On Saturday night, Sam Baker became the latest high-profile victim of the National Football League’s preseason schedule.
The Atlanta Falcons left tackle was carted off the field during the second quarter of a preseason game with what was later confirmed to be a rupture of the patella tendon in his right knee, a wound that will rule him out for the rest of the season.
While it will make for good TV ”“ the Falcons are the subjects of HBO’s marvelous “Hard Knocks” series this preseason ”“ the injury is a heavy, and unnecessary, blow in what is essentially a pointless exercise.
While Baker may not be a household name, due to the position he plays and team for which he plays, he is one of the most important players on a Falcons squad in desperate need of any talent it can get; it’s not hyperbole to say his is the kind of injury that can chart the course of a season for an NFL team.
And while this time the injury bug has hit Atlanta, it could spring up to bite any of the other 31 NFL teams over the next two weeks, when teams will play the final two of their four total preseason games before the regular season officially starts in September.
What Baker’s devastating injury yet again indicates is the need for the NFL to cut down its preseason schedule from four to two games, cutting down the likelihood of serious injuries while still giving teams enough time to evaluate players and prepare for the actual season.
While many times it gets a bad rap, mainly from fans, the NFL preseason does have a reason for existing. It gives teams a way to evaluate newly-signed players while also providing a chance for veterans to shake off the dust and regain a taste for actual game-speed football, which simply can’t be replicated during practices.
But those first-string players usually see a very small amount of time during the four preseason games; while it fluctuates, typically they’ll play one drive series in the first game, one quarter in the second game, one half in the third game and then sit out the final contest.
The players on the fringes of the roster take up the rest of the game time, the guys hoping to take the last few spots on the 53-man roster and do anything they can to impress the coaching staff.
Evaluating those peripheral players is an important part of putting together a football team, but it is something that can be accomplished in the space of two games, not four, with actual training camp practices ”“ which last for weeks heading into the season and are another proving ground for aspiring young players ”“ picking up any slack.
The fewer games, in turn, would reduce the possibility of injury to the first-string players ”“ the ones with name value, whose jerseys adorn the thousands of fans in the stadiums and watching from home ”“ as well as the players like Baker who are invaluable and irreplaceable to their teams.
Even though those starters only play the equivalent of about three-and-a-half quarters during the preseason, in a game as physical and violent as football, that’s more than enough time to get hurt. For the players who have already established themselves as NFL players, getting injured in a meaningless exhibition game in August makes little sense.
Within two games, there would still be plenty of time for those proven veterans to shake off the ring rust and get back into game shape, while limiting the injury risk overall.
The possibility of shortening the preseason has gained plenty of momentum in the past few years, though mostly for the wrong reasons. Roger Goodell, the NFL’s less-than-popular commissioner, first floated the idea in 2008, but not as a way to help players and lessen the unnecessary injury toll. Instead, Goodell wanted to eliminate two preseason games as a way to add two regular season games, as a result increasing the revenue for a sport already making northwards of $9 billion a year.
It was an attempt at a pure money grab, putting the players at much more risk of an injury in a sport that has now been proven to be ruinous for many players’ long-term health. And this despite the fact that these athletes already go through the long, hard slog of a season that lasts from July to January.
The thought process was that fans would be behind it, because who doesn’t want more meaningful football games? But the backlash, mainly from the players but also from knowledgeable fans, led to Goodell cooling his jets on the possibility of adding two regular-season games at the expense of shortening the preseason.
But in 2012, Goodell again raised the possibility of cutting the preseason in half with no strings attached, telling the Associated Press in November 2012 that preseason games don’t “meet the standard of quality that the NFL is all about.”
There, the often-criticized commish is spot on. Not only do preseason games often devolve into farce, with the bulk of many games played mostly by guys who won’t end up making the final roster, they also needlessly increase the injury risk for everyone, including the players who have undoubtedly already made the team as starters for Week 1 of the regular season and who are crucial puzzle pieces of their teams’ success heading forward.
So as this August’s preseason schedule continues with the third round of games starting Thursday, just cross your fingers, because there’s a Sam Baker on your favorite team just waiting to have his season ended while playing a meaningless snap in an unnecessary game.
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Today’s editorial was written by Sports Writer Cameron Dunbar on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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