As Cowboys, Jets falter, history shows meaning of NFL preseason: nothing

One of the funny asides to every NFL season is how the Indianapolis Colts continue to debunk the already counterfeit theory that exhibition games presage what will take place when teams start using live ammunition.

The Colts are in the championship mix every season and have reached two of the past four Super Bowls, but going into Thursday night's final exhibition, Indy had won four preseason games over five years.

Because the Colts have Peyton Manning and a track record of shrugging off the practice schedule, nobody makes a fuss.

For whatever reason, though, people who are paid to analyze these things are fretting a great deal over the preseason form of the Dallas Cowboys. And to only a slightly lesser degree, the New York Jets.

Why? Maybe because in the world of 24/7 news, pundits absolutely must get worked up over something.

If no crisis exists in the NFL, one must be created. Everybody knows that preseason results are meaningless - except when the media say they aren't.

Are the Cowboys' and Jets' lackluster exhibitions any less insignificant than the Colts' losing efforts? Theoretically, no. Yet as a result of their dismal performances in games that don't count, a debate is under way about how good the Cowboys and Jets really are.

Both teams are supposed to go a long way. The Cowboys have their fans worked up over the notion that they could become the first NFL team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium.

No pressure there, right?

Led by the bravado of head coach Rex Ryan, the Jets are a very loud bunch that still talks a better game than it plays - on offense, at least. There's no containing the hype over Ryan's team, though - not after the promising showing last season and the appearance on HBO's "Hard Knocks" this summer.

The Cowboys and Jets, though, have been better at making news than scoring preseason touchdowns. Tony Romo and Dallas' first-team offense put together only one touchdown drive - which was all of 8 yards - in its first four games.

The offensive line hasn't been able to protect Romo, and the receiving corps appears pedestrian while awaiting the return of injured rookie wide-out Dez Bryant.

Meanwhile, worrywarts detect some backsliding from Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. If it seems that way, it might be because his modest rookie performances were inflated by reaction to the team's playoff run. A couple of solid performances didn't make him Tom Brady.

Sanchez helped fan the flames of paranoia among Jets fans last week when the first-team offense committed two turnovers and failed to reach the end zone in the first half against the Redskins.

Speaking of the Redskins, what has anyone learned from their exhibition games? Not much, right? That's neither surprising nor cause for alarm. The exhibition season rarely gives up a lot of credible information.

Whatever the Redskins' potential, they've been given a great opportunity with a prime-time home opener Sept. 12 against the Cowboys.

Emotion and a fired-up crowd could carry Washington through before everybody settles in and begins accessing the Redskins' true potential.

Leaving the gate quickly is every team's goal, but haven't we learned that the richest rewards are reserved for teams that peak later in the season?

If the Cowboys and Jets are in best form right now, well, nothing is won in September. The 2007 Giants started their season 0-2, and finished only 10-6, before going on to win the Super Bowl. Shouldn't that be a lesson to people who jump to conclusions?

Exhibition results have been discounted for too long to give them any credence now.

Sit back and watch as the NFL issues people obsess over today are inevitably replaced by stories that never occurred to anyone while worthless exhibition games were being played.

Bob Molinaro, (757) 446-2373, bob.molinaro@pilotonline.com