No worries WSU, I didn’t take it that way and there isn’t anything wrong with critical comments. Besides, I expect my post came off as strong anyways.

I’ll just summarize my response with what you hit on as I just arrived to my mission.

As a team, the previous years have little value on this year. Yes, at the end of the season evaluate what went right/what went wrong, evaluate your players, use that evaluation to make adjustments for the next year.
As fans (generalization), we have a different view point. We know we’ve sucked for 20+ years and most people’s hearts/feelings hang onto that. That’s understandable.

As for the pre-season, there should be minimal work done with the starters. This isn’t something new and we aren’t the only team that does this. The CBA contributes to this and also you don’t need needless injuries before the season even starts.

The players will get their reps, they do it on their own time through meet ups/through these different specialized training sites, they do it against the first team in practice and also they will do it agains the eagles in a simulated practice.

As stated, that isn’t something new and other teams do the same exact thing.

I said the same thing before last season and I’ll say it again (and it’s been said by others), our season, like other teams, will be defined by minimizing injuries to key areas and winning the close games. It’s pretty much as simple as that. The preseason has very little bearing on the season.

People can complaint or get over excited about players thats fine. However, there should be some basic evaluation over what the complaints/hype over the said position or player.
A couple examples about this: criticism towards York missing kicks. I get it, that’s valid, I tend to wait and see…but, it’s very valid to be critical over that. Another example, last year Dobbs having a good preseason and fans debating or wanting him to start over Brissett. I made the comment during that time to remember he was a third stringer in Pitt for a reason.

What I am getting at is it’s the preseason, there is a lot of fools gold and I recommend tempering the excitement or concern on the games. It’s entertainment for sure and productive conversation on here is always great when viewed from a calm mind