The NFL should shorten the preseason schedule from four games to two.

It's disappointing to wait seven to eight months to watch the home team play in the opener, and the Ravens were without stars Joe Flacco, Elvis Dumervil, Terrell Suggs and Steve Smith Sr.

It's understandable why the Ravens wouldn't risk an injury to Flacco, their franchise quarterback. Dumervil, Suggs and Smith are still nursing injuries, so their absences were legitimate, too. But the Ravens also didn't play wide receivers Kamar Aiken and Mike Wallace, tight end Benjamin Watson and defensive end Timmy Jernigan.

The halftime scrimmage between two recreation teams was almost as interesting.

Only two games matter in the preseason, and those are the second and third ones because that's when most of the starters play. Starters usually play one or two series in the first game, and none play in the fourth.

In the case of the Ravens, they are somewhat shell-shocked from last year when they had so many players miss games because of injuries. So, Thursday night's game against the Carolina Panthers was uneventful. It wasn't meaningless because a lot of young players got a chance to play, but the Ravens could have gotten as much out of a scrimmage.

But that wouldn't happen because the NFL has to make money and include four preseason games as part of the season-ticket package. Thursday night's game, though, was nothing more than a glorified scrimmage under the lights.

There was no drama, not much to get excited about.

If you were looking to see whether the Ravens solved any of their problems from a year ago, then tune in Aug. 20 when they go to Indianapolis or the following week when they host the Detroit Lions.

With training camp halfway completed and after one preseason game, it's still uncertain whether the Ravens have a big-play wide receiver because Wallace didn't play. We don't know whether rookie Ronnie Stanley is the real deal because he played against the same caliber of player he dominated at Notre Dame.

There are still questions about whether the Ravens have a big-time pass rush and a rushing specialist, and if the secondary has improved under assistant coach Leslie Frazier and with Eric Weddle at safety.

A two-game format would work better. Head coaches would be forced to use more starters and the fans would be better entertained. Reducing the number of games from four to two would also cut down on injuries, and allow more time to heal in between those games and the start of the regular season.

Overall, everyone gains something.

There were some things to be learned Thursday night. Terrance West (Towson University, Northwestern High) continued to show why he has been the best running back in training camp. Stanley was solid, but it was hard to gauge his performance.

The Ravens have good depth on the offensive line, especially Ryan Jensen at guard and De'Ondre Wesley at tackle. Defensively, the Ravens weren't impressive in coverage except for safety Terrence Brooks, and Carolina's offense controlled the tempo of the game.

But overall, it wasn't worth the money. In fact, owner Steve Bisciotti should have a raffle to give away tickets the way he does for fans at training camp. Maybe that would have filled the empty seats at Thursday night's game.

But it's time to go to the two-game format and roll out the starters. Four games are just too much.

It's a rip-off.

mike.preston@baltsun.com

twitter.com/MikePrestonSun