I agree - but the practice of forcing purchases of preseason tickets has not evolved with the practice of playing starters less since the salary cap hurts depth to replace anyone that is injured - ticketholders got a lot more for their $$$ back in the day
Coaches followed a near-universal format years ago, similar to what Steelers radio analyst Tunch Ilkin remembers while playing for Chuck Noll.
The first units would play a quarter in the first game, two quarters in the second game, sometimes into the second half in the third game and three full quarters of the fourth game. That last game was considered a dress rehearsal for the start of the regular season. Today, it’s something to avoid almost altogether, as few starters even play in the preseason finale.
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/s...s/201808240120
I am old enough to remember when in the 70s the preseason ended with the Steelers at Dallas every year - it was always a national broadcast and almost like a regular season game in terms of the quality of play