The Golden Age of Football is Over?

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

 

 

I do think the future of the QB position is the legitimate concern.

 

IMO it's difficult to avoid a socioeconomic conversation when looking at the future of football, but I think there's a disconnect between the situations where parents aren't allowing their kids to play and the type of players who eventually end up in the NFL.

 

I really am worried about that as well, which is why I want us to keep Tyrod in 2018 even if we do draft a QB.

 

I had forgotten about Matt Barkley. People were legitimately thinking that he might go first overall, and almost certainly a first round pick had he declared in 2011. He had a let down in 2012, where he showed the problems that still plague him. The lesson for a lot of players is "if you qualify to be drafted, and you have one fantastic season at QB and there is any doubt you might not have another, you take your chances in the draft"

[SoCal Deek]

Football can't be over yet! The Bills haven't won the darn Super Bowl yet!

 

When they finally do...they can shut the league down the following Monday. I'll be good.

[Dragonborn10]

Which golden age? The winged-T? Option? Steel Curtain? Run and Shoot? Tampa 2? Spread?

The game evolves.

They have made rule changes to make the game safer but the unintended consequence is an imbalance favoring the offense.

The next shift that needs to happen is to change PI to a 15 yard penalty and not a spot foul, as well as an emphasis on offensive PI. This will help level the playing field.

[Damian]

Check out what Riddell and Vicis are doing with helmets. The new helmets that are coming out are significantly better at absorbing the impact than the current helmets. Kind of like when cars went from rigid bodies to bodies with crumple zones.

[Buffalo716]

Which golden age? The winged-T? Option? Steel Curtain? Run and Shoot? Tampa 2? Spread?

The game evolves.

They have made rule changes to make the game safer but the unintended consequence is an imbalance favoring the offense.

The next shift that needs to happen is to change PI to a 15 yard penalty and not a spot foul, as well as an emphasis on offensive PI. This will help level the playing field.

I don't believe there was ever a run n shoot fad in the nfl... even though it would be awesome

 

Unless your talking HS and college

Edited August 9, 2017 by Buffalo716

[Albwan]

Yes I do believe its over...its reminding me more and more of the NBA,

less 'stars' and more 'dynasties' while most of the league has no real

chance of doing anything.

[nucci]

I think a good analogy is boxing. For those of us old enough to remember, the sport was right there with Baseball and Football. Basketball and Hockey were a notch below.

 

Boxing still exist today obviously, but it is no where near the level it was 30-40 years ago. Somewhere along the line, some, not all of the would be boxers moved to different options. Why? because you don't have to get you head bashed in to make a lot of money. And, only a few boxers made money.

 

Could we be headed towards an era of only those without other options stick to football? I think it is very possible.

remember looking forward to heavyweight championship bouts? it was pretty exciting

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

remember looking forward to heavyweight championship bouts? it was pretty exciting

Yes and now there are a gazillion belts and weight classes.

 

Does it matter?

Of course it matters.

[H2o]

Both of my boys are playing, but they wanted to. I played so I am not going to hold them out if that is what they want to do. The league is very strict about teaching technique. It's a different era from when I played as a youth through HS. The equipment is different, the teaching, and even the rules. It is still a contact sport, but not the same one I played 25-30 years ago.

[CanadianFan]

 

 

 

time to move on to golf I suppose...

 

golf is a dying sport. courses are trying to attract members here with freebies. I heard everyone playing is over 50 or 60. nobody younger. LOL.

[MAJBobby]

 

golf is a dying sport. courses are trying to attract members here with freebies. I heard everyone playing is over 50 or 60. nobody younger. LOL.

Thats because it actually is very expensive to play Edited August 9, 2017 by MAJBobby

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

 

golf is a dying sport. courses are trying to attract members here with freebies. I heard everyone playing is over 50 or 60. nobody younger. LOL.

 

 

well, I am over 50, so there's that...although I do not play or watch the game of golf. I just forgot to add the sarcasm meter to old row 33's quoted post.

[CanadianFan]

I don't think it's dying but I think you can begin to see that it needs some serious changes or it will go the way of boxing.

[macaroni]

The Romans watched gladiators murder each other for a few hundred years, surely football can have a longer duration then that, right?

But the Gladiators union was soooooooo much weaker than the NFLPA.

 

You never head the Gladiators whining about two-a-days, or the length of their season ... and holdouts???? There were no stinkin' holdouts.

[Buffalo716]

But the Gladiators union was soooooooo much weaker than the NFLPA.

 

You never head the Gladiators whining about two-a-days, or the length of their season ... and holdouts???? There were no stinkin' holdouts.

They were true professionals!

 

Every nfl player talks about how if they could die anyway they would die on the field...

 

90% of the gladiators died on the field! Talk about dedicated to your craft!

[Fan in San Diego]

My kids are not given the option. Baseball, hockey, soccer, hoops, lacrosse, karate are all of their options.

You might re-think the lacrosse option. My son played in HS lacrosse and people got lit up all the time. Maybe worse than football.

[Greybeard]

 

The funny thing is knowing Football or any other sport for that matter is dangerous, is not the same as knowing what that danger leads to. Its dangerous to play Baseball, Soccer, or even Golf but generally speaking there is no serious danger of brain damage unless you take a serious beaner to the head.For Football, they are doing studies on just what happens to the brain in normal play, forget about getting a concussion, we're just talking about taking normal average hits playing the sport year in and year out.

 

 

In baseball, at least at the youth level, there is a chance someone can be hit in the chest with the ball and die. Has something to do with the ball hitting near the heart at exactly the wrong moment. Some leagues make the hitters were a chest protector while batting, although I have seen some take pretty hard shots in the field.

[yungmack]

My personal opinion is that the "golden age" of the four major professional sports is definitely over. On the next level down, NASCAR is hemorrhaging fans, horse racing is dying, as is the human version of f track and field, bowling is now definitely a niche sport, pro tennis in the US is a shell of what it used to be, on and on. And Disney today announced it will begin offering ESPN as a streaming service in response to cable-cutting and plummeting viewership. I think if parents suddenly stopped being so overly involved in their kids sports, it they decided to leave participation up to the kids, that youth sports would collapse.

[Punching Bag]

Yep.

 

Newsflash to Bleacher Report.....The Golden Age of Football ended a long time ago.

 

Defenders no longer know how to tackle and the quarterbacks wear skirts.

 

It's still a good game to watch, although I am leaning towards liking college football more than professional.

 

Corrected. That is the NFLPA's influence.

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

For me the Golden Age of football was 1989-1993. Everything else has been a mirage. Truth be told, I think the real golden age was from the '70's-90' before free agency, greed, advertisers and bull **** took over. Once the athletes became pampered prima donna's the luster of the real game wore off. Growing up in Buffalo, nothing felt as good as hitting the field in the blustery air of fall and knocking a few bodies around, whether it was a pickup game or a league game, football was just plain fun. I think the modern era took the fun out of the game.

[Punching Bag]

In the last 10-15 years, partly in the name of player safety and partly in the name of giving more eye popping numbers, we've tightened the rules on what a defense can do. With instant first downs for tugging at 5 yards past the line of scrimmage, large penalties for hits on receivers when they go up to get the ball and flags for breathing on the QB wrong, passing has exploded. You can line up five wide receivers and pray that the 5th worst DB is a bit grabby. Meanwhile, pick plays are rarely called, even though it is definitely offensive PI.

 

A big factor is some coaches teaching players to play to the limit and beyond with extensive evaluation of referee teams before team and afterwards. Forgot about good sportsmanship and bounties exist whether officially or not. Players make plays which put players out of game and sometimes career and NFLPA defends them. The NFLPA reduced amount of time to practice proper tackling and this adds to risk of players.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

More and more pro players are retiring in their 20s.

 

25,000 fewer high school kids played football last year versus the year before.

 

Are we witnessing the end of the Golden Age of football?

 

Will the better athletes now choose other sports?

 

Will football become the refuge for the guys not good enough for baseball, basketball, soccer, MMA, x-sports, etc?

 

Will our grandchildren be amazed how good the players of the 2000s were compared to the players who came later?

 

Will the players of today be the best players to ever suit up to do battle on the gridiron?

 

 

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2726124-report-shows-continuing-drop-in-high-school-football-players?iid=ob_homepage_deskrecommended_pool

Nah, they are just an innovative helmet away.

[Punching Bag]

Which golden age? The winged-T? Option? Steel Curtain? Run and Shoot? Tampa 2? Spread?

The game evolves.

They have made rule changes to make the game safer but the intended consequence is an imbalance favoring the offense.

The next shift that needs to happen is to change PI to a 15 yard penalty and not a spot foul, as well as an emphasis on offensive PI. This will help level the playing field.

 

I think it was intentional by league to get more scoring.

[Rico]

For me the Golden Age of football was 1989-1993. Everything else has been a mirage. Truth be told, I think the real golden age was from the '70's-90' before free agency, greed, advertisers and bull **** took over. Once the athletes became pampered prima donna's the luster of the real game wore off. Growing up in Buffalo, nothing felt as good as hitting the field in the blustery air of fall and knocking a few bodies around, whether it was a pickup game or a league game, football was just plain fun. I think the modern era took the fun out of the game.

I think the Golden Age of the NFL started well before 1989, but I think it ended after the 1992 season. Started going to hell with full-blown free agency.

Edited August 9, 2017 by Rico

[Beast]

My kids two Boys will NOT be allowed to play football. As a parent and former player through college I would not be doing my job in keeping them safe if i allowed them to play.

But my two and the 25,000 that didnt play last year will affect nothing. Football will still be used by alot of kids as an "out" and a solution to a better life

Going to stop them from joing the military too, Major?

 

How about driving?

[BADOLBILZ]

 

Will the better athletes now choose other sports?

 

Will football become the refuge for the guys not good enough for baseball, basketball, soccer, MMA, x-sports, etc?

 

 

 

 

The highlighted has ALWAYS been the case........that is nothing new.

 

HS and college football may suffer greatly because they don't pay players for the abuse.

 

If they start PAYIN' they'll keep playin'.

 

Higher education should be free and football should be paid for.

 

But the truth is that these guys in the NFL are there because they got no place else to go.

 

Nobody is paying much watch Tom Brady or Russ Wilson be mediocre minor league baseball players.

 

.

[hondo in seattle]

A lot of guys here - all fanatical football fans - say they won't let their kids play football. Even some NFL players are now saying the same.

 

While I think the NFL will survive, it seems the talent will decrease as more and more good young athletes opt for other sports.

 

While it's unlikely I'll be alive in another 50 years, if I was I think the NFL fans of the day would be envious that I got to see the likes of OJ, Jim Kelly, Jerry Rice, Tom Brady, etc.

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

The Romans watched gladiators murder each other for a few hundred years, surely football can have a longer duration then that, right?

 

Do you like movies about gladiators?

[BillsPride12]

Unfortunately I think the golden age of alot of things are over

[Meathead]

ten years ago i said football as we know it will be gone in fifty years

 

that leaves us forty years left. and i dont think it will take that long

 

i was furious at my mother when she didnt allow me to play football. now theres no way in hell i would let my kids play football. see mother does know best

[hondo in seattle]

Unfortunately I think the golden age of alot of things are over

 

Agreed. My personal golden age ended a while ago.

[BillsPride12]

 

Agreed. My personal golden age ended a while ago.

Ugh it sucks, it really gets me depressed sometimes when I think about the way the world has changed in so many ways and the realization that certain things will never be the same again.

[BuffaloRebound]

Too much money being made for NFL to go away. They'll figure something out whether it be better equipment or changing some rules. Everything is one-sided against football right now. I'm sure a test will be developed in near future for CTE in live patients and the actual cause of CTE will be honed in on. NFL has almost unlimited money to solve a problem that threatens its survival. Probably at a low point right now, but I'll bet on NFL figuring it out.

[quinnearlysghost88]

i was just having a discussion yesterday about how the NFL talent is in a huge lull right now. once this generation of QBs go away (brady/brees/rodgers/rivers/ben/flacco/manning), who is left? who's picking up the torch?

[DriveFor1Outta5]

A lot of guys here - all fanatical football fans - say they won't let their kids play football. Even some NFL players are now saying the same.

 

While I think the NFL will survive, it seems the talent will decrease as more and more good young athletes opt for other sports.

 

While it's unlikely I'll be alive in another 50 years, if I was I think the NFL fans of the day would be envious that I got to see the likes of OJ, Jim Kelly, Jerry Rice, Tom Brady, etc.

Yes, but the demographic of OBD posters isn't the same demographic that constitutes pro football players. Their refusal to allow their kids to play football is unlikely to take anyone away from being a future NFL star.

i was just having a discussion yesterday about how the NFL talent is in a huge lull right now. once this generation of QBs go away (brady/brees/rodgers/rivers/ben/flacco/manning), who is left? who's picking up the torch?

The QB position is definitely where the biggest struggle will be. However, I don't think it has much to do with declining numbers of younger people playing football. It has more to do with the offenses ran in high school and college.

[Dragonborn10]

 

I think it was intentional by league to get more scoring.

Yes I think you are correct and I should have worded that differently. I think they just overshot the mark and they need to readjust the competitive balance.

i was just having a discussion yesterday about how the NFL talent is in a huge lull right now. once this generation of QBs go away (brady/brees/rodgers/rivers/ben/flacco/manning), who is left? who's picking up the torch?

 

What do you think was being said in the late 90's when Kelly, Marino, and Elway were retiring?

[hondo in seattle]

Yes I think you are correct and I should have worded that differently. I think they just overshot the mark and they need to readjust the competitive balance.

 

What do you think was being said in the late 90's when Kelly, Marino, and Elway were retiring?

 

 

Fair question. But I really think this might be different. The big three used to be football, baseball, basketball. And, for a while, I think football attracted most of the best athletes. But with the concussion issue I think more and more good young athletes are going to other sports. Especially with the rise in the interest in sports like soccer, MMA, etc.

 

Sure the NFL will survive. They'll make safer helmets. They'll change some rules. And they'll expand into other countries. As a business, the NFL will do fine.

 

But with fewer high schoolers playing football each year, we'll have less talent moving up to the college and professional levels. Maybe that'll be offset by more international athletes playing football. Or maybe, just maybe, the Golden Age of professional football is ending. And those of us alive right now are witnessing the peak of NFL history.

[mannc]

i was just having a discussion yesterday about how the NFL talent is in a huge lull right now. once this generation of QBs go away (brady/brees/rodgers/rivers/ben/flacco/manning), who is left? who's picking up the torch?

This is a nonsense argument. There are plenty of good young QBs in the pipeline, perhaps more than ever before: Wilson, Prescott, Winston, Luck, Mariota, Cousins, 3 picked in the top 12 this year, probably more than that next year...QB is the least of football's concerns.

 

But with fewer high schoolers playing football each year, we'll have less talent moving up to the college and professional levels. Maybe that'll be offset by more international athletes playing football. Or maybe, just maybe, the Golden Age of professional football is ending. And those of us alive right now are witnessing the peak of NFL history.

The NFL (and CFB) will continue to thrive so long as millions still want to watch it every week in the fall and winter, regardless if fewer kids play in HS. The contracts get bigger every year and I'm not aware that ratings have declined significantly. If the huge contracts are still there, top athletes will still play the sport, regardless of the risks, although a few blue chippers might opt for basketball or baseball, but that's always been the case.

[iinii]

remember looking forward to heavyweight championship bouts? it was pretty exciting

You said it. I took a cheater box to work one night to watch Tyson/Holyfield and packed that little bar with a 15" screen. I only sold drinks in between rounds and everyone loved it. I can still see all those faces staring at that little television.

[Big Blitz]

The kids who aren't playing likely had zero future in college football.

 

This game is going nowhere. And that's good. It's the greatest game God ever created.

 

I played in high school but not youth league.

 

I've been a high school coach from 2002-2011. I stopped as my kids got older. Now my 8 year old is in his first year of tackle. I'm coaching his team.

 

Kids at this age are barely hitting each other. Yes they're some strong physical ones but you match them up with their equals. I can say that 80 percent of the kids playing youth league are taking minimal shots to the head. They don't know what they're doing yet. Violent is not even close to how these 8 and 9 year old youth football age kids play. I've been around it for 5 plus years now. Only concern I have is that my 2 boys just get good coaches (which is why I wanted to coach their first years of tackle.) My oldest is now with the 12 and 13 year olds and he'll be playing middle school ball next fall. Both just love the game. And that's all I love to see.

 

I remain far more concerned about knee or ankle or spinal injuries then head trauma. If they get to college and beyond its something to consider. Not in high school or youth league.

 

To each their own and if you are concerned about safety then you do you. The most serious injury at my high school 2 years ago was a soccer player who got hit so hard to the ground he suffered a serious brain injury and was medivacked to the a local trauma center.

 

The game is being coached differently. We're not telling the kids to make contact with their face mask anymore....we're teaching how to use the shoulder and get the head out of the way (eyes to thighs). We're hitting less (no reason "bull in the ring" i.e. the "here's your concussion drill" should ever be played. They get proper rest between practices and we limit real deal contact.

 

There are other ways to train and prepare without hitting all 2 hours of practice. That doesn't mean the game is finished. No way.

 

And boxing is not dead. It's corrupt as hell and the kids all gravitated to MMA. Which is far more brutal.

 

 

 

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Edited August 10, 2017 by Big Blitz