Keith7
03-31-2009, 02:42 PM
Last week NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expressed interest in extending the NFL season by two games and lowering the number of preseason games.
In a league that is now embracing its history and prides itself for being fan friendly, this move would distance itself from the image that it has worked so hard to obtain.
With the creation of the NFL Network, the NFL Films series has moved from its old viewing time of 2 a.m. on ESPN to all hours of the day on the NFL Network.
This has created more interest in the history of the NFL, a league that has traditionally been reluctant to change.
Goodell wants to change that tradition. He wants to add more regular season games and thus hurt the integrity of the history of the league.
Think about this: with two more games added to NFL seasons, what will happen to the records of the past?
Running backs will perennially eclipse the 2,000-yard rushing mark, which is a feat that rarely happens. In the history of the NFL, only five running backs have run 2,000 yards in a season.
With two more games Adrian Peterson may have passed the 2,000-yard barrier considering he ran for 1,760 yards while averaging 110 yards per game. LaDainian Tomlinson and Larry Johnson faced similar situations during the 2006 season and going through history more and more can be added to the list.
Also, last season New Orleans Saints' quarterback Drew Brees fell 15 yards shy from the season passing record currently held by former Miami Dolphins' quarterback Dan Marino. Barring injury I think it's safe to say that Brees would have easily passed Marino's record.
How would Marino feel if his record was broken in the added games?
He would not only fall to second in the record books but his record would receive an asterisk, as would anybody else's when new records are set.
The main point to Goodell's argument is that the NFL preseason is too long. Year after year high profile athletes suffer serious injuries in the preseason, causing more people to gripe about the preseason games.
This could be avoided by just cutting down the number of preseason games without adding additional games. Just because the number of preseason games are going down doesn't mean you have to add more to the regular season. Just cut the two preseason games and spend the extra time in training camp.
Nobody but die-hard fans care to watch or even attend the games, so nobody would be upset if the games were eliminated.
In the end, I believe this comes down to money. As mentioned before, nobody cares about preseason games, they attract little fanfare and ratings are always low.
Two more games in the regular season mean two more opportunities to sell out stadiums and two more games to sell to television networks.
The NFL isn't doing this to protect its players. It isn't doing this in the interest of its fans. It's about the cash.
It has already been determined that next season will have the normal 16 game schedule but expect this topic to be revisited at season's end.
The question of adding more games isn't a question of adding more entertainment but rather one of the NFL's integrity.
In a league that is now embracing its history and prides itself for being fan friendly, this move would distance itself from the image that it has worked so hard to obtain.
With the creation of the NFL Network, the NFL Films series has moved from its old viewing time of 2 a.m. on ESPN to all hours of the day on the NFL Network.
This has created more interest in the history of the NFL, a league that has traditionally been reluctant to change.
Goodell wants to change that tradition. He wants to add more regular season games and thus hurt the integrity of the history of the league.
Think about this: with two more games added to NFL seasons, what will happen to the records of the past?
Running backs will perennially eclipse the 2,000-yard rushing mark, which is a feat that rarely happens. In the history of the NFL, only five running backs have run 2,000 yards in a season.
With two more games Adrian Peterson may have passed the 2,000-yard barrier considering he ran for 1,760 yards while averaging 110 yards per game. LaDainian Tomlinson and Larry Johnson faced similar situations during the 2006 season and going through history more and more can be added to the list.
Also, last season New Orleans Saints' quarterback Drew Brees fell 15 yards shy from the season passing record currently held by former Miami Dolphins' quarterback Dan Marino. Barring injury I think it's safe to say that Brees would have easily passed Marino's record.
How would Marino feel if his record was broken in the added games?
He would not only fall to second in the record books but his record would receive an asterisk, as would anybody else's when new records are set.
The main point to Goodell's argument is that the NFL preseason is too long. Year after year high profile athletes suffer serious injuries in the preseason, causing more people to gripe about the preseason games.
This could be avoided by just cutting down the number of preseason games without adding additional games. Just because the number of preseason games are going down doesn't mean you have to add more to the regular season. Just cut the two preseason games and spend the extra time in training camp.
Nobody but die-hard fans care to watch or even attend the games, so nobody would be upset if the games were eliminated.
In the end, I believe this comes down to money. As mentioned before, nobody cares about preseason games, they attract little fanfare and ratings are always low.
Two more games in the regular season mean two more opportunities to sell out stadiums and two more games to sell to television networks.
The NFL isn't doing this to protect its players. It isn't doing this in the interest of its fans. It's about the cash.
It has already been determined that next season will have the normal 16 game schedule but expect this topic to be revisited at season's end.
The question of adding more games isn't a question of adding more entertainment but rather one of the NFL's integrity.