Can Cowboys Cope - Maybe Thrive - In An NFL With No Preseason?
FRISCO - It began with the cancellation of the "Week Zero'' preseason game that was to feature the Dallas Cowboys against the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Hall of Fame in Canton. And now? "The Incredible Shrinking NFL Preseason'' is ... gone.
The football-related off-shoot of this? Ask owners, GM's, coaches and scouts - oh, and on-the-bubble players - and they will certainly agree that in terms of evaluations, a taste of preseason would've helped.
But there is a simple formula to calculate which teams and which players and which coaches are going to survive this change, and even thrive from this change. We'll get to that in a moment. ...
On Monday, the proposal by owners to players included just a single preseason game. That was down from four (or five, as was to be the case with the Cowboys and Steelers) ... which recently went down to two. By Tuesday, the number of preseason games shriveled down to ...
Zero.
If the Monday idea had been approved by the NFLPA - which has its hands full with trying to organize against even reporting to training camp this week under the present COVID-19-influenced circumstances (see Tank Lawrence) - the one preseason game would take place during the week of Aug. 27.
That would've been "Week Three.'' Which might've become "Week One-And-Only.''
But now it's zero.
At one point, the owners floated the concept of staging two preseason games, saying that it would allow for one home game and one away game for every team - thus allowing clubs to work through the logistics of playing in this changed environment. (We think it's not too cynical and is worth noting that there is also revenue to be salvaged by playing those games.)
The NFLPA is taking the position that is wants no preseason games and a longer acclimation period as players transition back to football safely.
As NFL stay-at-home training camps open this week, maybe the owners' willingness to cut the preseason down to one game is an olive branch extended as a result of the NFLPA's desires. But at this point? The NFL wants its games. And the NFLPA wants its safety. And the 2020 football season continues to incredibly shrink.
And what will be the player-by-player, team-by-team result of the disappearance of preseason? Smart money says the best players will still be the best players - especially if by "best'' we mean, among other things, "smart and well-conditioned.'' And the best coaches will still be the best coaches. Does anybody think Bill Belichick's Patriots are suddenly at a disadvantage due to the erasure of preseason? We'll argue that it's the contrary - Belichick will emerge, even more than usual, as the NFL's best coach.
In Dallas, this is a sharp test for Mike McCarthy and the new coaching staff. The Cowboys, installing a new system and getting to know new faces and new talents, begin in an outside lane compared to, say, the Philadelphia Eagles and their established system and people.
In the end, the lack of an NFL preseason shouldn't be used as an excuse for failure. It's simply another obstacle to success that the best teams - as they always do - will navigate.
