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How the NFL is manipulating games in 2020: Fewer holding calls, faster games and way more offense


YoloinOhio

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Ive noticed the NFL change the rule on interceptions too. Now, a WR can catch the ball, be down, and have the defender simply take it from him after he’s down. Boom. INT. 

55 minutes ago, Lurker said:

I still think the lack of croud noise (12th man) is the biggest influence on offensive output.   

 

Communication is better, stress is lower and defenses aren't getting as jacked up / adrenalized.   The psychological advantage of not having 60,000+ fans roaring against you gives the road team a big 'level playing field' advantage...

I 100% agree. 
 

Could be a little bit of both too, but no crowd noise has to be up there. 

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Although I think there are multiple factors leading to the increased scoring, I can agree that NFL corporate could be trying to drive more offense and scoring. 
 

I just don’t see where this will improve ratings based on (1) the types of fans and (2) a comparison to other sports. 
 

Types of Fans:

 

A)  The Ultimate NFL Fan- watches as many games as possible while tracking stats and trends. Increased scoring can’t influence how much he watches as they are pretty much at capacity. 
 

B) The Good NFL Fan (I probably fall here)- Watches their favorite team every week. May check out Thursday, Sunday Evening and Monday Night games depending on match ups, fantasy players, etc. If I am interested in a game, I don’t tune in longer if it is high scoring. The total number of points doesn’t determine the interest level to make them watch more or less. 
 

C) The Casual NFL Fan-  Mostly tries to watch their team and may watch another game casually if it’s on in the background. Whether the score is high or low I don’t see them tuning in longer. 
 

Overall, I don’t see the total number of points influencing any type of fan much at all. Maybe the rational is if people happen to see a high score they tune in a little longer. However if a high scoring game is the new norm, I think the novelty wears off quickly. 
 

NHL and MLB have expierenced more scoring/offense in recent years. However, I don’t see many new fans watching due to the increase in points. 
 

Conversely, soccer is the most popular sport worldwide and soccer games are the most low scoring events out there. 
 

If the NFL is indeed trying to push scoring, I think it won’t increase viewership. I think the main and underlying issue is that the NFL hit their saturation point a few years ago. They obviously will try to keep growing anyway possible but I think they are fighting an impossible battle. 

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