NFL Pre-season...too long?

We've heard it year-after-year. Is the NFL Pre-season too long? Every year we see top starters go down with injuries. And this year is no different.

So what should they do about it? Make it 3 games? 2 games? 1 game? Or should coaches just be responsible for who they send out every game. If they don't want their starters injured, should they just play them for one quarter of one game, & then play backups for the next 3 games?

Should they just keep it at 4 games, and let coaches & management decide who to play? Should they cut it back to 3 games to limit the injuries? Or do teams need 4 games to gain chemistry with eachother for the upcoming season.

Discuss.

Injuries will happen whether it's a 1 game pre-season or 5 game.

The latest Vikings game against the 49ers is a prime example. Everyone I watched the game with was coming down on Tice for playing starters in the 3rd quarter, as a result of Bennett and McKinnie getting dinged up on the same play. I can understand their frustration, because they could've been on the bench by then, but how do the players prepare themselves for full-scale contact on the bench? If they don't practice (pre-season) full speed, how do they expect to compete at a high level.

I think the NFL pre-season is fine the way it is.

Injuries are an unfortunate part of the game.

I think pre-season serves a purpose: position battles and working out roster orders.

This live competition is neccesary, practice will only take you so far. If we did away with pre-season games, teams would just have more scrimmages instead. Risk for injury would remain.

IF the preseason is ever shortened, it won't be any time soon, owners make too much money on it. They charge full price for tickets and don't have to pay the players any additional money. No reason for them to stop. And if they took out 2 preseason games and added 2 regular season games, you're just adding to the risk of injury, because now instead of 2 games where the starters play only a half, now they're playing 2 full games.

Just think, the preseason once upon a time was much longer...