There was a time, not too many seasons ago, when National Football League teams played four preseason games. Routinely, in those days, teams used the third preseason game as a final tuneup for the players they figured would be in action when the season opened for real in a couple weeks.
Not anymore.
The three preseason games schedule has shifted the way teams play each of the preseason weeks. Teams also participate in more joint practices against opponents, an activity that got so heated last week in Oxnard that the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints were both fined a half million dollars.
On Saturday, these two squads square off again in a preseason game. Could be fun.
The teams highest rated in odds to play in Super Bowl LXI have one thing in common, a proven franchise quarterback to lead their offenses. The Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs are among a number of teams that have had their starting quarterbacks in bubble wrap during the preseason. Others, like the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders, will be looking to find their starting quarterback in the final preseason tuneup.
It's true that the Vikings have named Kyler Murray their starter for when they open their regular season at home against the Green Bay Packers, but you know he is on a short leash with one-time first round draft selection J.J. McCarthy on the roster.