Why does the NFL suck so bad?

[NEfan32]

It is just me or has the NFL just plain sucked. I used to be able to watch any football game and enjoy it. Now, I sit there watching teams like the Seahawks and Ravens and Chargers sitting there saying, "wow these teams absolutely suck!"

There is a lack of talent across the board these days. There are only 4 quarterbacks in the league I can watch. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning (especially when he has no talent at the WR posistion), Brett Favre, and Tony Romo. Outside of them, everyone just sucks. Even guys like Roethlisberger and Hasselback, who are supposed to be decent, suck. No one can score points, defense's are awful. There are interceptions left and right, and the running game sucks for every team except the Vikings and Jaguars.

Now, is it a case of, the Patriots are so much better than everyone else, I just think everyone else sucks? Or is it a case of a down flow of talent this season in the NFL? Not to mention, pretty much every team is 5-4 or 4-5. Pretty crappy if you tell me. If not for the Patriots and their drama, this could have been the worst NFL season in decades.

 

[italian pat patriot]

NFL is my favourite sport

the number 1

expecially, of course, when the Pats are playing

but in a certain way i agree...some games are really bad

but some other games are simply...fantastic

so, overall, i like a lot the game

 

[patchick]

I agree that a lot of the games are excruciating. I don't know whether it's a dearth of QBs or just that the current version of the game places such enormous burdens on the QB that few can meet the challenge. Combine the rule changes and "points of emphasis" that encourage passing with the huge athletic freaks on defense who are sending RBs to the IR at an alarming rate....it's hard to envision a Tampa Bay or Baltimore-type SB champion any more,

 

[makewayhomer]

the top of the NFL has never been stronger

any other year, the Colts (healthy version) or Cowboys would be huge SB favorites. Pittsburgh is easily as good as some SB winners in recent years (I think Pittsburgh this year is better than the SB team of a few years ago)

your memory is just selective.

who were all the really good teams in 2003? 2002? 2001? 2000?

 

[mgteich]

The NFL is better than ever. The teams in the playoffs this year would have been competitive in any year. The top teams are the best ever. The second tier would likely be favored against all but a few teams from the past.

Take a team like the Bills. IMHO, they would be a playoff team in any decade but this one.

 

[Ishdul]

Isn't life funny? People complain about parity in the MLB and recently the NFL, how there's no great teams, just a bunch of mediocrity with a few outliers.

BTW, the talent pool of the NFL is clearly the best it's ever been.

 

[Michael]

Sometimes there are some pretty bad mismatches but, football has always been that way. My issues with the NFL are that it has become WAAAYYYY to money hungry at the expense of losing fans and TV viewers. I have basic cable and I'm lucky to see 2 games in a weekend. And instead of spending time to correct the issue with THE HORRENDOUS OFFICIATING they spend their time cruising YouTube forcing them to take down any NFL footage that shows just how bad the officiating is. I know because they did it to me and YT closed my account. Yet all the 1000s of yay my team (mostly Steelers and Colts) ball-washing videos remain there. Some over a year now.

 

[ALP]

i think its a rich get richer type fo thing going on...

and I think a coach/QB makes all the difference for a team...

 

[Frezo]

I can be entertained by any football game. Even contests between lousy teams will have their share of good plays and drives. Throughout the season I record games, DL bit torrents and watch them all during the offseason.

As for the quality of the games, I think it has always been this way. When the Pats stunk it was easy to see the rest of the league as having an abundance of talent. Maybe you're experiencing the reverse now.

 

[Fanfrom1960]

It is just me or has the NFL just plain sucked. I used to be able to watch any football game and enjoy it. Now, I sit there watching teams like the Seahawks and Ravens and Chargers sitting there saying, "wow these teams absolutely suck!"

There is a lack of talent across the board these days. There are only 4 quarterbacks in the league I can watch. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning (especially when he has no talent at the WR posistion), Brett Favre, and Tony Romo. Outside of them, everyone just sucks. Even guys like Roethlisberger and Hasselback, who are supposed to be decent, suck. No one can score points, defense's are awful. There are interceptions left and right, and the running game sucks for every team except the Vikings and Jaguars.

Now, is it a case of, the Patriots are so much better than everyone else, I just think everyone else sucks? Or is it a case of a down flow of talent this season in the NFL? Not to mention, pretty much every team is 5-4 or 4-5. Pretty crappy if you tell me. If not for the Patriots and their drama, this could have been the worst NFL season in decades.

I could have written that post for you. Even my wife, who is not a sports fan, has said more than once this fall, 'aren't you going to watch that football game?' I've said to her essentially what you said, or, that if it's not the Patriots, or maybe the Colts or Dallas, I really don't care and will not be entertained. I'm the same way in baseball-usually Red Sox only, maybe Yankees, and not many other games unless a great pitcher is going. Goodell needs to start worrying about parity now, but what else could be done?

 

[mgteich]

You are lucky to see 2 games in a weekend? I suggest that there are many more fans watching many more games on free TV than 25 years ago. Your apparent choice of not paying for ESPN is just that, your choice.

Sometimes there are some pretty bad mismatches but, football has always been that way. My issues with the NFL are that it has become WAAAYYYY to money hungry at the expense of losing fans and TV viewers. I have basic cable and I'm lucky to see 2 games in a weekend. And instead of spending time to correct the issue with THE HORRENDOUS OFFICIATING they spend their time cruising YouTube forcing them to take down any NFL footage that shows just how bad the officiating is. I know because they did it to me and YT closed my account. Yet all the 1000s of yay my team (mostly Steelers and Colts) ball-washing videos remain there. Some over a year now.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

I disagree that the games are boring. I think that parity has created a lot of close games and a lot of teams that can beat each other on any given sunday. I have seen just as many battles as ever before this year.

I think that some fans are really starting to wonder about the officiating, however. I think that Polian and his ilk have been a terrible detriment to football.

I also think that the modern players are appalling in how self centered and ego driven they are. News Flash: The world does not revolve around your friggin ego!

There was a day when sportsmanship played a role in football, and players respected one another. Men played like men and kept their mouth shut. That used to be a point of pride. Now the opposite is in vogue, whining and crying and excuses. And self promotion.

 

[patsfan13]

We are spoiled watching one of and possibly the best team to ever play the game. Other than diehard Pats fans not many would find games played by the MacPhearson or Rod Rust Patriots very entertaining.

 

[Deus Irae]

This is ridiculous. The NFL is better than ever... of course our other entertainment options these days are as well. Now you have hundreds of TV channels, the internet, video games, imax theaters, etc. People can say what they want about current American culture, but one thing is for sure: the level of entertainment is amazing and continues to grow. So much so that if people aren't entertained for 2 seconds, their ADD kicks in and they complain about how boring things are "nowadays".

When you have to choose between watching the NFL or the new episode of Dynasty, a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Oilers seems much more entertaining than it really is.

Sunday used to be an "All football, all the time" day for me. Now, unless one of a scant handful of teams is playing, I keep the television on and do other things. If I hear the crowd or announcers going nuts, I'll check in on the play.

 

[Deus Irae]

Well, thats on you pal. Its still "all football all day" for me and many others. Maybe you're just getting older.

No, it's not that I'm getting older. The product has become inferior and many games are now nearly unwatchable.

 

[FrontSeven]

The NFL needs parity. I would suggest giving lobotomies to Belichick, Dungy, and 3-4 other good coaches.

There, that evens it up. Now what? 32 mediocre teams.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I agree that the majority of teams are nearly unwatchable. Part of this is that we as Pats fans are accustomed to a very high standard of coaching and game behaviour. By contrast, there are too many games where the HCs cannot manage the clock, waste challenges and do all sorts of things to aviod winning. Yes, I enjoyed Buff-Dallas and Colts-SD but both games had slow motion train wreck aspects. Another problem is that we have no competition in our division such that watching our rivals has no standings impact. We have little to gain or lose by a W or L. I'll admit that I watch a bit of SF to see if they can help with our draft pick but even those games are excerable.

I do not get the thrill out of watching other teams as much as I had for decades previously.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

i don't know which nfl you're talking about, but the one most of us seem to know is doing just fine. there are only a handful of really bad teams (it doesn't help that two of them are in our division, so maybe we focus on it more). weaker teams make major progress in just a single season (browns and lions). each conference has a cadre of really good teams, among which I would include the steelers and giants. then, there are the patriots and colts who are proven and playing at a different level.

 

[Deus Irae]

i don't know which nfl you're talking about, but the one most of us seem to know is doing just fine. there are only a handful of really bad teams (it doesn't help that two of them are in our division, so maybe we focus on it more). weaker teams make major progress in just a single season (browns and lions). each conference has a cadre of really good teams, among which I would include the steelers and giants. then, there are the patriots and colts who are proven and playing at a different level.

Really bad teams:

Jets
Dolphins
Bengals
Raiders
Falcons
Vikings
49ers
Rams


Bad teams:
Bills
Ravens
Texans
Chiefs
Broncos


Bad/decent teams:
Panthers
Cardinals
Bears
Eagles



Decent teams:
Browns
Chargers
Buccaneers
Saints
Lions
Redskins
Giants
Seahawks


"Good" teams (Not a single one of these teams is "Really good"):
Titans
Jaguars
Packers
Steelers
Cowboys


Special case: The Colts were "really good", but that's a huge question now


The only "Great" team:
Patriots



I could see arguments for a few teams moving up or down a spot in categories, but almost a third of the league is "Really bad" in my view, and the Texans and Ravens are prime candidates to fall into that group with the way they've played lately. I don't know if it's just a bad year, a transition from one group of top teams to another where both groups are stuck in an area where they are now not ready for prime time, rules changes or something else, but the games are just nowhere near as well played as they used to be, in my opinion.

 

[BradyisGod]

I second the original post. Myself and some pretty die hard football fans at work have been discussing that the NFL basically is horrendous to watch. There is little to no execution. The only exciting plays happen when things break down, which, quite frankly, isn't very good football. Hey, when the Browns appear that they could go 12-4, well, I'm not sure the product is that good anymore.