There is always a debate every football season on how much the preseason football games matter. Many contend that they do not matter at all, while others say that they are a necessary part of any team or players ability to get ready for the season. What does the way the 2008 season is playing out have to do with this debate?

Neither Tom Brady nor Peyton Manning, both major stars in the National Football League, played significantly if at all in the preseason this year. Manning is off to a slow start when compared to his previous years in the league, but the fate of Tom Brady’s season is much worse as he went down to injury early in the Patriots first game of the year and will miss the rest of the season.

Could playing in the preseason have changed these circumstances? Perhaps, but perhaps not. There is probably a middle ground where two preseason games would be the optimum number of contests to play, the current four game schedule does appear to be too much though.