There is a strong argument on the league side that the NFL’s preseason should be cut down to two games rather than four. Someday, that very well could happen. But if you ask coaches, talent evaluators and those borderline players trying to make a roster, having four chances to get a better grasp of who belongs and who doesn’t has great value.
What are some of the main things coaches are looking for when evaluating these players? Remember, with the slight exception of the third preseason game, these coaching staffs are not watching film of the opponent and game planning during the week to best put their squad tactically in the best position to win the upcoming game. Of course, every coach would prefer to win the game, but not at the expense of risking injuries to key players or sacrificing what they are trying to accomplish to make their team better for the regular season.
Here are a few major things coaches and front office personnel are spending their time with when analyzing the preseason game tape.
Knowledge
This obviously applies to the rookies and young players most of all, but there also are a lot of veteran players right now getting accustomed to a new coaching staff, terminology or scheme changes. Rookies have now been in an NFL training camp for several weeks. They have gone through OTAs and minicamp. When they are out on the field now under the lights against an NFL opponent, every player needs to not only know his specific assignment, but also have recognition of what the opponent is trying to accomplish.
These players face mostly vanilla fundamental concepts. No matter how talented a player is, if he doesn’t know where he is supposed to be or what he is supposed to be doing, he can’t be on the field. Take film and board learning past the practice field and to a live game.
Understand your job. Do your job.
Effort
This one really speaks for itself, but is extremely important. Hey, if a star wide receiver or pass-rusher kind of goes through the motions on a play here or there (even in the regular season), that really isn’t the end of the world. But in the preseason, effort and hustle is huge.
Coaches want the bottom third of their roster to be littered with high-effort, tenacious players at all positions. That attitude even rubs off on those above them on the depth charts. Toughness and smarts can make up for a shortage of talent, especially on the offensive line in particular. Great effort at every position is obviously important, but it really stands out on defense.
Technique
Again, both sides of the ball face pretty routine schemes during the preseason. Play callers on both offense and defense usually are just “Calling plays” instead of creating ways to best attack the opponent. Evaluators want to see how offensive linemen position themselves in different protections or execute favorite run plays, even if the defense doesn’t call for acting that way.
That is just one of many examples, but what the coaches want to see is if younger players are using the techniques that the coaches have spent so much time teaching them during these practices. That could be hand placement on a block. That could be the way they taught to run an out route. That could be a bail technique that a coverage player uses.
You get the point. Great technique leads to great execution. And great execution is exactly what coaches want to see.
Special Teams
This is extremely important and is a massive determining factor when deciding who should make the final roster. The special teams coach has a different amount of say on this matter in every building, but the smart clubs put great value in this phase and do not handcuff their special teams coordinator. Often you will see four or five core special teams players kept even if they are a liability or project on offense or defense. Many of these rookies have never played on special teams. Obviously positions like linebackers and safeties have a huge leg up here, as they have tackled people before. Running backs and tight ends have usually at least blocked at the college level.
But think about it: if a player is his college team’s best wide receiver or even running back or tight end, do you really think that coach is risking him by having him cover kicks or punts? Many of these young guys have to learn special teams on the fly in training camp. Their ability to do so often is a not only a massive factor if they make the team or not but also if they are active or not on game day.
Wide receiver is really interesting here. Teams generally keep five or six wide receivers, but generally, only three or four end up running routes on game days. However, if you have a room of five or six wide receivers that have zero value on special teams other than return skills, it can really handcuff the special teams coach when picking from the active roster in all phases of teams.
Even if they have never played on even phase of special teams, getting “Uncuttable” is absolutely one of the best ways to being a professional football player.
A former scout for Pitt, Akron, and the Cleveland Browns, Matt Williamson worked with ESPN’s Scouts, Inc. for years. He is a contributor to Touchdown Wire and currently works for the Steelers Nation Radio Network.
