3. Will anyone fulfill or destroy their special teams hopes?
When it comes to putting together a 53-man roster, some of the final spots are awarded not based on a player’s performance on offense or defense, but on his performance on special teams. For example, if you’re the fifth or sixth best receiver on a team, you might not get a spot on the roster if the seventh best receiver is also a standout on special teams who can cover kicks and punts, block returns, or even be valuable as a returner himself.
When it comes to deciding the final battles for roster spots, the real moments of truth for these players will come on special teams rather than on offense or defense, primarily because kickoffs and punts are harder to replicate in practice and can only be fully evaluated in these three preseason games. And that truth can create conflicting mindsets among players. On the one hand, this final game is a huge opportunity, but on the other, if a player hasn’t already put enough good things on tape and is banking on a big season finale to improve his chances, he could end up overextending himself and making mistakes.
“I think both are true,” special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh said. “Every opportunity counts. The last game counts, the first game counts and every practice counts too. The games are probably more important, but at this point you have a pretty good feel for how guys are going to play. Both are true, every game is important and this one is important because it’s the one that’s right in front of us. But there’s an overall performance that guys are judged on and this is just the very next thing that makes it the most important. Those are kind of competing ideas, but the guys that think about it differently and say, ‘Oh, it’s time to get going,’ are in trouble.”
Macdonald is also excited to see what happens on the special teams as players battle for spots on the roster.
“There are a lot of questions about the depth of the special teams in the defensive backfield, so it might not be as exciting for you guys, but for us as coaches, it’s an opportunity to go out there and earn a job in this league, whether it’s with us or another team,” Macdonald said. “We’ll talk to the guys about it over the next few days, but there are so many examples of guys who have earned a spot in that third preseason game. Everyone has their own schedule to earn a chance to play football professionally, which is an incredible blessing, so I’m excited. It’s not easy to get that opportunity to make your dreams come true, so it’s going to be a fun night.”
