2010 NFL Preseason: 10 Reasons Four Games Is Too Many

Shortening the NFL preseason to two games has been an interesting topic of discussion over the past few years, and change is most likely coming.

"The fans have made it incredibly clear that they don't like preseason games," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "We need to listen to our fans."

Great news for fans.  Terrible news for youngsters who tend to rely on mulligans.

After watching a significant amount of preseason games to quench your desire of seeing live football, you realize how much of a joke they are.  Considering the fact that most teams only play their starters for one or two drives, two preseason games is more than enough time for young players to establish themselves as part of this league.

So with that said, let's take a glance at 10 reasons the NFL needs to shorten its preseason.

Very Little Can Be Determined

Nobody with an ounce of football logic watches preseason and predicts the success of a team based off what he saw in the preseason games. 

The Indianapolis Colts are 4-19 in the preseason since 2005, and that means absolutely nothing heading into the regular season.  

A lot of fans just need to relax because praising or doubting your team because of preseason is ludicrous.

More Revenue

NFL fans around the world have their fingers crossed for things to pan out in 2011, and for good reason. 

Unfortunately, there may be a lockout looming next season because Roger Goodell is refusing to renew the existing collective bargaining agreement with the players. 

If the NFL expands the regular season to 18 games, it would create the opportunity to gain a substantial amount of revenue, which could ultimately play a vast role in a new agreement. 

It makes me cringe to even ponder the NFL turning into a league where the richest teams get the best players, and I hate the MLB for that very same reason.

Injury Risk

Playing about a month of preseason just increases the chances for an unnecessary injury to happen.

Recent Examples: Ben Tate, Larry Fitzgerald, Stafon Johnson, Eli Manning.

These athletes are trying to survive four pointless games coming off of extreme offseason wear and tear, and in a lot of cases they already have lingering injuries.

For the players though, it's all about money.  When players are forced to sit out of regular season games because of injury, many lose their bonuses.

And when you only make millions playing the game you love, those bonuses are awfully important!

Fanatic Torture

It's bad enough that we have to wait nearly eight months to get any type of live football action, but when the players you want to see barely make it on the field, it hurts.

I don't know about anyone else, but having to watch a month of meaningless games before the regular season seems like torture to me.

Yeah it's great to see some football, but there are so many things that fans want to see that the preseason just cannot offer.

Will Brett Favre have another career year?  Will the Cowboys live up to the hype?  Is Darrelle Revis actually going to hold out?

Futility

The preseason is meaningless, plain and simple.

I understand that players like Victor Cruz have the opportunity to make names for themselves, but other than that, it is futile.

The Lions went 4-0 in the 2008 preseason but went on to become the first team in NFL history to lose all 16 regular season games. 

It basically gives fans a false confidence heading into the season.

Less Favre Drama

Clearly this is somewhat of a push, but I stand corrected. 

Assuming that the regular season gets expanded by a few games, it would force Favre into making an earlier decision. 

Would it affect his decision?  Probably not. 

But it would prevent me from taking a bat to my own head in order to escape the constant "jibber jabber" that takes over the sports world when ESPN gets its hands on a tweet about Favre.

Competition

The competition in these games isn't even a quarter of what it's like in the regular season.

Even some of the league's hardest competitors have shown their dislike towards preseason.

"I don't want to play in any preseason games," said Charles Woodson, when asked about playing in the preseason.

The passion for winning isn't there because the players know that ultimately it doesn't result in anything.

No One Shows Anything

Coordinators don't want to show any of their "good stuff" in the preseason because the less stuff they run, the less stuff other teams have on film.

Because of this, teams run generic plays all game, which makes games very boring to watch.

After all, football is supposed to be entertainment.

Majority Want Change

One of the main reasons that this has been such an interesting topic over the past few years is because it's what the people want.

In order to run a successful business, you must give the fans what they want. 

And they want a shorter preseason.

Most Players Don't Take It Seriously

“It’s clear the players don’t want four preseason games," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "They tell me that all the time. You ask them that question, and they’ll tell you. And we really don’t need it to make the game better. So we have to evolve just as we did a couple of decades ago when we went from six preseason games to four."

For veterans and players who have proven themselves year after year, the preseason has very little value to them.

It's human nature not to care about things that don't really affect you.