Keep this in mind regarding PS games

I spent a little time watching the game thread last night for the Seattle ps game. I was amazed at how much stock some our fans put into these games and what it may mean about the team or individual players.

Here are some points I believe about ps games and what we should all keep in mind:

• Winning or losing means nothing…nada…zero about the upcoming season. If we go 0-3 or 3-0 in ps. It means nothing about what we will see in the regular season.
• There is no game planning for the opponent for any of these games. Which means they’re are just running plays without even considering what would work best against a ps opponent.
• What you see in regard to ”play-calling” in PS- on offense or defense- is about 5-10% of the actual playbook. It’s plain vanilla on purpose. This is more like sandlot football than a real NFL game.
• Most rookies- even early round picks- don’t come plug and play. Most have to be developed. Most will have early ups and downs. What you see in August will probably not be what you see in Nov. Or next year. I know Mazi Smith hasn’t looked all world. Man he’s 22. The quality of talent in the NFL is waaaay above what he saw at Michigan. Give him and all the rooks some time before writing them off.
• Most of the players in these games for almost the whole game will not be big players in the regular season. About 50-75% of the players you see in ps will never play a meaningful down of NFL football.
• Remember- the coaches are using about 5-10% of the playbook on purpose. They aren’t game planning. They don’t want to show their best plays, formations or in some cases even player strengths in ps.
• The coaches know more about these players than we do. They want to win. Pre-season to this coaching staff is NOT about looking sharp. It’s about evaluating the margins of the roster. The preparation for the season opener is happening at practice, not in ps games.
• Maybe most importantly- what you see in ps games- good or bad- does not show what is about to happen when the games matter. Mike McCarthy is clearly a HC who chooses not to play his starters in ps games. (Imagine if Micah Parsons instead of Overshown had blown his knee out in the first qtr.) In other words we haven’t seen what this team is yet.

The above reasons are why ps games are vastly overrated if you are looking for indications about what the Cowboys will be in 2023. What you see in a pre-season football game is like watching a band rehearsal a month before a show. With backup singers and musicians.

The real show starts Sept. 11. That’s when we get to start learning what this team can be. Not now.