Could This Be What Goodell Really Wants?

[Tanbass]

The NFL is bordering on getting a reputation of having a few crooked refs in there right now. This type of stuff is being talked about all over the place. I guarantee you that is NOT what Goodell wants.

 

[Patriot Missile]

One thing I hate in all this is Goodells nonchalant attitude in all of this. I dislike being played for the fool when he makes claims that there are no differences in the officiating quality. This guy therefore insinuates that we are clueless mongrels that don't know what we're watching.

Fix this fiasco Roger. Get the other guys back. And while you're at it insert a new rule for wr's and cb's lobbying for calls after every play. They are reminding me more and more of Nba players every time I watch.

 

[goheels22002]

Attendance has been in decline for years. Viewership is just the offset. Casual fans will lose interest, as they do whenever situations like this happen. By losing me, the NFL has lost the equivalent of about 8 casual fans.

Good luck with that business model.

The NFL has problems - it still hasn't dealt with concussions and it (and the NFLPA) screwed former players on health insurance coverage to get the help they need (remember Junior Seau?), some teams have to paper the house to avoid blackouts, the cost of getting the team you want on the tube is over $50 per month for many.

Now the game itself sucks due to interminable delays while the refs try to sort out their screwups, games are blown on ridiculously bad calls, and NFL players will likely get hurt in the mayhem on the field. Where is Ben Dreith when you need him?

We've always got college football. It's not like the NFL has a monopoly on the sport. The NCAA has a gem of a product and with a new playoff format about to unfold at the D1 level, football fans can get their fix at any of hundreds of football fields across the land if the NFL screws up its product, which they are. Around these parts, we've got BC, UConn and UMass at the BCS or D-1 level. If they can bring in the big programs, our interest can shift if the NFL is seen as a hack league, which it is fast becoming.

I cannot imagine this is what the owners or Goodell want.

 

[Timbo717]

I am all over the place on this. It reminds me of a former employer who desperately wanted to avoid lawsuits and everything they did was around that. I really can't help but think that the NFL is playing hardball with the refs to avoid setting a precedent that will open up the floodgates for lawsuits. And then in the same thought process I think these guys can't be that short sighted, yet we've seen them try to lesson injuries/concussions to avoid suits.

I also think Mo's statement that they are trying to break the union has merit. Unfortunately IMO I would wager the NFL didn't envision the cluster they have on the field, witness last night's debacle. I really think they thought they'd have minimal collateral damage, and not a mess like last night.

It just seems like a complete waste of breath to nickle and dime these guys with billion dollar product going to hell and a handbasket. Pay them and get them back in the games.

I would bet my car that they don't want to set the precedent of giving pensions to part-time employees working approx. 20 games or so a year while being criticized for skimping on healthcare benefits for the players who ACTUALLY go out and put their bodies and lives on the line for our entertainment. They don't want to give in to pampering the refs more (or at least give that perception whether you believe it or not) when they still have a lot of work to do in order to take care of the guys who are the product.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

We've always got college football. It's not like the NFL has a monopoly on the sport. The NCAA has a gem of a product and with a new playoff format about to unfold at the D1 level, football fans can get their fix at any of hundreds of football fields across the land if the NFL screws up its product, which they are. Around these parts, we've got BC, UConn and UMass at the BCS or D-1 level. If they can bring in the big programs, our interest can shift if the NFL is seen as a hack league, which it is fast becoming.

I cannot imagine this is what the owners or Goodell want.

I can't get up any interest for college ball. Tried & lost interest.

However, I am considering watching Lingerie League football games, but only if televised in high definition.

 

[BradyManny]

The NFL gained in popularity during an offseason marred by a lockout. They are relatively bullit proof at this juncture. They are actually more worried about long range scenarios than fans or mediots ever are. We live in the moment and are part of the immediate gratification generation. Just like with the players the owners have dug in in order to get it right for the long haul. Same thing with a lot of the contact rules changes fans and media alternately call for and decry. Because we don't really know what we want. Believe me, these new age owners do and their track record of getting it is pretty damn impressive.

This is a great point. And a testament to the power of the NFL.

The rest of the post, I actually disagree with. Whether or not the owners are trying to get things right for the long haul, things are so awful in the short-term that it is beginning to be a real issue. I had no idea how bad and just purely incompetent these replacement referees would be. And, even worse, how tangible their negative impact on the entertainment value of the game would be. The only games I've watched live have been the Pats. Any others I now buffer on the DVR so I can fast-forward through these mopes figuring out the most basic calls.

At some point, the awesome power and appeal of professional football, which you reference, will get seriously tested by the terrible product they are offering up right now. At what point, I don't know.

 

[Deus Irae]

By your own admission, they haven't lost you. You aren't giving up the NFL, you're just not following it as much. That's not exactly the most principled boycott you got going there.

I'm sorry that your reading comprehension sucks, but I'm not going to bother explaining this further to you.

 

[Deus Irae]

I would bet my car that they don't want to set the precedent of giving pensions to part-time employees working approx. 20 games or so a year while being criticized for skimping on healthcare benefits for the players who ACTUALLY go out and put their bodies and lives on the line for our entertainment. They don't want to give in to pampering the refs more (or at least give that perception whether you believe it or not) when they still have a lot of work to do in order to take care of the guys who are the product.

They already give pensions to the officials. This is about taking them away.

 

[mayoclinic]

1.) Vegas just had a swing of over 200 million dollars because of one call. Lives were just significantly impacted by officials who weren't good enough for the Lingerie League.

2.) I'm an avid football fan, generally watching 7-10 games a week during their normal time, and often watching others during replays. The NFL just lost me as a viewer for all but one of those games, and will eventually lose me for that last game when the fake refs screw up another Patriots game.

I doubt this is what Goodell wants.

Probably should have typed this thread out then hit the back button. Screwing with the integrity of the game isn't what Goodell wants. The instant results as far as word of mouth about the game is coming back positive, yes. But the long term results aren't good. Consider what's going to happen when one of these crews gets to officiate a playoff game?

I don't think that Goodell particularly cares about either of these points. No one has suggested that the replacement refs are biased. They're doing the best they can, under difficult circumstances. There's just as much chance they'll screw up in favor of one team as another. And I doubt the suggestion that Goodell should be influenced by what Vegas wants will carry much weight.

I also think that Goodell doesn't care much what die hard NFL fans do. He wants to expand the NFL into a global business, and anything that promotes its visibility and sucks new fans in is a step in that direction. Like "fantasy football", which has sucked in millions of casual fans. I've heard more people talking about football today than I ever had in a non-SB setting. For every guy like Deus who may actually walk away and stay away - and the majority won't - there will be 10 new fans who tune in and build market share and advertising revenue.

Of course Goodell's going to toe the party line about "protecting the integrity of the game". And I'm not suggesting that he's being driven by this. But, as Mo states, Goodell knows that he has a relatively bullet-proof product that thrived in spite of alienating millions of fans over the lockout. Resentment over the replacement officials will fade, and the suckers like us will always come back. Meanwhile there's more parity and unpredictability than ever, and I doubt the league office considers that a bad thing.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

mayo provides a clinic for the insanity being posted everywhere

 

[KoolAid]

I can't see this, but if it was true he needs to be removed. That would be jumping the shark times 10.

 

[Kontradiction]

I don't think that Goodell particularly cares about either of these points. No one has suggested that the replacement refs are biased. They're doing the best they can, under difficult circumstances. There's just as much chance they'll screw up in favor of one team as another. And I doubt the suggestion that Goodell should be influenced by what Vegas wants will carry much weight.

I also think that Goodell doesn't care much what die hard NFL fans do. He wants to expand the NFL into a global business, and anything that promotes its visibility and sucks new fans in is a step in that direction. Like "fantasy football", which has sucked in millions of casual fans. I've heard more people talking about football today than I ever had in a non-SB setting. For every guy like Deus who may actually walk away and stay away - and the majority won't - there will be 10 new fans who tune in and build market share and advertising revenue.

Of course Goodell's going to toe the party line about "protecting the integrity of the game". And I'm not suggesting that he's being driven by this. But, as Mo states, Goodell knows that he has a relatively bullet-proof product that thrived in spite of alienating millions of fans over the lockout. Resentment over the replacement officials will fade, and the suckers like us will always come back. Meanwhile there's more parity and unpredictability than ever, and I doubt the league office considers that a bad thing.

The NBA has lost a good chunk of it's viewership over the years due to bad officiating. What makes you think that the NFL won't? I think both you and Mo are putting too much stock into the amount of people that enjoy the product. People enjoy the product that was put on the field prior to the scab referees bumbling it this year. Over time, if this keeps occurring, people will walk away just like they did, and continue to do, with the NBA. Goodell doesn't want to lose money, and if the replacement refs keep at it, he eventually will.

 

[nekromantique]

Make that two ..... but I'm giving it until after week 5 then, if not resolved, it's baseball to me as well.

aside from the playoffs...baseball will basically be over.

basketball starts soon though!

 

[aluminum seats]

Goodell knows that he has a relatively bullet-proof product that thrived in spite of alienating millions of fans over the lockout. Resentment over the replacement officials will fade, and the suckers like us will always come back.

The league is playing with fire. It's a tipping point situation--people who say, "look at the ratings!" are missing the point. If this goes on too long, the league will become a joke and its popularity will decline. It won't happen overnight, but it will be extremely difficult to reverse the process if it starts.

Things change.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

The NBA has lost a good chunk of it's viewership over the years due to bad officiating. What makes you think that the NFL won't? I think both you and Mo are putting too much stock into the amount of people that enjoy the product. People enjoy the product that was put on the field prior to the scab referees bumbling it this year. Over time, if this keeps occurring, people will walk away just like they did, and continue to do, with the NBA. Goodell doesn't want to lose money, and if the replacement refs keep at it, he eventually will.

NFL breaks the refs this season and in the process screws up the playoffs.

New full time refs for 2013 will give them the PR cover to repair what non substantive damage occurs this season. Your NBA point is well taken but it took years and over a decade to destroy that much more fragile product. NFL is robust enough to withstand a 6 month you-know-what storm.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

Well Mayo if Goodell really DID NOT want this he would have ended this poor excuse of an officially run league before this season started. It's like tip money compared to how wealthy NFL is. Goodell is supposed to expand out internationally to make his product huge,well, what does world think of NFL now? He obviously has an agenda and that's why when BB sticks it to him to drive a point I LUV IT even more!

 

[DaBronxPats14]

The league is playing with fire. It's a tipping point situation--people who say, "look at the ratings!" are missing the point. If this goes on too long, the league will become a joke and its popularity will decline. It won't happen overnight, but it will be extremely difficult to reverse the process if it starts.

Things change.

Agreed! I just posted this before. Especially on an international stage wonder what people are thinkin of this. Soon there will be more fights & brawls in stands of games.

 

[Steve102]

NFL breaks the refs this season and in the process screws up the playoffs.

New full time refs for 2013 will give them the PR cover to repair what non substantive damage occurs this season. Your NBA point is well taken but it took years and over a decade to destroy that much more fragile product. NFL is robust enough to withstand a 6 month you-know-what storm.

Seems like a pretty big gamble.

 

[BradyManny]

But, as Mo states, Goodell knows that he has a relatively bullet-proof product that thrived in spite of alienating millions of fans over the lockout. Resentment over the replacement officials will fade, and the suckers like us will always come back. Meanwhile there's more parity and unpredictability than ever, and I doubt the league office considers that a bad thing.

I agree. We're addicts and the NFL has our fix.

At some point, there will be a tipping point. At some point, it will be like the NBA.

However, we've seen three weeks of debacles thus far, and which one of us is not going to turn on the Buffalo-New England game this Sunday?

I agree with those that use the phrase "playing with fire." I have no idea what/when the tipping point will be. Maybe it will be a gradual process, maybe something will swing the balance.

But all I know is, for now, people are watching the NFL at higher rates than ever and the NFL has more parity than I can ever remember. So what has Goodell really lost by employing these hack refs?

 

[JMarr]

So what if the media, coaches/players and fans are all screaming bloody murder. The replacement refs have turned the NFL into the Wild West with chaotic and unpredictable results. 10 games in week 3 were decided by 7 points or less, including 3 OT games and 3 more decided on the last play of the game:

OT: Tennessee 44-Detroit 41, NY Jets 23-Miami 20, KC 27-NO 24

Last play of regulion: Baltimore 31-NE 30, Seattle 14-GB 12 , Oakland 34-Pitt 31

Other: Dallas 16-TB 10, Jacksonville 22-Indy 17, Houston 31-Denver 25, Cincinnati 38-Washington 31

It's hard to remember a more exciting, or more controversial weekend of NFL action. And that's got to be a good thing as far as the league office is concerned. As the saying goes, there's no such thing as bad publicity. Everyone is talking about the NFL after last weekends games, and the unpredictability of games will attract more viewers than it will scare off. What does Goodell really care about how well the games are actually officiated or who wins? As football, it stinks. As WWE-style entertainment, it's produced great theatre.

The fans, coaches/players and media will ***** regardless of how good the refereeing is. The level of competition is so intense that a number of key plays each game will come down to a matter of inches and sometimes a judgment call. I can't remember a Pats-Ravens game in which there hasn't been an outcry about the officiating. No one will care down the road what happened during week 3, or whether it was "fair".

Everyone is calling for Goodell's head right now. But I wonder if he's secretly smiling.

No, I don't think it's what he really wants, but it certainly hasn't hurt the NFL so far. The utter clusterf*** officiating has actually added a further level of excitement and intensity to some of these games.

But the NFL could start losing fans in droves if it drags out well into the season and the actual outcomes of games continue to be decided mostly by the officials.