Football games that count are right around the corner and to get there we just have to survive one more week of preseason competition. This week is all about the fringe roster players as 90 percent of every roster is locked in by this point.

The last week of the preseason is the time where teams figure who the last two-to-five players will be on their final roster. This week is extremely important for those players as they are not only fighting to make the squad, but to also make it on a practice squad if they do in fact get cut.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some things you should be on the look for this week.

Bad Football

More so than any other week, teams do not game plan for their opponent in Week 4 of the preseason. For the large majority of teams, their attention has shifted to their Week 1 opponents, which means we will likely see even more basic and vanilla offenses and defenses. Furthermore, each team’s starters won’t like play this week outside of a handful of snaps for their less-important starters.

This means the vast majority of football this week will be played by players who either won’t be on an NFL team in a week or won’t be big contributors this season, which means you should expect to see some bad football this week. Errant throws, penalties and turnovers will likely be the norm this week as teams just try to make it through the preseason.

If you’re trying to get a friend or significant other into football, you’d be best choosing another week to get them started. While most NFL weeks are dominated by the J.J. Watt’s and Aaron Rodgers of the world, this week the Zach Zenner’s and Ladarius Gunter’s are the likely stars for this week, which paints the picture of how this week should look.

Special Teams Is The Most Important

Because most of the roster spots on each team are filled at the moment, the players who can play their way onto the final 53 are the ones who will have to show they can make an impact on special teams. Take what happens on offense and defense with a grain of salt because the players fighting for their lives need to really show how valuable they are on the punt and kickoff teams.

The player who runs down on a punt and gets a tackle before the returner can get anything going is infinitely more important than the player who catches a touchdown this week. Sure, it would be nice for a fringe roster player to show that they have talent that can be developed on offense or defense, but their team likely needs an immediate impact on special teams much more.

Players To Watch

Lucky Whitehead is a player who is playing for his football life on Thursday as he tries to make the Dallas Cowboys’ 53-man roster. Whitehead is trying to become the No. 5 receiver and jack-of-all-trades special teamer for the Cowboys and he will have to prove his worth against the Houston Texans.

Whitehead has had a chance to win the return man job, but his inconsistencies fielding punts have left doubts in the minds of many who thought he was a lock to make the team just a few weeks ago. He has shown some value as a blocker and slot receiver, but Whitehead needs to prove that he can consistently field punts and make an impact on all the special teams. If he can’t, he may find himself on the outside looking in once the Cowboys make their cuts.

Green Bay Packers’ fullback Aaron Ripkowski is another player who is on the edge of the roster entering the fourth week of the preseason. Up until now, Ripkowski has been a special teams demon as he leads the NFL in special teams tackles, per Pro Football Focus, which is making the Packers thinks long and hard at keeping the rugged fullback.

The problem facing Rikowski is the Packers already have a bonafide fullback in John Kuhn; therefore, Ripkowski would be kept purely for special teams. Will the Packers feel good enough to keep two fullbacks? That is a question Ripkowski hopes to help them answer this week.

Former rugby star and San Francisco 49ers’ running back Jerryd Hayne has been a preseason sensation thus far and he needs to continue that if he hopes to make the final roster. He has been one of the most dynamic return men, as he’s averaged 33 yards per kick return and 19 yards per punt return, and he has been a solid running back thus far.

The problem facing Hayne is that he is behind a plethora of running backs on the 49ers rosters. Like Ripkowski, Hayne would make the team purely on special teams, but in his defense, he has been one of the, if not the, best special teams players this preseason. He makes an impact in every phase of special teams and he deserves to make the squad. If he doesn’t you can bet that there will be a ton of teams knocking on his door after cut day.