patfanken

18 game season concept
I was thinking about the inevitability of the 18 game season. Like most ideas it has good aspects and bad Clearly he worst part of it would be the increased injuries the longer season would bring as well as the long term wear and tear on a player's career. Here are 2 possible solutions

1. You increase the roster to 55 men, and the game day roster to 50

2. You mandate that every player can only play in 16 games a season. That way they don't get any extra wear and tear, and it might actually help by giving them now 2 weeks more each season to recover.


Think about the strategy implications. Do you rest the QB and hope you have 2 meaningless games he can miss at the end of the season, or if you do that do you wind up having to play a 2nd QB in the most critical game of the year. In some sense the 2nd guessing would be fun for the fans.

THe owners get their 18 games along with the extra revenue. The union gets more jobs without beating up their members bodies any more than they are now

THe fans get the intigue of the strategy that would go on trying to make sure that players got their 2 games off, as well as losing 2 totally meanless and boring preseason games.

Depth would be even a more critical factor and a true measure of a team

If you think its too draconian What about a 19 games season where the players have to have one game off a year instead of 2 as a compromise?

What do you think

khayos

You can't limit guys to only 16 games... who's going to carry 2 kickers, 2 punters, 2 long snappers?

Gwedd

IF this is going to happen, the I would offer that the easiest way to schedule it would be in three 6-game units.

Every team plays 6 games, then gets a bye week. Then they play the next 6 games, with another bye week, then the final 6 games. that gives each team an extra week to rest up players.

Those two bye weeks would be league-wide, so every team would be off on those two weeks. The NFL could use those times to have some sort of NFL/Local Team experience at the venues. Family days to visit the stadiums, tour the clubhouse, see the "NFL Experience" maybe meet players or retired players, stuff like that. Plenty of time for NFL Network to replay the previous games, etc. In other words, rest the teams and keep the fans engaged through new PR outreach programs.

Regardless, a season made up of three 6-game segments could work very well, and certainly make those last few weeks even more interesting for all involved.

Respects

mgteich

Your scheme would be the worst of all worlds, decreased revenue (2 bye weeks with no TV) and increased possibility of injuries (18 regular season games).

mgteich

There will be no forcing teams to sit players for 2 weeks, requiring extra kickers and punters and essentially requiring extra starters at all positions.

The reality is that the extension to 8 games may increase or decrease meaningless games at the end of the season. Many players will be rested when teams clinch early. Putting more division games at the end will help, but could backfire when these high revenue games oaccasionally ebcome meaningless.

In the end, as when the nfl went from 14 to 16 efular season games, the sky is NOT falling. There were dire predictions then. It all turned out well. What we clearly do NOT need is to continue having FOUR meaningless games for every team. Moving from 20 games to 18 games is unreasonable. If more practice games are required, scrimmages will be scheduled on an as-needed basis.

In the end, the teams now have 20 games, plus optional scrimmages. The teams can play whoever they want within the current structure. If a team CHOOSES to do so, they can sit their starters for the entire preseason. Perhaps that will reduce injuries. It is not the number of regular season games that dictates the probability of injury. It is each team's choices with regard tot he intensity of practices and camp, the use of players in the preseason, the rotation of players during all of the 20 games, and especially the sitting out of players during parts of the season when slightly injured, or not (for example, after the division is clinched). There are much more important factors than which games count for the standings.

Deus Irae

But if it were really about "what the fans want", and not about "how to milk more from the money cows", the league would just cut one exhibition game and move forward with the same 16 game season.

Since the NFL doesn't give a rat's ass what the fans, or players, want, the goal is 18 regular season games. That will eventually be followed by a second bye week. People can start getting ready for 2 exhibitions, 18 regular season games, 2 bye weeks and the 4 playoff weeks.

Half the weeks of the year will now be occupied by NFL football games, plus the Hall of Fame game week. That's the NFL goal, regardless of what's best for the fans and players.

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mgteich

You have set up a straw man.

I never said that the move to 18 games and 2 byes was about what the fans wanted rather than increasing revenue.

The change is about increasing revenue, as well it should be. The players will have their percentage of a larger revenue pot.

Apparently you are baseball fans who doesn't want a longer nfl season. I ahve one sport I care about: nfl football. 2 weeks of exhibitions and 24 weeks of the regualr season and playoffs is fine with me. Personally, I don't think that the fans will be upset with the extra weeks of meaningful football to replace the exhibition games.

Has the team done a poll of paying customers? How many season ticket holders prefer to replace 2 exhibition games with 2 regular season games? How many fans want to shorten the season and wait longer in the offseason for football to begin?

Calciumee

I was trying to work out how the schedule would work, if it carried on the way it is.

It's an extra home and away game per season; but who would them teams be?

__________________

A.C Vegas

I would guess a rotating game aganst to other conference 2 divisons and in the same place has the team finshed

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mgteich

There are many options. 14 games would be set as now:
6 division games
4 games with an entire division within the conference
4 games with an entire division outside the conference.
=============
NOW
The final two games are with teams in the other two divisions; we play the two teams that placed the same as we did within each division.

ALTERNATIVE 1 TO ADD TWO GAMES
We could add 2 nonconference games against the two teams that placed the same us we did within the division. This option wouls assure that we played at least one team from every division every year.

ALTERNATIVE 2 TO ADD TWO GAMES
Add another conference division giving every member of each division the same schedule.

OTHER ALTERNATIVES
I'm sure there are others