It’s no surprise I hate the preseason. It is a meaningless, no-win exercise in trying to keep your roster intact for when the games matter. The good things that can come from a preseason game? Slight. The bad things? Season over. The seesaw’s got a fat guy on it and I don’t wanna play.

Tonight’s game is an embarrassment to the NFL. When a franchise like the Bears tells the football world, “This game is not important enough to risk Josh McCown”…we know what we’re dealing with. McCown is no good and if franchises really valued these “reps” fans keep Tweeting me about, he’d be playing. But they don’t. They know the whole enterprise is an economic sham.

So what should you watch if the draw of North Carolina v. South Carolina is not too strong?

• Is Michael Ford v. Armando Allen still a thing? It shouldn’t be. Ford has looked physical and explosive this summer and is a logical replacement for Devin Hester should the injury bug bite him.
• Does Brandon Hardin have a logical chance to make the roster? It won’t have anything to do with how he plays tonight. Hardin has been nowhere while Walters and Steltz have cemented their roles as backup safeties.
• Will Fendi Onobun catch a ball thrown directly to him?
• Jordan Palmer is playing quarterback. Ugh.
• Is anything at stake for Marquess Wilson and Joe Anderson? I doubt it. But whomever sees massive playing time tonight may find himself jobless this weekend.
• Jason Campbell is starting for the Browns. Remember him? (I still wish he’d stayed in Chicago and I bet he does too.)
• This may be your last chance to see JT Thomas play snaps this year!
• For some reason the Bears are hinting that Jon Bostic is playing tonight. If Bostic is set to start next week there is no conceivable reason to put him on the field as he’ll gauge nothing from working with eleven twos. So at least there will be a player on the field to shout “Take him out!” about.
• I still wonder about J’Marcus Webb. Can the Bears keep both he and Jonathan Scott on this active roster? If Scott does not recover in short order will the Bears drop him on PUP and reevaluate the situation in seven weeks. Webb has started full seasons at both left and right tackle. He is an asset as the team’s flex tackle coming off the bench. They’d be crazy to cut him.

Enjoy. The next football game after tonight’s sham is the real deal.