Training camps fading into history, followed by Preseason?

[The_Philster]

Teams increasingly do preseason work at regular-season facilities
Two weekends before the season opens, training camps are ending. For some teams, however, they never really began. In a copy-cat league, this is a rare philosophical difference: the question of whether traditional training camps have outlived their usefulness.

Thirteen NFL teams staged camp at their in-season facility, choosing to eschew the age-old ritual in which they pack up and leave town for a month, usually sequestering themselves on a college campus in the wilderness.

This trend, encompassing the 49ers for the first time, has been accelerating. ...

more (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/08/24/SP245595.DTL)

[Cntrygal]

I know some fantasy-football league diehards screamed in disbelief when Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick broke his leg in a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Hearts in Hotlanta--and nationwide--sank faster than a cheap stock on a bad trading day on Wall Street because it was only the Falcons' second preseason game, and Vick is expected to miss the first four games of the regular season.

I also know other fantasy-football faithful, as well as reality football fans, sobbed rivers of tears when they learned New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington is having a seat for 12 weeks after sustaining a broken and dislocated left wrist Saturday in a preseason game against the New York Giants.



more... (http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7248~1596318,00.html)

[Cntrygal]

In the throes of losing two high-profile quarterbacks to injury on consecutive weekends, the NFL suddenly finds itself addressing an old, vexing issue.

Is the four-game preseason too long and too hazardous?

The answer depends on whom you talk to.


more... (http://www.sunspot.net/sports/football/bal-sp.injuries28aug28,0,1175338.story?coll=bal-sports-football)

[Cntrygal]

Serious injuries to quarterbacks from other teams have renewed debate about whether the NFL's preseason is too long. The Dallas Cowboys would disagree.

The Cowboys needed their first three games to pick a starting quarterback. Now that Coach Bill Parcells has given the job to Quincy Carter, he needs as much work as he can get to be ready for the opener.



more... (http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/auto/epaper/editions/today/sports_f3d49a4a63d5f11d0020.html)

[Cntrygal]

This has to stop. It may not be this season. It may not be next season. But eventually, if star players keep getting hurt in meaningless preseason games, the NFL owners and players union will have to come to this realization: Four preseason games is two too many.

more... (http://www.sptimes.com/2003/08/31/Sports/Injuries_expose_prese.shtml)

[Cntrygal]

The games that don't count are once again under scrutiny, seen as money-grabs without much purpose. Many fans and players want to see the current exhibition schedule cut.

''This is a way for the owners to make a little money,'' said Dolphins defensive end Jay Williams, an eight-year veteran. ''But with the way professional athletes are today, we can come to camp and do two preseason games and maybe two scrimmages with other teams. We don't have to have four preseason games.''

As for a change, Williams said ''it's not going to happen.''

money grubbing owners :down: (http://www.tennessean.com/sports/titans/archives/03/08/38536088.shtml?Element_ID=38536088)

[Jan Reimers]

As far as training camp, I think the Bills being in Pittsford is as much a marketing event for the Rochester area as anything. Small market, regional franchises like ours will be the last to abandon their away-from-home camps.