The last time Lovie Smith was coaching an NFL team was 2015 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
At that time, there were four preseason games, and how NFL teams handled them was fairly standard. The starters would gradually see reps until the third preseason game when they might play a series or two into the third quarter — considered the “dress rehearsal” game. The fourth preseason game was merely a battle for roster spots as starters rarely took snaps in the exhibition finale.
