A tradition old as the game itself. Whether it be at a bar, basement, or boardroom, guys have been arguing about sports forever.

Ernest: It’s funny, Week one and I’m already getting a fastball down the middle!. What a no-brainer! The NFL Preseason is BEYOND necessary!

Hank: (The preseason is) Pointless, like most of your thoughts. The preseason is a chance for Jeff Fisher to do fake punt plays and that’s it.

E: Well said, but here’s my opening salvo:

Because of the madness that is free-agency and the influx of new talent via the draft, having these games is a must for the new guys to learn the system and gel as a team. The rookies get to see life at NFL speed, and the vets get to learn how their new teammates run things in actual situations.

H: Isn’t that what practice is for? That’s right, I’m talking bout practice (Iverson, take note before you ruin another teams championship run).

E: Low blow! Look, It’s one thing to be blitzed by the scout team’s Ray Lewis, but a whole ‘nother when the real one is barreling at you. Another thing: The NFL offseason is like 2 years long!

H: Also, If the preseason is for the “gelling of a team,” why not play only one quarter games because that’s all the starters play.

E: The vets need this time to get back into game shape. Half of them barely practice in camp, so these games give them an opportunity to get to work and build confidence by knocking around 5th-round picks for a few quarters.

H: Alright, I cant argue against watching big names smash small names. It’s almost as much fun as watching Reggie Bush getting hit by Sheldon Brown, or Sean Taylor punishing a punter during the Pro Bowl (also pointless but that’s a whole ‘nother argument for later!). But at the end of the day who cares?

E: You know who cares? The people in the small towns where these games take place. The Steelers damn-near remake “Friday Night Lights” every season in Latrobe, and that’s awesome to see them do stuff like that.

Also, before we go any further, I think EVERY player should play at least one preseason game! I know that the GM’s are all “ooooh, we don’t want our guys getting hurt” and I get that, but would you rather have it happen now, or 7 minutes into the season when it counts? (You heard me, New England)

H: WHY??? So they can get hurt before the season begins? Do they get paid by their offseason stats? No. The only reason to watch the preseason is to hope that your big name players on your favorite team don’t get hurt. I won’t care if my starting QB sucks during the preseason as long as he plays well during the regular season. That’s when it matters.

Ok folks, That’ll wrap it up for this week’s THROWDOWN!(for serious this time).

Come back next week for a brand new topic, and if you have any comments, feel free to let us know. Thanks for reading!