Todd Bowles Excited About Joint Practices
August 13th, 2024
Likes dueling other teams.
Joe has maintained — and will continue to do so — that preseason games are nearly as worthless as a run up the middle for a one-yard loss.
These preseason games are relics from the past when dudes had to work outside football for a living in the offseason and came to training camp fully out of shape, with beer guts and an inability to run a quarter-mile because of their pack-a-day Chesterfields habit.
Now, guys are in top shape because they work out year-round and have personal trainers, often at a team facility. Before, players’ ideas of a personal trainer was the waitress who brought them a steak and bourbon every other night.
To the best of Joe’s knowledge, the only folks who benefit from worthless preseason games are the owners, part-time workers at stadiums, and orthopedic surgeons. Only in the NFL would a business put a valuable and expensive investment at risk of being destroyed for no good reason.
This is why Joe stands and applauds more regular season games. If that’s what it takes to kill preseason games, Joe fully endorses a 20-game schedule.
Folks are simply conned by the NFL industrial complex.
Another reason Joe puts no stock into worthless preseason games is that coaches actually believe they get more benefit from watching how guys perform while practicing against other teams. The Bucs’ first of two “joint practices” with the Jags is tomorrow and already Todd Bowles seems stoked.
“I think they’re huge for fundamental and technique purposes,” Bowles said. “Going against different schemes and different people, they show you what your weaknesses are and what you need to change and work on.
“You get a lot of work that way, and that’s what we’re looking for.”
Bowles also confessed he wants his Bucs to keep their heads on straight. Last week there seemed to be tons of fights at these joint practices across the NFL. And Joe remembers how in one with the Titans at One Buc Palace in 2021, there were fights breaking out seemingly every time you turned around.
“We’re not trying to hurt each other, we’re trying to make each other better,” Bowles said. “I know I’ve seen some scuffles on TV lately where they’re getting heated and all that – hopefully that doesn’t happen.”
The last thing the Bucs need is for someone to lose his mind, blast someone with the Jags and on the next play he gets lit up and hurt in retaliation.
August 13th, 2024 at 5:17 am
Very nice explanation Joe of your rationale for viewing preseason games as ‘worthless’. While I wholeheartedly agree that the owners reap the preponderance of the benefits from preseason games, it sounds like they help coaches figure out who to keep to stock the 53-man roster. Some players just seem to show up in games, while others fall by the wayside.
August 13th, 2024 at 5:42 am
IMO, the last preseason game was one of the most interesting ones I have
watched. Used properly it can showcase players abilities and acclimate rookies to the pro game. That said, I don’t think its fair for season ticket holders to be forced to pay full price for an exhibition game. Can’t think of a major sport that does not have exhibition games to prepare and evaluate players for the regular season.
Since a lot of starters don’t play a lot in preseason games, it also can keep them from
getting injuries before the season starts. The more games added to the season
also come come with increased chances of injury. I for one, would rather watch a game with our best players on the field.
August 13th, 2024 at 6:06 am
“We’re not trying to hurt each other, we’re trying to make each other better,” Bowles said. Yes, we won’t have drama and fights. Not good optics when you see players already having fights in the preseason joint camps. Says a lot about the players and coaches too.
Agreed, once the NFL goes to 18 games we will be watching more joint practices vs preseason games. That will be how the coaches will evaluate. Some could be open to the public, some not. Unfortunately, we may see more international games which are considered home games…
August 13th, 2024 at 6:57 am
“Joe has maintained — and will continue to do so — that preseason games are nearly as worthless as a run up the middle for a one-yard loss.” The bet here is Graham Barton and other rookies would disagree with you.
August 13th, 2024 at 7:01 am
Preseason is never going to disappear completely
August 13th, 2024 at 7:11 am
Please remember that coaches are control freaks. They have more control during practice and have to give it up during preseason games to the refs and the players. No brainer for a coach.
August 13th, 2024 at 7:13 am
I know it sounds silly, but there is something to be said for the rookies to go through the motions of a home and away game before you get to one that counts. Every year the NFL has 200 – 250 new independent contractors and you don’t want them worrying about how parking works on a real game day.
That being said, the damn things should be free with tickets given to youth organizations or something like that.
August 13th, 2024 at 7:21 am
Why not 30 games and a 100 player roster? As the casualty list rises they will have plenty replacements. Then the Super Duper Bowl.
August 13th, 2024 at 7:28 am
What’s the over/under on the number of Britt fights? I’m guessing 3 on the first day.
The Bengals had one of the worst run defenses last year (4.7 ypa) and Jags are in the middle of rush defenses (4.2 ypa). I’ll be watching the starting OL to see if they can get nasty. The Jags do bring a lot of blitzes (30%), so a good test to see improvement in blitz pickup since the Detroit playoff game…
August 13th, 2024 at 7:33 am
I understand Joe’s concerns, but I do think these games have their value, because if there were no preseason games and they all counted as regular season games many valuable player would never get the chance to show what they can do , no coach is going to take the chance of losing a couple of regular season games just to see what some unknown can do, but I think you are looking at it wrong, imagine a baseball team not having minor league games for the players to hone their skills! If you look at these pre-season games as basically a mini minor league football season it would serve the same purpose, as far as injuries go , you will never be able to keep those from happening, but the proven players very seldom play in those pre season games anyway, so in effect they are a minor league “ season”for new players , unknown players, players coming off injuries or trying to make a comeback to show what they can do under game conditions without having any affect on the regular season games, there’ would be no way to replace those game type conditions.
August 13th, 2024 at 8:33 am
Joe is getting plenty of $$clicks$$ railing against preseason games. As we know, $$ rules the world. I hate the new kickoff format, too. Welp, it wasn’t broke, so the dimwitted owners had to break it. I’ll be paying attention to how tight and disciplined the team plays. Jax isn’t chopped liver like some teams.
August 13th, 2024 at 9:00 am
I still have that screenshot pic of stupid ass AB clocking a player in a Bucs joint practice
August 13th, 2024 at 9:36 am
Not taking “this Joe’s” bait.
“Other Joe” called the Bengals preseason game “glorious.”
Maybe Todd will let Braswell rush the passer and get some experience against NFL level competition he hasn’t seen before. Bust a few new moves, see how they work (or not). In the name of well-roundedness.
August 13th, 2024 at 9:41 am
Joe, you seem to be implying that preseason games are for getting players in shape, at least they used to be. But because players are in better shape these days preseason games any no longer needed. That logic is ridiculous. Teams have multi-million dollar training facilities to get and keep players in shape. Preseason games are intended to determine if players, particularly rookies and UDFA can execute what they’ve been coached to do in training camp. That’s it. Preseason games help coaches determine who’s going to fill the final spots on the 53-man roster and practice squad. And by the way, ask Lavonte David what he would think about a 20-game regular season. You’re just being selfish. You only want to watch games that count.
August 13th, 2024 at 10:39 am
Nobody benefits from those “worthless” Pre-season games! Except-
Rookie draftees
UDFA’a looking for a shot
Borderline vets without a team
Players who want a job
and all others not fully rostered who I may have overlooked!
August 13th, 2024 at 11:03 am
Britt in a joint practice..hmmm. Can you say ‘helmet rejection’.
August 13th, 2024 at 1:14 pm
That was a long winded way to say you don’t know your ass from a hole in the ground lol
August 13th, 2024 at 8:13 pm
Gotta see Baker and company start scoring early and often. The slow starts from last year cost the Bucs 4-5 wins.
August 13th, 2024 at 9:04 pm
Joe said
I don’t about the Chesterfilds, but the rest is 100% spot on.
Back in The DSay, you’d leave after the last game, and maybe a month or so later you’d get a package from your position coach about what he wanted you to do until TC opened. No OTA’s. No team meetings. Nothing.
You had an off-season job. I had a locker mate, a grizzled OG, who talked about carpet the same way Bubba Blue from Forrest Gump talked about shrimp.
TC was to get into shape. Times change.