Most coaches view preseason games, in the past called exhibition games--the name changed to suit the NFL's need to showcase these rehearsals as real games and sell more tickets--are a necessary evil at best, and a waste of time at worst. Some feel they do not consider which team wins the outcome; safety is their focus, followed by development of inexperienced players vying to make an NFL roster.
However, in a league where the salary cap limits the amount of quality depth a team can have at any position, one injury to a key player can mean the difference between a coach hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy in February, or seeking employment.
Still, here we are, on the brink of the first preseason game for the Baltimore Ravens. After two weeks of enduring the heat and humidity forcing heat indexes over 100 degrees in practices hitting their own teammates, the team is ready to smack a different colored jersey.
However, in a league where the salary cap limits the amount of quality depth a team can have at any position, one injury to a key player can mean the difference between a coach hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy in February, or seeking employment.
Still, here we are, on the brink of the first preseason game for the Baltimore Ravens. After two weeks of enduring the heat and humidity forcing heat indexes over 100 degrees in practices hitting their own teammates, the team is ready to smack a different colored jersey.
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