Doug Gottlieb: “As a player, did you like preseason football?”
James Harrison: “I loved it. For me it gave me an opportunity to refine my skills and know I could go in there from last year and still play at the same level. You’re going against a guy in practice who is not going to give you everything. It’s not the game speed, it’s not the intensity, and it’s not a guy who is actually out there trying to defeat you, beat you, and wishes nothing but ill on you. I wouldn’t be in the league if not for four preseason games. The third and fourth preseason games showed them that I was able to play. It’s a necessary evil and you need to know how to build your roster and know what your backup guys can do.” (Full Audio at Bottom of Page)
Listen to former NFL All-Pro linebacker James Harrison join The Herd (Doug Gottlieb filling in for Colin Cowherd) to discuss the league’s tumultuous relationship with its preseason, as an imposing movement has begun to either reduce the NFL preseason from four games to two, or even eliminate the preseason altogether.
Many NFL teams are notably refusing to play their starters in any of the preseason games, even the third preseason game, which has historically been the only one of the four that actually resembled a real NFL game for the first half.
With Carolina quarterback Cam Newton injuring his foot in Thursday Panther’s night’s game, the push to change the format has become even more emphatic.
Check out the audio below as Harrison actually defends the preseason, and says he wouldn’t be in the league if not for four preseason games.