An 18 game NFL season?
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
An 18 game NFL season?
Jonathan Tamari
No Eagles draft picks signed today (at least not yet - though the team did make a roster move in releasing undrafted free agent cornerback Devin Ross) so I thought it would provide a good chance to talk about one of the more divisive issues of the off season: expanding the NFL schedule to 18 games.
The New York Times has a story today with some details of the idea, which boils down to this: the owners would like to ditch two of the league's meaningless (but full priced) pre-season games and replace them with regular season contests. This would pave the way for more money in the owners' pockets, with some of that cash presumably finding its way into players' paychecks.
The players, though, are not enthused and have some strong arguments on their side, namely that extending the season would increase the risk of injury in a sport where injuries are already prominent and potentially devastating. Before anyone jumps on the players as pampered millionaires, one of the most outspoken opponents is the Ravens' Ray Lewis, hardly a softie.
“I’ve been blessed to play this game for so long, but it’s time to start thinking about what legacy and impact changes like this will leave for the players of tomorrow and us after we retire,” Lewis said in a statement released by the players’ association, according to the Times. “I know our fans may not like preseason games and I don’t like all of them, but swapping two preseason games for two end-of-season games — when players already play hurt — comes at a huge cost for the player and the team.”
So what do fans think? Would you prefer more NFL action and being freed from paying for watered-down pre-season games? Are you worried about key players getting hurt if the season gets any longer? Is the NFL making a mistake by tinkering with the most successful product in American sports? Or are they smart for finding ways to keep growing revenue (read: making money)?
Have at it . . .
Starters barely play 1 out of the four preseason games as it is now. Most of the games are played by second teamers and players that the teams want to evaluate. Regulars will have to play the 2 preseason games to get their team cohesion down and then have to play 18 games at full speed. It'll increase injuries, shorten players careers and make for games in high heat and/or low temps. Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea. And imagine an 18 game sked for bad team like the Lions? It'll seem like an eternity.— tpizza
Regarding expanding the roster, here's what I don't get... as long as there's a hard salary cap in place, what's the point of having a limit to the roster at all? The logic behind it originally came well before any cap, and the idea was to prevent rich owners from buying up all the talent in the market. Now, when there's a limit each team can spend, why bother dictating how many people they can spend it on. If your whack-job coaching staff wants to pay 400 guys league minimum or whatever, go nuts. If they're talking about expanding the regular season, ditching roster limits makes more sense now than ever.— Coniglio101
Comment removed.- "This would pave the way for more money in the owners' pockets, with some of that cash presumably finding its way into players' paychecks" Come on.... you know the players get 50%+ of the income, so if the owners make more money from the two games from TV, the players get even more. Adding two reg season games with more players on the roster would be great.... I can't stand getting ripped off for full price tickets to preseason games.— dennismithusa
- Dont fix something that aint broke people!— dbscu9934
- Cut the preseason games and don't add any regular season games.— cesegal
- too many games,more injuries and a waterdowned product,bad idea.— schmitty71
- Of course from the fan point of view 18 games is better. It will mean another game or two with Vick at QB though.— jimmyj
- I would consider adding another bye week.— Jonuda
- As a season ticket holder, I have trouble paying for the pre-season games. So I love this. They need to temper it with expanded rosters to help with injury factor. At least expanded for those first couple of games (like a final cut process).— eaglec35
With the miracles that Kolb "Mr. Clutch" Kolb will deliver this year we need as many games as possible to witness this greatest.- if its 18 games will the super bowl take place around the third week of February?? I'm all for more football, but these guys do need some time off to recuperate.— slickguy17
- 18 game season. I don't know when would the Super Bowl be played? March is the answer, then we have the Super Bowl competing with "March Madness" for our money, hearts and minds. However, you could keep that from happening by eliminating the present Wild Card games scenario, go back to the division leaders playing for the Conference Title not this long drawn out abortion that is now in place. As for increasing the roster? I say yes. Another 5-10 players would make the game safer, starters could get a little less playing time each game to keep them fresh. Maybe like the Pop Warner formula, you have to play every player on the roster every game.— drpfs
- Looks like Tamari finally got a real head shot and got rid of the one where is melon looked like a beach ball on a tooth pick. Congrats Tamari you actually look like a normal human being instead of Stewie Griffin!— EaglesBleedMoney
- injuries can come from taking a shower.. MORE GAMES PLEASE!!!— osi is hurt boohoo
