Preseason NFL Football

In case you just woke up from a coma or something, NFL Football is back, thank goodness, after an off season that seems to last longer and longer each year, we can now get our fix of bone crushing hits and scintillating one-handed touchdown catches. But hold your horses it's not real NFL Football, it's preseason football, the games don't count, the stars rarely play and you will see nothing but a generic game plan, in other words, no exciting plays from the play book.

Most casual football fans don't care much for preseason NFL Football, but if your reading this NFL Draft blog, you are not a casual fan. Preseason football is just an extension of training camp, starters rarely play more than a quarter until the last couple preseason games, which they normally play a full half as a final tune up to the regular season.

Preseason NFL Football is where the draft picks and free agents showcase their skills for a chance to become professional football players, and the stakes are high, a chance to get paid millions of dollars to play a game, or if things don't work out, they will have to get a real job like you and me. So many of those young men out there in the second half of those games are playing for their livelihood.

Not only is it a time for us draftnics to watch our favorite 6th round draft pick, but NFL Scouts from all 32 teams will be drooling over the game film of each game trying to see who they can pick up off the waiver wire when some of these kids get released or placed on the practice squad.

Every year during the preseason I get a laugh out of all the die hard NFL fans that get giddy or sad when their team has a good or bad record in the preseason. Let me make my point here, it doesn't matter who wins or loses these games, the NFL coaching staffs are trying to evaluate talent and many of these players won't even be on the roster after the final cuts. So enjoy the preseason, have fun evaluating talent, but take it with a grain of salt. I have provided a schedule so you won't miss any games:

2007 preseason NFL schedule
All times are US/Eastern

HALL OF FAME GAME
Sunday, Aug. 5
Pittsburgh 20, New Orleans 7

WEEK 1
Thursday, Aug. 9
Detroit 27, Cincinnati 26
Dallas 23, Indianapolis 10
Friday, Aug. 10
N.Y. Jets 31, Atlanta 16
Tampa Bay 13, New England 10
Buffalo 13, New Orleans 10
St. Louis 13, Minnesota 10

Saturday, Aug. 11

Green Bay at Pittsburgh 7:30 p.m.
Jacksonville at Miami 7:30 p.m.
Kansas City at Cleveland 7:30 p.m.
Carolina at N.Y. Giants 8:00 p.m.
Chicago at Houston 8:00 p.m.
Washington at Tennessee 8:00 p.m.
Arizona at Oakland 10:00 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 12
Seattle at San Diego 8:00 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 13
Philadelphia at Baltimore 7:00 p.m.
Denver at San Francisco 8:00 p.m.

WEEK 2
Thursday, Aug. 16
Miami at Kansas City 8:00 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 17
Atlanta at Buffalo 7:00 p.m.
Carolina at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.
Minnesota at N.Y. Jets 8:00 p.m.
Tennessee at New England 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 18
Houston at Arizona 4:00 p.m.
Detroit at Cleveland 7:00 p.m.
New Orleans at Cincinnati 7:30 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Jacksonville 7:30 p.m.
Denver at Dallas 8:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Washington 8:00 p.m.
San Diego at St. Louis 8:00 p.m.
Seattle at Green Bay 8:00 p.m.
Oakland at San Francisco 10:00 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 19
N.Y. Giants at Baltimore 8:00 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 20
Chicago at Indianapolis 8:00 p.m.

WEEK 3
Thursday, Aug. 23
Jacksonville at Green Bay 8:00 p.m.
New Orleans at Kansas City 8:30 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 24
Tennessee at Buffalo 7:00 p.m.
New England at Carolina 8:00 p.m.
St. Louis at Oakland 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 25
Detroit at Indianapolis 7:00 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Miami 7:30 p.m.
Baltimore at Washington 8:00 p.m.
Dallas at Houston 8:00 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at N.Y. Giants 8:00 p.m.
San Francisco at Chicago 8:00 p.m.
Cleveland at Denver 9:00 p.m.
Minnesota at Seattle 9:00 p.m.
San Diego at Arizona 10:00 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 26
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh 8:00 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 27
Cincinnati at Atlanta 8:00 p.m.

WEEK 4
Thursday, Aug. 30
Buffalo at Detroit 7:00 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at New England 7:30 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at Philadelphia 7:30 p.m.
Washington at Jacksonville 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Chicago 8:00 p.m.
Dallas at Minnesota 8:00 p.m.
Green Bay at Tennessee 8:00 p.m.
Houston at Tampa Bay 8:00 p.m.
Kansas City at St. Louis 8:00 p.m.
Miami at New Orleans 8:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Carolina 8:00 p.m.
Arizona at Denver 9:00 p.m.
Oakland at Seattle 10:00 p.m.
San Francisco at San Diego 10:00 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 31
Baltimore at Atlanta 7:30 p.m.
Indianapolis at Cincinnati 7:30 p.m.