Vick's injury should have been avoided - quarterback Michael Vick

Michael Vick is disappointed. Dan Reeves is disappointed. Falcons fans are disappointed. Heck, I'm scheduled to broadcast the Falcons-Cowboys game for Fox in Week 1, and I'm disappointed.

It was all so avoidable. Michael Vick is out with a broken leg for the first four weeks of the season, maybe more, and preseason football is to blame. There is nothing in the NFL more pointless than the exhibition season. We need it like we need an owners manual for a fork.

Football has changed. There was a time when a full training camp and exhibition schedule were needed to get players in shape, teach them the playbook and determine rosters. But that time, which predated my playing career, is gone. Players no longer need to work another job in the offseason to pay the bills. Most spend practically their full offseason at team headquarters working out, learning plays, meeting with coaches and practicing with teammates. By the time camp opens, veteran players are in shape and know their schemes. They don't need an intense camp and four preseason games to get ready.

Two games are plenty. Some people argue that two games is not long enough to evaluate the young players. Baloney. Starting right after the draft, coaches spend months watching and teaching the young guys in minicamps and informal workouts. Coaches know who will make their team, for the most part, before the games begin.

With four games, exposure to injury is doubled. Look at Vick; he was injured in Atlanta's second preseason game--a game that wouldn't have been played if the preseason had started later. Ask any coach before a preseason game, and he'll say, "All we want is to evaluate some young guys and get out with nobody hurt." Reeves wasn't so lucky. Now he heads into a season so full of promise with Doug Johnson under center instead of Vick, fire most exciting player in the game. The Falcons could be buried by the time Vick returns, and the season could be half over before he's back in full swing.

Owners might be concerned about lost revenues if the preseason were shortened, but losing a marquee player certainly doesn't help the league put its best product on the field. Ticket- and gear-buying fans would much rather watch Vick in September than August.

Now they must wait till October, And that's sad.

The Troy Aikman Show airs at 5p.m. ET every Thursday through the Super Bowl on Sporting News Radio. Check local listings for stations airing the show.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Sporting News Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group