With the NFL season less than two weeks away, Football Insiders NFL Analyst and former NFL quarterback Jeff Carlson sat down with Managing Editor Charlie Bernstein and tackled some tough issues.

Charlie Bernstein:  With all of these preseason injuries (seemingly every year), how many preseason games do you feel is the proper amount?

Jeff Carlson: Whenever a high profile player is injured in a preseason game, the topic of the length of it comes up.  Some say cut the current four game preseason down to two and make the regular season 18 games.  I like the league at 32 teams (8 equal, 4 team division) and 16 regular season games.  I do, however, think the preseason is one game too many.  There is simply one game’s worth of wasted time in the preseason.  Yes, some bubble players will get less playing time to prove their value to the team.  Yes, the coaches will have to make the slightest higher gamble on a player that will be the 52nd or 53rd man on his roster.  But, it would make the value of the three preseason games go up immensely.  Snaps would be at a premium, not garbage time that can’t actually be qualified as high enough quality and competition to make a roster decision against anyway.  I know the league makes money on the games and it probably isn’t going to change, but higher quality games, would probably also increase attendance and interest.

CB: After two exhibition performances, which rookie quarterback do you think is the best now, and who will be the best down the road?

JC: The QB draft race was a one horse race, because Tampa Bay was in love with Jameis Winston before the race ever began.  From a QB coaching perspective, I like Marcus Mariota from an athletic and mechanics standpoint.  Also, Winston’s off-field behavior in college took him off my draft board the same time the Bucs were falling in love.  That said, I think both of these guys are going to be very successful QB’s in the NFL.  Mariota landed in Tennessee and currently the AFC South is a good place to find success.  So too is the NFC South, as Carolina won it with a losing record last year.  I do believe that Tampa Bay is going to improve faster, with the defense helping to make Winston the more successful QB earlier.  I think his awkwardness in movement and penchant for putting his body in harm’s way is going to lead to some injuries.  Mariota has elite athleticism.  If he plays it smart and protects himself, he could end up being the long-term better player.

CB: What would you say is the biggest difference in playing NFL quarterback today as compared to when you played?

JC: QB’s today are asked to do so much more at the line of scrimmage than we were not that long ago.  We had audibles and checked out of plays to other ones, but it was a simpler concept.  All the pointing out the “Mike” linebacker and switching protections at the line of scrimmage doesn’t fit my liking for how to handle playing football.  I played under four different systems while in the league, but don’t think they were like much of what is going on today, even though the actual system is still the same.  For example, the “3 digit system” (won Super Bowls for Cowboys, Kurt Warner used in Arizona, Norv Turner still using in Minnesota) is still employed and is a great way to design an offensive system, but there have been many advancements to make it more complicated.

CB: If you could change one NFL rule, what would it be?

JC: John Madden wrote a book called, “One Knee Equals Two Feet.”  Why can’t one foot equal one foot?  High school and college use one foot inbounds as the standard for a catch.  Why make the standard more difficult for the pros?  By making two feet the standard, it takes away the chance for some spectacular plays to count.  It would also make the game easier to referee.  There would still be challenges to see if the player had possession of the ball when his foot hit the ground, but seeing one foot touch inbounds would improve that process as well.

CB: Who was the best player that you’ve ever played with and against?

JC: I had the privilege of playing with (really just watching) Lawrence Taylor later in his career, when I spent the offseason and training camp with the New York Giants.  He wasn’t as amazing as he was earlier in his career, but it was still fun to watch.  Also, my rookie year with the Los Angeles Rams, I never saw a better offensive tackle than Jackie Slater!

The best player I ever played against was undoubtedly Deion Sanders.  We were both rookies in 1989 and we faced his Atlanta Falcons in our first regular season game.  He almost returned his first punt return for a TD, but it was called back on a penalty.  So, we re-kicked it to him and he actually did return his first one for a TD.  He was far better than anyone else on the field for most of his career.

CB:  Do you believe that NFL rosters should be expanded?

JC: I don’t see any reason why rosters would or should be expanded.  Teams have a practice roster of players and have hidden players in other ways for decades.

CB: We see salaries inflating all across the three major sports, do you think we’ll ever see a day where the NFL has fully guaranteed contracts for a majority of players?

JC: I doubt salaries will ever be fully guaranteed, because as we see, traumatic injuries are just too common.  The Player’s Association is supposed to advocate for “ALL” players and only guaranteeing some players contracts doesn’t seem fair on its face, but stranger things have happened.