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This is what we’ve waited for. Longed for.

Football games. Piled atop other football games.

Sure, they are the preseason openers for 30 of the 32 teams and sightings of key veterans will be few. But it’s the NFL and a chance to see the touted rookies that will (hopefully) make their mark on the league for years to come.

The NFL Network will show four games live through the weekend, plus recorded versions of all the others. Please check your local listings to see your team’s game live, as those may be blacked out on the NFL’s outlet.

The NFL Network gets it going on Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET with the New York Jets at New York Giants. As they share a stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the “at” part is nebulous. Adam Gase makes his debut as the Jets coach and quarterback Daniel Jones, the Giants’ No. 1 pick, will get a good look.

At 10 p.m., the Los Angeles Chargers meet the Arizona Cardinals. This will be Kliff Kingsbury’s debut as the Cardinals coach. His key pupil: Overall No. 1 pick Kyler Murray, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback. This will be an up-tempo offense, though the Cardinals probably won’t display too much in this outing.

Friday night’s offering is the Pittsburgh Steelers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 7:30 p.m., and the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers get the Saturday night spotlight at 9 p.m.

By the time the preseason ends, the NFL Network will have shown 14 games live and all 65 on replays.

You waited for this. You wanted. The smorgasbord is open. Party on.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman