PromoTheRobot Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) With apologies to all the draft gurus and experts who can spot a pro bowler at an OTA, this Bills team shows how much talent gets missed or given up on too soon. As expensive as NFL Europe was it did develop good players that needed just a little more time on the field to blossom. The NFL should either launch their own stateside NFL JV, or endorse a league like the UFL to set up a farm or feeder system. Yes college football is like a football juniors system already but it's obvious to me that not every kid walks out of college ready for the NFL. Give those kids 2-3 years in a minor league endorsed and promoted by the NFL. PTR Edited October 31, 2011 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ko12010 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Really a good idea but I feel like potential owners and investors will just be more concerned about the ability to make $ with a minor league and bag it to not lose any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kipers Hair Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Always thought this to be true. I believe the NFL is the only major league without a place for younger inexperienced players to go to get seasoning. In the long run, it makes for a better product - coaching as well as players. Also, the league can test out new rules in there to further develop the product. I say, up the UFL to 8 teams, financially supported by the NFL and NFLPA, (benefits them too) and allow each team to stock four developmental players for a max of two years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Not many ppl will want to hear this or relatively agree, but the NFL "JV" league should be college football. Separate college football from the institutions. Do away with the BCS. Starting paying the players, and use it as the grooming grounds for the NFL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthGeorgiaBillsFan Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Not many ppl will want to hear this or relatively agree, but the NFL "JV" league should be college football. Separate college football from the institutions. Do away with the BCS. Starting paying the players, and use it as the grooming grounds for the NFL Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I say, up the UFL to 8 teams, financially supported by the NFL and NFLPA... The owners would vote this down. They are not cutting into their profit margin to keep a developmental league afloat. I think this is the same reason why they don't have full time officials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Huh? College football should be the NFL "Minor league" College football players should be paid. There should be no bcs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mango Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Not many ppl will want to hear this or relatively agree, but the NFL "JV" league should be college football. Separate college football from the institutions. Do away with the BCS. Starting paying the players, and use it as the grooming grounds for the NFL so if they werent part of the institutions, it would not be college team. so you want to make college football the developmental league for the nfl, while at the same time getting rid of college football. the state of college football and basketball is totally at the fault of the NCAA. there would be less money collection by the universities if it's job was to actually police these schools rather than just come down on them when a 3rd party gives word of violations. all the NCAA does is collect money, their only real purpose is to create rules and take money, it is not their responsibility to make sure those rules are enforced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 College football is more like what junior hockey is to the NFL. But players at 20 or 21 may not be physically ready for the NFL. That's why a D-league is needed, to give new players a chance to further development after college. Honestly it's a no-brainer to me, even as a money maker. If the Bills had a JV squad that played in the summer people wouldn't come out? Buffalo fans a re so football crazy I could see big crowds for these games. There has to be at least 10-12 other NFL cities that would do as well. The games could be shown on NFL network. What would you rather watch in the summer? CFL games or NFL JV? Make the season short, 6 to 8 games with the top 2 teams playing a single championship game. That way these players won't be burned out if they get invited to big boy training camp. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D521646 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I like the idea! Tim- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billshank Redemption Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 yea if you did it on a different time frame as the nfl it would be cool then you could have "call-ups" and stuff or trading prospects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimace Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 The fact that college football is the closest thing we have to minor league football does more to highlight the problems with college football than problems with the NFL. If this type of league were created, it would take away from the attention that college football gets because of players coming out of college early to play in a D-league. The talent in college football would drop, meaning a corrupt system with significant power would get less money and less power. The potential for this middle level sport to be successful can't be fully realized until the NCAA does its job and makes college football a less welcoming place for kids who don't care about academics and want to get paid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scraps Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Always thought this to be true. I believe the NFL is the only major league without a place for younger inexperienced players to go to get seasoning. In the long run, it makes for a better product - coaching as well as players. Also, the league can test out new rules in there to further develop the product. I say, up the UFL to 8 teams, financially supported by the NFL and NFLPA, (benefits them too) and allow each team to stock four developmental players for a max of two years... Is the NFL really all that different from the NBA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) Is the NFL really all that different from the NBA? The NBA has a D-league. In fact it's called the "NBA D-league." PTR Edited October 31, 2011 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) The NBA has a D-league. In fact it's called the "NBA D-league." PTR And it loses money and is likely going to be shutdown, like NFL Europe, in the near future. The real question is, is there room in ticket and merchandise buyers' wallet for anther pro football league? The Answer is - - - Maybe. The UFL is actually positioning itself as a minor league to the NFL and has made that known. I think the NFL is watching to see if the UFL can make a profitable business plan, then if successful invest. There is no threat to the Trillion dollar NFL market. Until the UFL or another league proves they can make a profit I doubt there will ever be a D-League because the NFL has a free D-League in College football. They have even set the rules to enter the NFL as such that it forces kids that just want to go professional out of High School, like you can in Hockey Baseball or Basketball. to go to College (or do something else, wink, go to college football) for 3 years after High School. But yes it seems to be a no brainer to start the league 3 weeks after the Super Bowl have it run into training camp season for the NFL. Yes the kids will have no off season if they go from the D-eague to the NFL but, you got to hustle to make it in this world. It's the only way to get $$$. Edited October 31, 2011 by Why So Serious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 make it farm leagues this way kids can sign right out of high school instead of bleeding money from universities trying to educate them. Unfortunately the NCAA will not like this a bit and would likely use its political influence to stop it somehow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 It has 2. The AFL and CFL. It should learn to utilize them better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 It has 2. The AFL and CFL. It should learn to utilize them better. True, I know the NFL has an investment in the AFL. I know they broadcast CFL games on the NFL network so, there must be some relationship. They could have an agreement where you can send players to the AFL. They can be badged like they were in NFL Europe. They should use those leagues better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanJosePete Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 If you couple this idea with getting football out of college, I'm all for it! Think about how much $ is "wasted" on big college sports like football, situations where a Nobel prize winning scientist gets paid far less than the football coach, college athletes complaining about not being paid, numerous program violations - all this could go away thanks to PTR's idea. On the other hand, this isn't a footbal discussion but more along the lines of politics so I'll shut up now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpberr Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I'd say NO to the idea. The Bills have a competitive advantage and talent in identifying and grooming UDFAs and late round draftees into good professional football players. I don't know of any other team that has the successful track record of the Bills diving into the sea of UDFA and catching good football players. I wouldn't want to give this advantage to 31 other teams that out of dumb luck will come across their George Wilson or Stevie Johnson or Kurt Warner just because they were forced to stock a minor league roster and had to have guys get on a field and play some games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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