Osi Umenyiora: season over before it began

You see - I told you so. If ever there was proof the coaches truly hate the NFL pre-season you had only to glance in the direction of New York and see the pained faces of everyone on the Giants' bench after their game with the Jets.

As Osi Umenyiora, the heart and soul of their defence, limped off for season-ending knee surgery, you could feel the frustration and angst on the sidelines for an injury that wasn't necessary - and which seriously damages the team's ability and readiness to defend their crown in the toughest division in the NFL.

Likewise, in Baltimore, where key defensive end Dwan Edwards is now on injured reserve; in Seattle, where defensive hitman Lofa Tatupu needed crutches after the clash with San Diego and wideout Bobby Engram was already out with a cracked shoulder from the pre-season 'opener'; and in Cleveland, where quarterback Derek Anderson is struggling with the wicked concussion he suffered, ironically at the hands of Umenyiora, two weeks ago.

The anguish in all those camps (and others) is fresh and raw, and tinged with the question "Why?" As in, 'Why did it have to happen to us?' And, more importantly, 'Why did it have to happen at all?'

With the big kick-off now less than a week away (and live on Sky Sports 1 on Thursday September 4 at midnight), every team in the league is assessing the damage limitation exercise which the pre-season has now become.

It is a theme I highlighted last week, and which came home to roost along with a bevy of pigeons with the injury to Umenyiora for a team already having to shrug off the loss of Michael Strahan.

Strahan's $8million 'unretirement' was never a serious possibility by the way, as the big man is happily contemplating a future in the TV booth and, when the Giants contacted him (on a beach in Greece) to talk about a possible return, the idea of strapping on pads once again lasted for all of around three minutes. Having engaged in a summer of serious relaxation, the defensive end needs a 16th NFL season about as much as he needs root canal surgery.

Who needs it?

No, the serious question is: Who needs the pre-season? And, after three of the four weeks of this gridiron 'phony war,' the answer is not any of the Giants, Browns, Seahawks, Ravens, Bills, Vikings, Broncos and Bengals (especially when you saw quarterback Carson Palmer being helped off the field on Saturday with his nose heavily re-arranged in New Orleans).

The simple fact is many teams are hurting and their plans for the season are already seriously disrupted by a slew of injuries. Umenyiora is the biggest name on the casualty list, but there are dozens of others who will all carry at least some scars into battle from games that have no real meaning.

Those scars will also have a debilitating effect as the weekly grind of the season begins to take its toll on minds and bodies, making bruises feel more like fractures and strained muscles like torn tendons.

The sad reality for anyone who dons pads for a living is that there is no way to lighten the load or to tone down the ferocity of the hitting; to play at half-speed is just inviting the danger of the uncommitted - it's hit or be hit in the NFL jungle (especially with several dozen roster hopefuls charging around hoping to catch the coach's eye). Once players step inside the gridiron at any time, they know they have to be at or close to 100%.

Therefore, the tone of conversation in recent weeks has turned increasingly to the idea of 'Do we really need to do this?' Do teams need four 'warm-up' games that are increasingly resembling either hospital emergency wards (witness the claret-spattered Palmer) or battles of the hopeful and hopeless (witness how many 'name' players have sat on the sidelines while the third-stringers go through their paces)?

For every meaningful pass and tackle made last weekend, there were just as many plays which made you go "Huh?" Do fans paying $100 (and more) for a ticket really get value for money for seeing at least half a game (and often more) between players who will, at best, end up on practice squads come September 7?

Having watched some of what passed for a game between Cincinnati and New Orleans - featuring the combined passing 'talents' of no less than SEVEN quarterbacks, including the likes of Palko, Brunell, Rowe and Fitzpatrick who are barely even household names in their own house - I can only conclude this is becoming a monstrous waste of time for all concerned, and especially those who end up on the injury report the next day.

Miserable

In New Orleans there were 72 passes thrown for exactly one touchdown and two interceptions. Some 24 players made a catch during the 'game' and 12 had a go at running the ball. The final score was a miserable 13-0 (OK, a triumph by Miami standards last season, but not for anyone else) and, if anyone noticed who won in the wake of the M*A*S*H-unit attention for the ill-starred Palmer, they were almost certainly in the minority (it was the Saints, by the way).

(And, while we all know that pre-season results are right up there with Michael Fish weather forecasts as reliable predictions for the future, there can be few people in Cincinnati who feel good about their team stepping out at Baltimore on Sunday week)

So why put players through the mill this way? Why indeed - and it may not be much longer before the pre-season is seriously curtailed in favour of an extra regular season game (the theory being the players would rather get hurt when a game counts for something - and they can get paid for it accordingly - than in some meaningless little-more-than-scrimmage).

Many eyes will therefore be cast in the direction of San Diego, Indianapolis and New England, where key men LaDainian Tomlinson, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have all sat out the last month, and all will go into action next week without the benefit of anything resembling a 'game.'

If the Big Three look sharp and close to their normal high level of effectiveness, you can expect the cries for an end to the phony war to reach deafening proportions.

Tomlinson, of course, just doesn't 'do' pre-season games, while the two superstar QBs have both struggled following off-season injury concerns, Manning from surgery to his knee and Brady with long-standing problems to his foot, which remain something of a mystery in Patriot-land (New England injury reports are notoriously unreliable, but the latest hints at a 'deep bone bruise' for their trigger-man).

The irony for the Colts is that while Manning has been sitting watching, one of his principal bodyguards, centre Jeff Saturday, has gone down with a knee ligament injury from last weekend's game against Buffalo, leaving the offensive line in a state of flux.

So, if some burly Chicago linebacker (hello, Brian Urlacher!) comes charging through the O-line to make mincemeat of Manning in the Lucas Oil Stadium (ugh - sounds like some grimy petrol station in Texas!) opener on September 7, will it be because the quarterback isn't ready for the season, or because Saturday's night didn't turn into a happy Sunday?