If rookie quarterback Trey Lance is great tonight, believe it! If rookie running back, Trey Sermon dominates tonight, celebrate! Some players are high picks, or are very talented players who don't surprise anyone when they perform well. But there are other players who break out in the preseason, and become the stuff of legends...urban legends.
These are players no one expects to be great. They look great in preseason, and then disappear. They are preseason mirages. No substance. No future. Just something that isn't really there when you hope it is. They set you up by giving you hope. And then they let you down. It's painful. You tell yourself you won't fall for it again, but then you do.
Remember when Kory Sheets was our future? The undrafted rookie free agent impressed in the 2009 preseason. He was never heard from again.
Remember when Glen Coffee was the heir-apparent to Frank Gore? He led the NFL in rushing in the 2009 preseason. He played in 14 games. Then he retired.
Remember when Nate Davis was the rocket-armed quarterback who was going to be the next 49ers great? Not sure where he went either.
Remember when Jarryd Hayne retired from the Professional Rugby League in Australia to join the 49ers? Everyone went nuts over the Hayne Train. Then he muffed a punt in the season opener, and never touched the ball again. Now he's serving a three-year prison sentence for raping a woman.
So if Austin Watkins, Jr. looks like the second coming of Jerry Rice, temper your excitement. If Josh Rosen looks like another Dan Marino, don't fall for it. If Arden Key suddenly gives you flashbacks of Charles Haley, remember that I've warned you.
My point is, have fun tonight and for the rest of the preseason. Enjoy the games. Enjoy seeing your new players. But don't fall for the mirages. They will only break your heart.