With all this talking that you all do it's difficult to know, if all you did was follow on here, where the season begins and ends. A recent post asking about everyones feelings regarding the "new" season is a case in point. It's almost 6 months away !!!!!!! Maybe it's time to actually amalgamate some of the leagues, maybe even add more teams and make the season longer. Then you can discuss actual games instead of the tests and trials (sooooo boring!!!!) the players undertake during the massively long off season. Good grief. No wonder you go on about it so much, you've got nothing else to discuss. Wouldn't you rather be discussing up coming games?
It would awesome to have more games, but the health risks are too great. Injuries would be racking up at ridiculous clip. By the time we got to the playoffs it would the walking dead out there.
I think that the current NFL setup - 32 teams, 16 games, 12 playoff spots- is perfect. And if they went to 18 games, it would be even worse for the Fins. They wouldnt tack them onto the beginning of the season to replace the last two preseason games and keep the calendar, they'd push everything back two weeks. Does anyone want to see us playing even more cold weather games late in the season? I sure as Hell dont. I also dont like the idea of the Super Bowl 2/3 of the way through February either.
It would be pretty complex to elongate the season at this point. And if you start to add teams and such, you water down the product. The NFL is doing the right things in elongating the offseason product and appeasing fans. Remember, at this very minute every fan thinks his team has got a very good chance to succeed when the games start in September (except maybe the jests fans....hehehehe). I think they really want to change the offseason format, as has been talked about, but those changes might take more time to work out... I think they want a FA season, a Draft season and then the preseason...but we'll see how it works out. I'm not disappointed in what we have going on now.
I'd be down for the elimination of two preseason games, the addition of an extra bye week, and a 16 team playoff so that everybody has to play the same number of games. My reasons are as follows: 1) Enhanced marketability. Two fewer preseason games means the stars don't play in pointless games. 2) Enhanced player safety. Let's be real, after the first couple of weeks everybody is playing hurt, but dividing the season into thirds by having two periods of byes means players have recuperation time. This would be especially important for the teams that are obviously going to the playoffs and the teams on the bubble. 3) Enhanced parity. If half the league is in the playoffs and every team has to play three games to get to the Super Bowl, a Darwinian process results where the teams with good records as a result of weak schedules will be eliminated quickly.
Yep, this exactly. Can't move it any earlier. Kids are just barely graduating and are being thrown into training camp and such. Can't go any later. Already going to late.
I'd rather see the NFL create a second league. 16 teams, all in cities there isn't a team now. Each of the 16 teams is sponsored by 2 NFL teams, one from each conference. For example, put a team in Orlando, and have it sponsored by Miami and Tampa. By sponsor I mean the two NFL teams can put & pull players /coaches/FO people on the team. Their names and logos are heavily associated with the team. Use it as a farm system for not just players but GMs, coaches, equipment personnel and they play during the NFL offseason.
Absolutely. I've wanted the NFL to do a D League since Europa was shut down. For example, I can't help but imagine that the NFL would benefit greatly from an innovation standpoint if they started hiring assistants from the college teams that run no-huddle spread/oddball offenses. You find out what works and what doesn't with NFL players real quick.
Europa League was excellent, used to go watch the Scottish Claymores. Had some excellent nights on the beer with the likes of Dante Hall and Barry Stokes, espec when they came back for the legendary Superbowl parties that went on for 16 hours , man they were a blast The players loved it here, well most did as the weather here in general is **** and those from sunnier states werent too happy Some really good players got the game time they needed so as a developmental league it did its job, IMO the NFL didnt give it enough time. 3 or 5 more years and it wouldve been established. When I look back at the Claymores we started with a tiny fan base and were up to over 15000 average for home games. When you take into account how much of a minority sport it is here then that was an amazing effort by everyone involved with the club to get people to attend games. Also a pity the NFL shat on us and moved the team to Germany and turned the EL into the German league
I think it is perfect. I never get tired of football during the season and right when it is over, I am still wanting more. Plus every game feels like it matters. Being 0-2 at the beginning of a season is enough to bring some dread, while 2-0 is good enough to bring some excitement.
This. Every game matters. And more importantly to me, every division game carries a lot of weight. 6/16 games are teams you play twice every year; to go to 6/18 or 6/19 would make them less important. I love the rivalries that come from familiarity and the frequent chances for revenge; your division rivals are your measuring stick. I would hate if those 6 games didn't mean as much to the standings as they do now.
actually i like the length of a season, to be honest the last few years, when the regular season was over and it was january and we off course, not playing....i get a little tired of football, gladly change my attention to the NBA, although as a Lakers Fan its not very funny either this year
Well, I'll go against the grain here and say that I think adding a couple more regular season and playoff games would be pretty cool. I don't necessarily buy into this more players will get hurt argument. In part because of the rule changes and improved equipment to help keep players safe. Besides, they are getting paid millions, and they know the risks. Increase the rosters by 3-5 players. Start the regular season a week or two earlier, and/or extend it by one more week. Take away two pre-season games (where there's just as much potential for injury) and play ball baby! I'm pretty sure it will happen eventually. Too much money to be made by all involved. Not to mention, it's two more times a season I get to get away from wifey and go to the local watering hole for 3-4 hours, hoot and holler, and drink like a fish! Er, uh...I mean a Dolphin!
How can you not buy that argument? It is obvious that more players will get hurt. I think they should already increase the roster size by a few players and get rid of inactives. I don't understand the point of inactives.
To clarify, I don't think a disproportional number of player injuries will occur by adding two more games.
If the Dolphins suck that year, the season is too long. If the team is good and fun to watch the season is too short. Either case the off season is too long. Thank God for LeBron and the Heat or there wouldn't be any sports worth watching right now...other than UFC. I think it is long overdue the NFL expands the playoffs to 8 teams in each conference. Would create more interest for teams on the bubble and what an unfair advantage for two teams to get a bye when what separates those two teams from the other divisional winner may just be an easier schedule.
Ironically I would be OK with moving back to a 14 game season. I wasn't in favor of them moving it to 16 when they did all those years ago. With the pounding these guys take and how much more physical the game seems now it wouldn't hurt them any to have more recovery time. But no way and hell this ever happens.
I also didnt realize until recently that when the league first went to 16 games, the season ended much sooner than it does today. In 84, the last time we went to the Super Bowl, the final game of the season was December 17th! Started one week earlier, and no bye week. I obviously dont think that its the MAIN reason, but hasnt anyone else ever thought that the team's decline started almost exactly when we started being sent to snowy Buffalo and New England in late December and early January every season?
So an extension would maybe mean the Dolphins would go later and maybe if might be bit warmer. Sure it's a physical game, but an increase in squad numbers would take care of this and maybe a rotation system introduced to keep the stars fresh. The current system emplyed by the NFL would hopefully keep the partity with the teams and therefore the leagues exciting. I wouldn't go for adding extra teams into the playoffs, as I feel that that would weaken the actual meaning of them, ie the BEST teams are there by right and great games should follow.
Well, you elude to not watering down the playoffs, but you want to water down the talent pool. Truth is, the "Stars" won't rest. The coaches won't let them. At the end of the day, there is HUGE money involved in winning here. That will push coaches to keep the best guys on the field. The players union here has already fought hard against extending the season. The players really don't want it. It is a very physical game, and it takes it's toll towards the end of the season as it is.
After reading different ideas one thing I'd like to see is a second bye week. It would really help the players fight their way through injuries, and would extend the season a week. I think increasing the roster sizes a bit as well as the number of active players on game day would be good too.
Agreed, it is very physical game, but then so is rugby (league and union) where all players are on the pitch for the FULL 40 minutes per half, and cover the whole of the pitch for all the 40 minutes. NFL is only a very short burst, series of set plays, where they rest, allbeit for a short time, between each play. Sometimes longer if Murdock has called a ad timeout LOL. Ahh well just a thought.
