ANALYSIS/OPINION:
There has got to be a name for the psychological exercise football fans go through every preseason — the annual ritual of watching something unfold with our own eyes, yet trying to convince ourselves it is not real.
Year after year, we see NFL preseason performances by individuals and teams that cause us to celebrate or panic, only to find once the regular season begins that we either got excited or scared for nothing — that the 4-0 preseason team is really a 4-12 squad, or the future for that five catch, 110-yard wide receiver is north of the border.