18 Game Season

[broncos SB2010]

Another freaking, completely bogus, ridiculous, game changing, utterly absurd, pull your hair out, want to poke your eyes out, can't take it anymore, PI call tonight in the ATL v 49ers game.

3rd &19 for 49ers. Falcons got a much needed stop and barely touched the receiver. PI called giving 49ers 3 points. So sick of these calls. Jerry Rice was in the booth with Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico and none of them could believe it. Mike Smith, the coach was pissed, as he should be.

This has got to stop. The NFL is ruining the game. Defenders can't do anything anymore.

exactly my point. Games shouldn't be influenced so much by penalties.

[broncoslover115]

exactly my point. Games shouldn't be influenced so much by penalties.

And at this point in the game, SF is up by 3, because of that call.

[johntbronco]

it just amazes me how the owners talk out of one side of their mouth about player safety and doing things to make the game safer. Then they plan 18 game regular season with shortened pre-season. All they really care about is the almighty dollar and more revenue.

[Conner13]

I've pretty much decided that if two more games are added to the regular season, I'll be finished with the NFL.

Same goes for more teams being in the playoffs.

Roger Goodell has done nothing but harm and tarnish the NFL. At this point, NFL fans should cross their fingers and hope he inexplicably resigns -- or just stops existing.

[Rancid]

I believe an 18-game season will shorten careers as guys will be too run down and injury laden to endure a lengthy career; therefore I think less cumulative career records will be broken since anyone reaching 35 playing in the NFL will probably be in a wheelchair.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

I think the league could extend the season to 18 weeks and leave it at 16 games. IMO, having guys play on Thursdays, 4 days after a Sunday game is totally unethical. That is not enough time for the body to rest. The league could extend the season by 1 week by simply making Thursday games a bye week for teams. Then teams could have one extra bye week, and the league could extend the season one more week. The Thursday games would probably look loss sloppy too.

[fallforward3y+]

These are mine. I can't stand PI calls anymore. Everyone constantly looks for a flag. Just heave the ball up and you're likely to get a flag. Especially the ones in the EZ...game changing. I hate what these calls have done to the game.

Limited padded practices..,look at the lack of tackling. Players don't know how to tackle anymore.

Defenseless receiver... Just because it looks hard doesn't mean it is. Look at that horrible call on DRC. Shoulder hit. What the hell is a defender to do. Let him catch the ball?

Agreed on limited padded practices, I HATE that for a variety of reasons.

It makes tackling worse, as well as hurts a backs ability to run well against good tackling, if neither are practiced. They aren't tackling in practice, which also means that tackling isn't factored as much into who gets playing time. Plus, I do think back up players deserve a chance to get some contact in, and to try and get better by practicing tackling. In football, on field practice is very important despite what many think.

I agree on PI calls, to a point. The spot of the foul rule has SOME merit, if a DB is committing a penalty interfering with the catch, and you can reasonably believe it may have been caught if not for the penalty, it makes sense to place it at the spot of the foul.

What I hate is what you mentioned, receivers always looking for a flag. When I see a DB make a great play on the ball, I often hold my breath waiting for a flag. A little touching shouldn't be a PI. I also hate receivers actually playing to draw flags instead of going for the ball. If an incompletion happens because a receiver did that, I say HA! even if it was a penalty. I remember a play where Austin Collie did that a few years ago, and commentators PRAISED him for a 'smart veteran move' trying to draw a flag on a very unfair to the DB rule, UGH! I also hate to see PI calls that set up a team at the 1, when the ball would not have been caught regardless. Was glad to see CAR-NE no call.

Defenseless receiver, that's where we differ. It's good to have penalties for things like that when a player is still focusing on the catch and not able to drop their shoulders. I'd like to see guys go for the ball more honestly. Over the middle big hits are overrated really, I'm a fan of the tackling aspect, but only when it's the ball carrier actually running at the defender. Honestly, those hits don't have as much impact on making receivers drop it as most think. Receivers with good hands that do those routes well rarely drop it, and when they do it has more to do with timing than the actual severity of the hit.

The problem comes when calls are iffy, or when shoulder hits get called. The Whitner-Jackson hit was some BS in the ATL-SF game.

[fallforward3y+]

it just amazes me how the owners talk out of one side of their mouth about player safety and doing things to make the game safer. Then they plan 18 game regular season with shortened pre-season. All they really care about is the almighty dollar and more revenue.

We all pretty much know that it's about money. 18 games and player safety doesn't mesh, money is pretty much the only motive here. How would that even work, we have a perfect system for scheduling in place and that would screw it up.

People with truckloads of money who never have enough often end up losing it though. The NFL keeps trying to make football a world wide sport, and make it appeal to an audience that will likely never embrace it fully.

There's a reason NFL Europe didn't last. SOME people there like it, not enough to sustain a team/league though.
Women as well. SOME women do like it, but they're in the minority. It's probably never going to be a sport most women like just as much as men. Just leave it as it is, let those who like it watch it.

Trying too hard to appeal to people who won't embrace it often makes it a turn off to your audience. People who watch football usually like to watch a contact, hitting oriented sport. Taking that aspect away will make them lose a lot of fans.

[fallforward3y+]

And at this point in the game, SF is up by 3, because of that call.

To be fair, if not for the call for the Jackson-Whitner hit, ATL may have got 3 instead of 7. And, though it would have been longer SFO still could have made that field goal.

Your generally right though, games are often influenced big time by calls like that.

[broncos SB2010]

I think the league could extend the season to 18 weeks and leave it at 16 games. IMO, having guys play on Thursdays, 4 days after a Sunday game is totally unethical. That is not enough time for the body to rest. The league could extend the season by 1 week by simply making Thursday games a bye week for teams. Then teams could have one extra bye week, and the league could extend the season one more week. The Thursday games would probably look loss sloppy too.

I agree that Thursday games make little sense. Not all the teams even play on a Thursday night, that in itself makes it unfair, same with the overseas games. The only reason there are Thursday games is to fund the NFL network since they have a monopoly on that time slot and don't have to compete with the other networks for the rights.

[Houshmazode]

The NFL doesn't need any extra funding. Most of the residents of the cities pay for the stadiums and the NFL doesn't pay taxes as it is recognized as a "non-profit organization" by our government. The league and the owners are a bunch of thieves.