Does Pre-Season Matter?

[KCJohnny]

I say it does. We have heard every Chiefs HC poo poo it, mainly because the standings don't count, its an audition for rookies, most of the game is played by reserves or players who will be cut/waived, etc...

The past few seasons it seems like the more lethargic the Chiefs looked in preseason, it carried over to the regular season. Likewise, teams that look charged up and are trying to win in preseason sometimes carry that energy and momentum into the regular season.

This year we start off with a road win against a team that was in the SB 2 years ago. We score an arena-league-like twenty-four (count 'em, 24 )points. I know it doesn't 'count' and that we open on the road against NE, but what do you think of taking the preason a bit more seriously than Herm did in 2006-2007?

[Mama Hip Rockets]

preseason sucks.

[luv]

Oh goody. We get to debate this again.

[Fish]

Helllll no...

[007]

Oh goody. We get to debate this again.
What? You don't enjoy this annual event?:D

[Hammock Parties]

Absolutely. For a young team, anyway.

[luv]

What? You don't enjoy this annual event?:D

There was just a thread covering this in the past week. I'm too lazy to go find it.

[KCJohnny]

There was just a thread covering this in the past week. I'm too lazy to go find it.

Yes, but this is the first "does PS count" thread started after an actual PS game. I don't know about you, but my foggy memory of PS in the recent campaigns is 1 Ok drive, and then a bunch of bad football by players trying too hard and coaches not trying to win. This is a young team as Claythan said, and this team has not tasted a W since before Halloween last year.

[luv]

There was just a thread covering this in the past week. I'm too lazy to go find it.
I lied (about being lazy).

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=187667&highlight=preseason

It may be good for a young team. How many of our starters played tonight, though?

[Mr. Kotter]

THE Answer:

It depends.

It depends on the HC's philosophy.

It depends on how the FIRST Team performs--especially when opposing teams have their first teams on the field.

It depends on how much of the playbook a team "shows;" and how "hard" defenses are playing.

It depends on the HC's philosophy about playing "starters" and for how LONG....and against "who?"

In other words, it CAN matter; but it often doesn't.

Vermiel's pre-seasons were nothing to write home about, even during his "successful" seasons. Belichek and Dungy seem to be more focused on evaluating young talent. Herm seems to have a similar philosophy.

However, with a young team...even a pre-season win can be important. At the very least, it's important for "young" teams to experience some success--even if its in "preseason." It helps to build the attitude, mindset, and confidence that ANY team will require to be successful. OTOH, veteran teams and coaches who philosophically use preseason to develop depth.....well, preseason don't mean much.

A long answer to a good question. Hope it makes sense to most of you. Heh.

[KCJohnny]

Excellent reply Mr. Kotter.
I think if we had pulled in a few Ws late last season and had retained more vets this PS wouldn't be much to worry about. But a good road win against a strong team, even in PS has to be good for the psyche of a team that struggled to score 10 ppg down the stretch of that miserable losing streak in '07. Belichik obviously is not worried about Ws coming off an 18-1 season. The Chiefs were a bad team last year and losing became a habit. Even if this team goes 5-11 (likely), its good to see some fire and excitement that may carry over into September. Heaven knows we'll need it.

[chagrin]

no

[Tribal Warfare]

This year it's crucial to come out strong

[KCJohnny]

All 3 QBs led scoring drives. That's a great start for a team that had little to boast about on offense last year.

[Farzin]

All 3 QBs led scoring drives. That's a great start for a team that had little to boast about on offense last year.

Exactly. The fact KC came off of a 9 game losing streak and is entering the season with a lot of young players, it matters. I'm not saying that I will brag if we go 4-0. But hey, it's nice to win. Just look at everyone's reaction during the Sippio TD in the game thread.

We have a lot of young players to evaluate before we play the real thing. For teams like NE, Indy, SD, Dallas, etc may not matter, but a lot of teams who are not #1 material type teams need it because they have to evaluate their players and see who will be the guy that can help win when the team needs them.

[Sure-Oz]

1 or 2 games max to warm up the players if anything

[JuicesFlowing]

Depends on what kind of team you have.

[BigMeatballDave]

Winning or losing these games doesn't mean shit.

[Hammock Parties]

Winning or losing these games doesn't mean shit.

Winning is a learned habit.

After losing nine in a row last year, this team NEEDED a win, preseason or otherwise.

[POND_OF_RED]

It only means something to rebuilding teams. Three of the last four super bowl champs went 1-3 in the preseason so it obviously doesn't mean much to teams primed for a championship run.

[MichaelH]

I've heard this argument for years. All I know is every time the Chiefs go 0-4 in the pre-season, they start flat in the regular season and have a losing record. I think it's alright to lose a pre-season game as long as the team shows signs of life like the first string offense did last night.

[KCJohnny]

I've heard this argument for years. All I know is every time the Chiefs go 0-4 in the pre-season, they start flat in the regular season and have a losing record. I think it's alright to lose a pre-season game as long as the team shows signs of life like the first string offense did last night.

:bravo: