BillsVet Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 There's been a lot of talk about expanding the NFL season, in essence to increase revenue for owners as a compromise when the CBA comes up later this year. At this point (and Roger Goodell has said it won't happen before 2010) I can't see the NFLPA ever agreeing to a 17 or 18 game season and shortening the preseason. There's too much risk for injuries. It's alarming again how many players are hurt already this year, and this morning the list grew even larger. Seattle lost starting guard Rob Sims, to go along with their three receivers of Branch, Burleson, and Engram. Miami and Jacksonville lost starting guards. Marques Colston is out 4-6 weeks, (edit: Rams) WR Drew Bennett the same time as Colston, and of course everyone's favorite man to hate, Tom Brady, is done for the season. Throw in the Vince Young's injury (he could be mentally and physically hurt), and in one week, the NFL has lost a host of name players. Of course, this happens every year, but with teams spending more money and expectations high, losing key players seems to be at an all-time high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribo Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Brady didn't play in the preseason, so he cannot be used as a reason to shorten it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 The trick is going to be convincing the owners to 'lose' money shortening the preseason without lengthening the regular season. They may be completely alone in this, but I hear they've got some pull.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 Brady didn't play in the preseason, so he cannot be used as a reason to shorten it. True. My point is that more games equal more injuries, and with marquee names hitting the IR and injury report, I can't see the players association wanting more. Every year the pre-season claims a few name guys, but 16 games seems to be enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribo Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I understand that, but these are Week One injuries. We cannot get a season shorter than that. I would say there are more serious injuries in the earlier games of the season than there are in the later games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Players are bigger and faster than ever before. The average NFL career has held steady at just under 4 years for quite some time. The fact is, it's a violent game, players will get hurt, and that is why (for the most part) teams are immediately searching for your replacement the day they sign you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kota Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 They need to shorten the preaseason by two games not add to the regular season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ (not THAT RJ) Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 The major question about a longer season is how it will require teams to have more serious depth. As it is, getting through 16 games without some major player getting hurt is hard; add two weeks and you can pretty much guarantee that you will lose someone sometime. One also wonders if a longer season will also include a bye week... or more playoff rounds... which would push the Super Bowl beyond Lincon's birthday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 There's been a lot of talk about expanding the NFL season, in essence to increase revenue for owners as a compromise when the CBA comes up later this year. At this point (and Roger Goodell has said it won't happen before 2010) I can't see the NFLPA ever agreeing to a 17 or 18 game season and shortening the preseason. There's too much risk for injuries. It's alarming again how many players are hurt already this year, and this morning the list grew even larger. Seattle lost starting guard Rob Sims, to go along with their three receivers of Branch, Burleson, and Engram. Miami and Jacksonville lost starting guards. Marques Colston is out 4-6 weeks, Seattle WR Drew Bennett the same time as Colston, and of course everyone's favorite man to hate, Tom Brady, is done for the season. Throw in the Vince Young's injury (he could be mentally and physically hurt), and in one week, the NFL has lost a host of name players. Of course, this happens every year, but with teams spending more money (and at the same time making more money) and expectations high, losing key players seems to be at an all-time high. I fixed your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 The major question about a longer season is how it will require teams to have more serious depth. As it is, getting through 16 games without some major player getting hurt is hard; add two weeks and you can pretty much guarantee that you will lose someone sometime. One also wonders if a longer season will also include a bye week... or more playoff rounds... which would push the Super Bowl beyond Lincon's birthday. Teams have already wised up to the preseason injuries, playing only near-future construction workers and Topps bagboys -at considerable expense to the consumer- in the final tune up. I've been thinking just add another round of playoffs if the owners won't approve lessening the season by a meaningless game or two. You're right, 'Black History Month' is pretty short. The Pro Bowl might conflict with St. Patricks Day festivities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBilliever Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Drew Bennett plays for St. Louis, I think you meant Nate Burleson. Also, Branch and Engram can never stay healthy. Sure, Tommy Water-Pistol is a huge name to lose, Vince Young also, but he also sits out frequently with muscle bruises or a sand-filled vagina. But Wide Receivers going down and guards getting nicked up aren't that huge of deals. 17 players on an IR is a big deal, single injuries around the league for seperate teams, not so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 I fixed your post. Yes, the owners and players are raking in the dollars, especially with the recent CBA pushed through by Tagliabue. The point is, the next CBA will be even more difficult to negotiate with players getting something around 59% of league revenue. As much as players liked that deal, it was obvious the owners weren't happy. So much so, that it was overwhelmingly rejected earlier this year. Goodell understands there's a looming situation with the next CBA. He's looking for a compromise, and having 1-2 additional games may (or may not) alleviate what is probably going to be tough talks when owners demand more for themselves. I have a feeling the players won't be eager to give any percentage of revenue back to the owners. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business that seemingly has no limit to its growth. IMO, the players association will point to injuries as a means of shooting down Goodell's move to expand the regular season. A 16 game grind is already a long season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I heard a few minutes of an interview with Art Monk earlier today that covered this topic. Art seemed to think that regardless of the length of preseason, 16 regular season games are enough. He said the preparation and intensity that goes into regular season games -- both mental and physical -- inflicts a heavy toll on players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasoninMT Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 The beef w/ preseason injuries is mostly the fact they happen in meaningless games. It would be interesting to see an analysis of how many injuries happen in the preseason games vs regular season... And not just season ending ones... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dog14787 Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 I heard a few minutes of an interview with Art Monk earlier today that covered this topic. Art seemed to think that regardless of the length of preseason, 16 regular season games are enough. He said the preparation and intensity that goes into regular season games -- both mental and physical -- inflicts a heavy toll on players. Shorten the preseason, add a couple of teams to the playoffs from each conference and have a wild card weekend. Add a round to the playoffs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted September 11, 2008 Author Share Posted September 11, 2008 The major question about a longer season is how it will require teams to have more serious depth. As it is, getting through 16 games without some major player getting hurt is hard; add two weeks and you can pretty much guarantee that you will lose someone sometime. One also wonders if a longer season will also include a bye week... or more playoff rounds... which would push the Super Bowl beyond Lincon's birthday. Teams are already reduced to carrying 80 players on their rosters in the preseason. That may sound like a lot, but with all four, sometimes five preseason games, teams quickly run short at certain positions. Polian admitted he made a bad call volunteering for the HOF game, because it's just an opportunity for further injury. Shorten the preseason, add a couple of teams to the playoffs from each conference and have a wild card weekend. Add a round to the playoffs On paper, that's still a reach. Already, the SB is the first week in February, and as other have noted, makes the season longer than it already is. I don't think the playoffs need tweaking, and six teams is enough. That's especially the case in the NFC, in which 8-8 teams seem to flirt with the playoffs each year. That may not be the case in the AFC, but no .500 team should ever make the postseason. BTW, there's already a wild card weekend, followed by the divisional round, the conference championship, a bye week, and finally the SB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts