Not only did we go 3-1 we looked really good doing it.

Pre-season matters, payton knows that better than anyone. He is trying to create that winning culture and you don't do that by accepting defeat regardless of the game.

That starts with preseason he said. He is playing to win.

Not only did we go 3-1 we looked really good doing it.

Pre-season matters, payton knows that better than anyone. He is trying to create that winning culture and you don't do that by accepting defeat regardless of the game.

Payton has said this himself. He says to get back to the super bowl we need to start fast and get ahead early in the season. That starts with preseason he said. He is playing to win.

Preseason games are for evaluation. Payton can say that he's playing to win. But when his starting HOF caliber QB has his baseball cap on after 3 plays, how exactly can you say that you're playing to win?

It's more important to decide if Grayson is worth keeping. Considering that both he and Luke gave up 15 points directly, then it would seem to me that evaluating QB talent is more important than winning.

Preseason games takes the concept of "garbage time" to a whole new level, where literally guys who will be sitting in the stands or watching at home just like us are currently playing. Winning the game cannot be the most important thing.

The only drives that I watch with a critical eye in preseason are the 1s/2s vs 1s/2s matchups. Typically that eliminates the 2nd half of all games and discounts the entire 4th preseason game. Those periods are strictly for evaluation of talent that the organization is unsure they are going to keep on the squad for the regular season.

Evaluate the 1st quarters of games 1 and 2 and the first half of game 3. Those 4 quarters more than anything else will point to the start of the regular season.

In the first quarter of the previous game, the only two really bad plays were the two turnovers. So a ding to Ingram and a ding to Coleman, who frankly has clearly already lost his job to the rookie. Also a ding and a star to Murphy on the same play of muffing the ball, then recovering and producing a really good return.

The defense looked pretty good in the 1st quarter and into the first half with the two exceptions of the long run and the long screen.

So for the next game watch the first quarter, or whatever drives are 1/1 and 1-2/1-2 matchups, then mentally turn the game off. Only use those drives for evaluation as honestly, come September 11th, those players will be playing the majority off the snaps.

This is why I always look forward to the 3rd preseason game. That's the dress rehearsal. What you see in the 1st half or so in that game is what you'll see the first game of the season. And it's good that we're playing Pittsburgh for that game. It'll give a great evaluation against a playoff quality team.

SFIAH