who is a starter?  Sometimes starting spots are up for grabs or so-called "surprise" cuts happens and someone new is the starter.  Second, there are sometimes good reason to hold out a starter such as injury.  If injured players were exempted, teams would have a long list of "injured" players.  Third, if you implemented your proposal, teams would adjust and find ways to largely defeat the intended purpose.  For example, if you forced the starting quarterback to play 20 snaps, the coaches may just have him hand off 20 times in a row.  Teams on both sides may try to kill the clock starting in the first quarter in order to shorten the game.  Teams may purposely fail to convert on third down in down in order to punt and put their quarterback back on the bench.  From a practical stand point, this wouldn't work as intended.

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