Eagles coach Andy Reid has acknowledged something that everyone in the NFL has to be thinking but not many on the management side will want to admit: If the lockout lasts long enough to cut into training camps, the quality of play whenever the regular season starts will be sub-par.
“The further it goes in [to preparation], the worse the product,” Reid said on Comcast SportsNet, via Philly.com. “No matter how you cut this thing, you need time, in practice. . . . You’re bringing in guys who are working hard in the offseason on their own, but that’s not like working hard in training camp.”
The lockout has already lasted long enough to cancel some of the offseason preparation players would ordinarily do, and there’s no getting that back. And the lockout may be far from over.
So now that Reid has acknowledged that less preparation time means an inferior product, maybe the Eagles should offer fans a discount on tickets.