10 Reasons Why NFL Preseason Should Remain 4 Games Long

During the summer's NFL Lockout, there was some serious discussion of the long NFL preseason getting cut to two games and expanding the regular season to 18 contests.

These discussions for an expanded regular season were obviously for increased revenue and increased fan interest, and did not go through, but would that be a wise thing to ever do? 

Here are 10 reasons why a long preseason is necessary for a solid regular season. 

10: Fans Can Finish Vacations and Get Used to School

Right now, the NFL season begins Sept. 11th for most teams, but if the preseason were only two games, it would have been Aug. 27th. 

That is when summer is ending, where people are on vacations around the country or attending end-of-the-season town festivals before the crisper fall days come around. 

Also, schools at all levels are getting kicked back into gear, so kids and young adults are getting readjusted to the workload. 

By having a longer preseason, fans will get vacationing, summer festivals and new school schedules out of their systems so they can concentrate more fully on watching the games. 

9: Players Need to Get into Shape

A longer preseason equals a longer training camp. This means that NFL players have more time to get the proper conditioning only acquired during game situations. 

Players like Chicago Bears wide receiver Roy Williams and New England Patriots defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth seem to need the extra time to prepare for a season. 

Having the four games might be boring, but the players will be game ready come opening day. 

8: A Longer Preseason Gives Players the Chance to Learn Schemes

Especially during a lockout-shortened offseason, a long preseason is vital for rookies and free agents to get acclimated to their new team's offensive and defensive schemes or new coaches to implement their philosophies on their new teams. 

For complicated offenses run by Mike Martz, Rob Chudzinski or Tom Moore, or an innovative 3-4 defense run by Don Capers or Dick LeBeau, players need to study the playbooks, run the plays through many practices and then hopefully implement the game plans in four preseason games to tune up for the regular season. 

Time is needed to digest the playbooks, as each coach has a different strategy and philosophy in regard to play calling. The four-game preseason gives new players and coaches time to get up to speed with running the plays correctly. 

7: Time to Build Rosters Properly

When training camp begins, there are close to 90 players on a team. 

That must get whittled down to just 53 men about a week before the season. 

The average NFL career tends to be only 3.5 years, so there is much roster turnover year after year. 

While the starters and solid backups will return, there are usually third stringers and players trying to make the special teams unit who are playing for a roster spot and their careers. 

These players need the four-game preseason to show they can be valuable backups and maybe starters one day. 

A two-game preseason would erase those chances as coaches would not have enough time to evaluate talent properly. 

6: Special Teams Units Have Time to Gel

Football is built in three phases: offense, defense and special teams. 

While offense and defense are fairly easy to compile a set rotation, special teams is a different beast. 

This unit is made up of a mix of offensive and defensive starters and backups, with some players getting their only playing time as a special teamer. 

Since these athletes don't have the same amount of reps in practice as the offense or defense and are cobbled together with players of various experiences, it takes time for them to gel on punt and kickoff returns and defensive coverage. 

A shorter preseason would not let the special teams units be up to speed, and there would be sloppy execution with return and coverage situations, as the unit could not work out the kinks in a longer preseason. 

5: More Preseason Games Will Prevent Future Injuries

NFL starters get limited game reps during the current four-game preseason as coaches take them out early to prevent injury. 

For the game's remaining time, the backups, who are fighting for better playing time or a roster spot, have the opportunity to get into physical shape and showcase their talents. 

If the preseason were two games and the regular season were expanded to 18, there could be more injuries. 

The two preseason games would probably feature more playing time by starters performing harder to get ready for the long season. Also, backups would have less time to get proper conditioning. 

With starters playing longer in the two preseason matches and backups not getting the required conditioning needed to be physically ready for the 18-game season, more injuries could occur. 

4: More Time for Contract Negotiations

One positive of the current four-game preseason schedule is that it allows teams time to negotiate contract terms or trades for star holdouts like Osi Umenyiora and Carson Palmer. 

With a shortened preseason, these types of diva dramas could unfortunately spill out into the regular season and threaten the team's chances for success. 

3: Games Will Not Be Poorly Played

The preseason is the perfect opportunity for teams to get on the same page offensively, defensively and on special teams. 

The "worthless" games provide chances to clean up on missed routes, missed quarterback reads, missed tackles, bad two-minute offenses, out-of-position situations and picking up on audible calls. 

Having less preseason games results in more miscues during the first regular season games. 

No one enjoys sloppy football. 

2: More Fan Anticipation

The preseason is an excellent buildup for fans. 

After a lengthy offseason, the training camps and subsequent preseason contests allow fans to get back into football mode. 

The more people have to wait for something, the sweeter the experience is when it finally arrives. 

1: Games Are More Meaningful

Part of the NFL's lure from any other professional sport is how each regular season game means so much. 

Baseball has 162 games; basketball and hockey have 82; soccer has about 30. 

The NFL has 16 games, which is similar to the 11- or 12-game college football schedule. 

While 18 games is still not too many matchups in a season, each game will loss some of its importance as there are more chances for a team to win. 

Bob Bajek is a freelance reporter and can be followed on Twitter.