With the first preseason games only five days away in a year that has included not much time to get ready for the season, it will be important for coaches to let each other know how long they intend to use their starters.
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Saturday that he plans to communicate with Broncos coach John Fox regarding this issue in advance of their preseason contest on August 11.
“I’m going to talk to Coach Fox here in the next couple of days,” Garrett told reporters on Saturday, via a transcript distributed by the team. “We’ll talk not only about that, but just what the overall approach is. I’ve known him a long time; he was the defensive coordinator in New York when I played up there, so he’s a good friend. I think everybody in the league will do something like that because everything has been so shortened and you need to be on the same page as to who is playing against who and what kind of stuff we’re using. I think those conversations are important.”
He’s right. Some coaches may want to use the starters longer than usual, given that there has been no offseason program and limited reps in training camp. And it’ll be important not to expose starters to injury when facing second- and third-stringers who may be going a lot harder given their desire to try to win a job.