Pre-Season Games

The 2012 NFL pre-season is almost over, and the regular season kicks off on September 5 with the New York Giants hosting the Dallas Cowboys.

The goal of pre-season is to work out new players, get players back in the rhythm of the game with new plays and teammates, and get the teams ready for the regular season.

Teams try out players at various positions, and have many more players at the beginning of pre-season (a maximum of 80). As the pre-season games progress, there are deadlines for the teams to get their roster sizes down to the regular season limit of 53 players.

Winning or losing in pre-season is no indicator of regular season performance. The pre-season game scores are not as relevant as the player stats.

Team starters typically don’t play the entire game, just long enough to get a workout and practice with new position players in a game situation.

Players hoping to make the team play long enough for coaches to make their decisions.

The four pre-season games don’t count in a team’s record; only regular season games do. Post-season games, should a team have any, are not included in a team’s record either.