The Preseason Does Nothing But Reak Havoc on the Depth Chart

Many fans and football analysts alike discount the preseason as not meaning anything. Well, that may be true when it comes to the standings, but not when it comes to your opening day roster.

The length of the NFL preseason has been a subject of controversy for many years now. Many teams end up losing at least one impact player for a significant amount of time during one of the four preseason games. When that happens, the preseason suddenly means the difference between a good season and a bad one.

The most recent preseason casualty has happened to the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Star defensive end Osi Umenyiora  injured his left knee in a loss to the New York Jets last Saturday. He will now have to have season-ending surgery on the knee.

Suddenly the Giants have to shuffle through the depth chart to replace a pro-bowl caliber defensive end in Umenyiora. And for what? A game that meant absolutely nothing to the standings.

Now I realize that the preseason has some good qualities. The preseason allows coaches to size up their team and make necessary cuts to prepare for the regular season. However, there is one nasty quality that alone out- weighs the good qualities.

First and foremost, the preseason should be shortened to two games. That would decrease the opportunity for injuries to players. There is no reason coaches need four games to determine their depth chart. It's just not the worth the risk, and many players agree.

Another simple solution would be drastically reducing the playing time for players who have already proved themselves. Players like Osi Umenyiora, who put up 13 sacks and 52 tackles last season, need very little, if any, playing time during the preseason. The Giants now get to kiss away that production and replace it with likely a drastic regression in production.

A great way to replace all the preseason games would be to set up more training camp scrimmages. Although injuries are still possible, it's still not as likely as playing in a real game. At the same time, coaches can still size up their team and make adjustments.

Now, I'm not saying to completely do without the preseason. Two preseason games are still a good idea because you have to see how some of the unproven players can play in real-game situations.

This plan needs to be implemented as soon as possible before one of the rising stars like Adrian Peterson or Braylen Edwards end up with a career ending injury. We have to ask ourselves one question. Do we want to miss out on what players like Peterson and Edwards have to offer for a meaningless preseason injury?. Being a passionate NFL fan, I definitely don't.

So let's say bye-bye to all the preseason games and say hello to seeing the best rosters that teams have to offer on Week 1.