THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Bad idea to play before it counts

Some great wisdom has been passed down from the old days.

The old, old, old days.

Days when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

Days when the American Football League was still in business.

Back in those days, a reserve quarterback for the Dallas Texans gathered a crowd to pass along wisdom that would be useful today.

On a brutally hot afternoon with the temperature touching 100 degrees and humidity nudging a thousand from time to time, Jacky Lee took time out from throwing post patterns to make a truly meaningful point.

“Football,” he said, “was not made to be played in August.”

Jacky was correct in so many ways.

Players cramp and keel over in training camp, making it difficult for coaches to even sort out a squad.

And that, of course, is also the time for preseason games — the absolute curse of any professional sport.

Because this is pro football, though, fans are trained to love it, and will go sweat through meaningless scrimmages disguised as actual games.

They cheer running backs who will have careers as real estate brokers — beginning in a couple of weeks.

Jacky Lee was a seer of his time.

I DOUBT that Mike Macdonald has ever heard of Jacky Lee.

For the past couple of days, however, I promise you that the Seahawks rookie coach HAS given some thought to the wisdom of playing football in August.

He surely thought about it when linebacker Uchenna Nwosu was helped off the field in an exhibition against Cleveland Saturday night.

Strangely, Nwosu was one of just a few starters who played some snaps that third and final preseason waste of time.

Now, there is a problem.

To put this injury in perspective, Nwosu was probably the Hawks’ best defensive player two years — toting up 9 1/2

sacks, along with a fistful of pressures and setting a solid edge against the run.

Nwosu earned a contract extension with that good year, but then suffered a pectoral injury in Week 7 in 2023.

One of bright lights Macdonald had in front of him for this season was Nwosu’s return.

And now?

The Seahawks released their 53-man roster on Tuesday, and they kept Nwosu on it, despite his sprained knee.

The hope is that he might make it back in two or three weeks.

If he’d been put on the injured list, Uchenna would face a minimum of four games out.

IT’S A mystery why valuable players like Uchenna Nwosu are risking life and limb in a totally meaningless exhibition game — just a week prior to the opening of the regular season.

What’s bizarre is that coaches keep saying that they’ll protect the starters, and leave them safely on the bench.

What happens, then?

Does the temptation to try some new formation with three or four starters — maybe just for a few snaps — overwhelm the staff?

It happens every year, and with pretty much every team.

I was hoping Macdonald, young and open to new ideas, would be more cautious.

Nope.

Now, is Mike lying in bed — can’t sleep — vowing to be more careful with his key players in future summers?

Sure, exactly.

But next August, when a position coach wants to run a couple lineman out for a few snaps, I bet they’ll play.

Coaches can’t help themselves.

Just like owners can’t cut the exhibitions and lose out on some money.

Jacky Lee understood all this.

Football doesn’t belong in August.

You’ll see it again next summer, though.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”