Pennington: Miami's new man at quarterback

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This was the week most teams got serious. After three weeks of pre-season skirmishing, most NFL coaches let the 'Big Boys' fully off the leash this weekend - and held their breath.

Just in case any casual fans were looking at the state of the league and wondering if they had stepped into some kind of weird sporting time-warp, in the words of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - do not panic.

Just because all of New England, Indianapolis, Green Bay and Dallas currently sit near the bottom in their divisions doesn't mean a strange topsy-turvy force has taken control of things.

No, this is simply the nature of the pre-season schedule through the opening scuffles. Coaches just do not give their regular starters more than one or two series early on to feel their way back into action. Consequently, results count significantly less than the team's daily injury report.

Supporting cast

It's a bit like a mirage; yes, you do initially see all the big-name stars out there on the gridiron, going through the motions and looking like the teams we saw finish last season. But, the closer you look, the more you see the bare bones underneath, the cast of supporting actors and wannabes.

The main starters quickly fade away, retiring out of view to the benches, wistfully throwing a few balls and catching passes on the sidelines while the back-ups go through their paces, all trying desperately to impress and make the cut.

Many coaches just don't like pre-season games; they spoil their carefully-planned practice schedules and risk exposing their franchise players to injury. For instance, superback LaDainian Tomlinson has yet to see a moment's action thus far, but, if anyone thinks he won't be lining up for San Diego's opening game at home to Carolina, they probably believe in Santa Claus, too.

Tomlinson simply doesn't 'do' the pre-season; he's just too valuable to the Chargers to risk in non-regular season action. But that doesn't stop him being the No.1 threat in their arsenal come September 7.

San Diego's treatment of Tomlinson is slightly at odds with the rest of the conventional NFL thinking, though. No other coaches put their MVPs in pre-season cotton wool quite the way the Chargers do.

And that is good news for anyone who watched any of this weekend's round of games. For this was the one week when we should see some deadly serious confrontations, with starting line-ups being left on the field (shock, horror!) after half-time.

Because, for all the fact coaches hate the risks involved, after more than a month of training camp, they urgently wanted to see if all their scheming and preparation is actually paying dividends, and the only way to do that is to bite the bullet and let the dogs off the leash.

Hold your breath

For several teams - notably San Francisco, Miami and, especially, the New York Jets - it is hold-the-breath-and-hope time. Those who entered the chaotic, mix-and-match hype and hoopla of the 'phony war' that pre-season really represents with major question marks over the quarterback position now have to see what they've really got under centre.

The 49ers will be desperately hoping that JT O'Sullivan IS the answer instead of Alex Smith; the Dolphins are pinning everything on Chad Pennington being the man to lead them out of the wreckage of last season (and a still-smoking landscape of five quarterbacks in little more than a year - Daunte Culpepper, Trent Green, Cleo Lemon, John Beck and Josh McCown); and the Jets are earnestly wrapping their faith around the man who replaces Pennington, none other than Brett Favre.

And this was the week is likely to be the one big chance for the likes of Favre and Co to shine before the coaches put their stars back in cotton wool for the final pre-season outing.

Yes, despite all the pressing demands of playing time, fitness and team chemistry, few starters will see much action in the last of their four-game warm-up session. It's back to the sidelines for them all - haunted by the spectre of a catastrophic injury to a franchise player on the metaphorical eve of the big kick-off.

So, that means you can pay more attention to results this week; the first-string men will definitely be keen to go through their paces and put points on the board, and they will certainly get more time to do it.

You can't expect coaches to risk anyone who isn't 100 percent (and that almost certainly means no pre-season sighting for the likes of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning). But, for those teams with a lot to prove in the campaign ahead, the weekend was a significant marker to what they can realistically expect.