Preseason Does Matter

Before I started playing fantasy football (yes there was a time when I was normal), I never thought preseason games mattered. As I became infatuated with stats, trades, strength of schedules, coaching changes and all that goes with staying ahead of your opposition, it became apparent to me that the preseason was more important than I had originally thought.

First of all, we get to see the rookies on the big stage for the first time. As the season approaches, we become familiar enough to know if the player will start or ride the pine. Secondly, we have new coaches in new places (usually). Here we are able to see new schemes in action and how they will or won’t work. Yes, only in short spurts do we see this, but it gives us a feel for the game plan as a whole. Third reason would be the traded players. We get a chance to see if they were worth what was given up or not. And while a number of players shine in the preseason, I’m sad to say it’s the only time they will. So with this we are able to get a trial run at assessing players, so we stay sharp come waiver wire time.

As I look back on the 2006 preseason, I’d have to say the rookie impact affected me the most. Had I missed the preseason, I might have missed out on the players I’ll tell you about. First player I noticed was Marques Colston. I can’t say I have seen too many Hofstra games, so the preseason was where I became aware of him. In week three of the preseason, trade rumors of Donte’ Stallworth started flying about. In the third preseason game, Colston caught three passes for 32 yards and a touchdown. Now I never drafted Marques, but no one did. After the first week of the season I found myself in need of a wide receiver. I took a chance on him for week two and he broke a 20-20 tie with Green Bay on a 35-yard touchdown reception.

The next player I thought could be of importance was Greg Jennings. In his first preseason game he had four catches for 68 yds. The game against Atlanta is the game that told me he could be a true sleeper. In this game he had three catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Finally let me talk about Maurice Jones Drew (MJD). As I am a UCLA fan for life, and in this situation a true “homer”, I didnt think too much about him at first. In the fourth quarter of the Miami preseason game, my mind was changed though. Garrard hit MJD for a short pass and he took the ball 55 yards to the house. This impressed me. So when Greg Jones went down with an injury, and Fragile Fred being the primary back, I knew MJD would at least get some bye week experience on my team. So while MJD and Fragile Fred shared the ball, the tandum never detoured me. This is because of how effective it was.

Yes I know I touched on fundamentals here. I just hear alot of “oh it’s only the preseason”. For this reason I wanted to stress the importance of fundamentals and the preseason. So as I ponder the question again, “Is the preseason important?” I’d have to say for both the fantasy player and the NFL player alike, it truly is.

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