17 game season is official

[Nellie]

No. Just no. A 17th game is bad enough as it is, but at least it’s just a normal game. Leave the gimmicks to the NBA.

I dunno, many of those games late in the season are difficult to watch especially if one team already has a playoff spot clinched or when one team has #1 draft position already locked up. The NFL already gimmicked up the schedule with this change, not to mention the last year's gimmick of adding an extra team to the playoff schedule.

 

[DarrylS]

The rule is there to mitigate the impact that minor injuries have on individual games. If Team A has 6 players that are too hurt to play a football game, but not hurt enough to go on IR, and Team B has no players like that, Team A is now fielding 47 players against 53. Yes, not every player plays a huge role, but it's still more options and a competitive advantage for Team B.

Giving each team a buffer of 6 or so players means that, unless there's a HUGE rash of injuries in that specific sweetspot, both teams are on equal terms as far as available bodies in a game.

I'm all for expanding the rosters as a result of this rule change, or at least making the IR and PS rules from last year permanent (or a variation of them at least) to help de-incentivize teams from playing injured players, but there should still be a difference between total roster count and gameday roster count.

You could, in the event of a concentration of players who are questionable, utilize a PS player who could be activated for the upcoming game.. they are getting paid also. Kind of like MLB...

Remember hearing Johnathan Kraft speaking to this as they are paid, why not let them play???

 

[fnordcircle]

This happened because the NFL is now in a position where it has to negotiate new network contracts with very poor viewership numbers. A 17th game is probably what is being demanded to keep contracts favorable. I will let everyone draw their own conclusions on why viewership is down. But I suspect this will let the NFL make a new contract deal and try to wiggle it's way out of poor viewership numbers over the next few years.

The NFL is still the dominant TV viewing product in the United States.

Live TV viewership, as a whole is down more than the NFL because of streaming but that little fact is inconvenient to people who think the NFL is dying because black man no stand up for troop worship time.

"The Big Four broadcast networks all fell at least 10 percent in total viewers"

The Grim TV Ratings Reality of 2020 | Hollywood Reporter

 

[Boston Boxer]

And with that the New England Patriots will forever be the only team in NFL history to finish a perfect regular season at 16-0.

a small step to an 18 game regular season with 2 pre season games. They need to expand the rosters

 

[Deus Irae]

 

[TheRainMaker]

I'm not a fan of breaking traditions like this. And I didn't like the new playoff format.

 

[Deus Irae]

I'm not a fan of breaking traditions like this. And I didn't like the new playoff format.

Greedy owners + Greedy players = Really stupid decisions

 

[XLIX]

I dunno, many of those games late in the season are difficult to watch especially if one team already has a playoff spot clinched or when one team has #1 draft position already locked up. The NFL already gimmicked up the schedule with this change, not to mention the last year's gimmick of adding an extra team to the playoff schedule.

There's no way to avoid the fact that in some seasons, some teams will lock up the #1 seed or have teams locked into a specific seed prior to the final week of the season. That all depends on how things shake out, and that won't change whether there's 16, 17 or 18 games. But you will always have the divisions which aren't decided yet, or the seeding which is still up for grabs. Week 18 will be no less important than the typical week 17 was in prior years.

 

[XLIX]

The NFL is still the dominant TV viewing product in the United States.

Live TV viewership, as a whole is down more than the NFL because of streaming but that little fact is inconvenient to people who think the NFL is dying because black man no stand up for troop worship time.

"The Big Four broadcast networks all fell at least 10 percent in total viewers"

The Grim TV Ratings Reality of 2020 | Hollywood Reporter

I will take actual polling data over your random, agenda-driven guesswork. Nearly 1/3rd of all Americans in the poll claim they have watched less sports because they are sick of the SJW messages. Even if only half are being honest, that's still a big number.

As NBA Ratings Decline, Poll Shows 34% Watched Less Sports Over Social Justice Messages (newsweek.com)

 

[PatsWSB47]

I will take actual polling data over your random, agenda-driven guesswork. Nearly 1/3rd of all Americans in the poll claim they have watched less sports because they are sick of the SJW messages. Even if only half are being honest, that's still a big number.

As NBA Ratings Decline, Poll Shows 34% Watched Less Sports Over Social Justice Messages (newsweek.com)

"End racism" messages turn off a segment of our society

 

[mgteich]

I'm not a fan of breaking traditions like this. And I didn't like the new playoff format.

how old is this sacred tradition and playoff setup?

 

[TheRainMaker]

how old is this sacred tradition and playoff setup?

Regular season: 1978
Playoff: 1990.

 

[XLIX]

"End racism" messages turn off a segment of our society

The fact that you have to so drastically misrepresent the messages sprawled all over one's TV during, for example, the typical NBA game only shows the weakness of your point. It is a non-stop advertisement for partisan political organizations. But hey, they're only hurting themselves so I certainly ain't losing any sleep over it.

Republicans watch sports too.... or, well, at least they used to.... apparently nowhere near as much these days though....

 

[Sicilian]

You could, in the event of a concentration of players who are questionable, utilize a PS player who could be activated for the upcoming game.. they are getting paid also. Kind of like MLB...

Remember hearing Johnathan Kraft speaking to this as they are paid, why not let them play???

That would be fine too, but you have to then allow for unlimited PS callups in order to have the same equilibrium. This past season they made an exception for Covid, and even then it was limited on a per week and per player basis.

 

[DarrylS]

That would be fine too, but you have to then allow for unlimited PS callups in order to have the same equilibrium. This past season they made an exception for Covid, and even then it was limited on a per week and per player basis.

In my opinion that probably is a good "trade off" for a 17 game season..

 

[XLIX]

Falcons hosting a game in London in October.... so the NFL is clearly anticipating things back to normal this autumn....

Opponent not announced other than it will be a non-divisional game. Patriots are one of 5 teams it could be, alongside Lions, Jets, Eagles and Team.

Given that we are not at war with London, I can’t imagine sending them the Jets....

 

[PatsDeb]

The logical me says this stinks for players, diluting the game, etc., but then I remember the emotional me, every week after the Super Bowl every year, thinking, "Damn, no more football! I'm bored." So, maybe one more week won't be so bad, at least for the fans.

 

[jboston19]

 

[XLIX]