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As the NFL continues to evolve, the approach to the preseason continues to change as well. Doug Pederson usually isn't a coach who plays it safe with his play-calling with the 2017 champion Philadelphia Eagles but he will be cautious with how many snaps his starters play this preseason.
“I look at how our starters get the majority of the reps even here. Teams are practicing against each other more and more now. If not once, twice a preseason. You’re getting really good work, so you don’t necessarily need to see (the starters) in a game setting. Teams are into that evaluation of the younger guys, of those situational players, the backup guys, that you really want to see and spend some time in game situations. I think that’s what the trend has been here the last couple years. Something I continue to look at, and if it fits for us, then I’ll consider it.”
Football is the ultimate contact sport and injuries are a hapless part of the game. Teams are beginning to try to find ways to get the most out of their players and keep them healthy simultaneously in the preseason.
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Most recently, Sean McVay furthered the trend of sitting players in the preseason by benching his offensive starters in all four of their exhibition games in 2018. Despite the limited number of reps from the starters, the Los Angeles Rams found themselves in the Super Bowl last year.
Pederson has also limited snaps from his starters before in 2017 and the Eagles also won the Super Bowl that season. Holding players out of the preseason may not correlate to wins in the regular season but it does correlate to fewer injuries.
After all, the Eagles need to try to prevent anything from happening to Carson Wentz after two straight seasons with unforeseen injuries.
