18 game season - discuss

[jw7]

The rumors are flying hard about going from 4 preseason and 16 regular season to 2 preseason and 18 regular season games.

I've seen references to this in replies to other posts, but this deserves it's own thread.

Discuss the pros/cons or why you would be for/against this.

 

[Shane]

Love it! More meaningful games. End of story!

 

[jw7]

Love it! More meaningful games. End of story!

That is what I kind of disagree with, because say you go 6-0 in your division and blow off the other 12, theoretically, you could be in the playoffs with a 6-12 record?

Dunno exactly what to make of this yet.

 

[Russ Smith]

I actually don't like it and I'll use Cris Carter's reasoning as why. With an 18 game schedule you have to play at least 21 games to win a Super Bowl, maybe 22 if you're a wildcard team. That's going to dramatically increase the injuries to frontline players.

They're basically dropping 2 preseason games that key players barely play in, if at all, and replacing it with 2 real games where the key players will play most of the game. The wear and tear on the players will lead to more injuries and injuries to star players are BAD for the NFL.

I don't really care about how it impacts all time records or changes scheduling all that much, I think the main impact is going to be increased injuries which will make the game worse not better.

 

[Shane]

That is what I kind of disagree with, because say you go 6-0 in your division and blow off the other 12, theoretically, you could be in the playoffs with a 6-12 record?

Dunno exactly what to make of this yet.

No you can't. If you go 6-0 in division. And another team goes say 2-4 but goes 6-6 in the non division games they would be 8-8 and win the division with the best overall record.

 

[jw7]

No you can't. If you go 6-0 in division. And another team goes say 2-4 but goes 6-6 in the non division games they would be 8-8 and win the division with the best overall record.

Yup, you are right. Stand corrected!

 

[THESMEL]

the same as I felt then

http://www.profootballcentral.com/2008/08/27/prereasons-for-preseasons/#more-867

ugust 27th, 2008 · No Comments
By PFC Writer Kelley Smelser
Every year I hear we need a longer regular season and less preseason, and every year I refute. Preseason is needed to evaluate, choose and prepare the final 53 for opening day. I am old school mentality with passion for the modern game, and I appreciate Preseason! More than 16 regular season games would water down the importance as well as beat down the talent in this collision sport.

The first 2 games are entirely about evaluating young talent and finding timing and depth of the starters. the 3rd is about evaluating and choosing depth of the starters and cutting the fringe as shown by the mandatory cuts afterwards. A coach may play his starting units in the 4th game for a series or 2 and individuals longer if they don’t show up ready for the regular season opener. Career decisions are made after the 4th game and quality talent is released and acquired with accumulative wisdom (experience + knowledge) of the 4 preseason games prior to the regular season opener. Cuts are more important than ever before weighing, salary, system, talent, age, potential, performance and health. The overwhelming data strategy of Madden meets blood, sweat and snot on the gridiron, for fans pleasure.
Preseason is not about game plan but continuity and consistency in what a team is becoming. Each year the coaches actually care more about instant replay challenges, game and clock management, penalties and turnovers. This shows up on opening day, It’s what we don’t see that makes the difference. We have new rule changes like the microphones in the defensive helmet, instant replayand face mask penalty changes. Players are being schooled by experience and legendary coaches like Gibbs and Holmgren. Many coaches were not well prepared last year, no quick retrieve with the new instant replay technology, game and clock management problems many things that could have been better. there is a lot more to preseason than players and schemes, even Monday Night Football producers tried to take over the game with personality and then backed off!
My final comments on preseason is I like the 4 preseason games in August structure. Regular season quartered by September, October, November and December breaking up the preseason and regular season into distinct categories and being able notice trends in individuals and teams. Followed by the playoffs in January with a February Super Bowl. When I first started watching NFL football with Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly, preseason was sloppier, uglier, muddier and funnier but it is not less necessary today, than decades gone by. It puts the best NFL’s product on every field opening day league wide. Leaves no excuses about who a team plays first or last in any given season. finally every team in the spirit of NFL parity can be weighed, measured and be found wanting for 4 games and remain hopeful opening day. Just wait until this year!

 

[Red Dawn]

I'm for the 2 preseason/18 game regular season. The league may need to enlarge the rosters some to mitigate the extra full speed wear and tear on the players, that would probably stop the players union opposition by making more roster spots available. The league could also change the roster cut dates to have one roster cut after the 2 preseason games and a final roster cut after the 2nd regular season game, giving plenty of time for higher quality player evaluation of those on the bubble. Preseason games serve their purpose, but four is a lot when you are asking a fan to pay full price for them. The fourth preseason game is the biggest yawner of all. It's as bad as the last game of the regular season after you have clinched, have nothing to play for, and are facing next weeks playoff opponent.

 

[Duckjake]

I'm for the 2 preseason/18 game regular season. The league may need to enlarge the rosters some to mitigate the extra full speed wear and tear on the players, that would probably stop the players union opposition by making more roster spots available. The league could also change the roster cut dates to have one roster cut after the 2 preseason games and a final roster cut after the 2nd regular season game, giving plenty of time for higher quality player evaluation of those on the bubble. Preseason games serve their purpose, but four is a lot when you are asking a fan to pay full price for them. The fourth preseason game is the biggest yawner of all. It's as bad as the last game of the regular season after you have clinched, have nothing to play for, and are facing next weeks playoff opponent.

I agree with you Bucky. Heck NFL teams used to play as many as 7 or 8 exhibition games in the 1970s. The 1974 Cardinals played 7 for instance.

I would also think they would need to add 4 more teams to the playoffs though to hold down the number of late season yawners.

Of course you may have a year with some teams with losing records in the playoffs but looking at last two seasons the extra teams would all been 9-7 or better with the exception of the last team in from 2009 which would have been one of the 8-8 NFC teams.

 

[jw7]

ESPN's John Clayton was just on Doug and Wolf and said the 18-game season is not even an argument, it is going to be done.

 

[Russ Smith]

I think the problem with expanding the rosters is that it doesn't address the real problem that I personally see, which is injuries to star players. It doesn't matter if the Patriots can carry 4 QB's, if Tom Brady gets hurt it diminishes their appeal to the fan. Adding more players to the roster certainly helps with depth but it won't solve the problem of having marquee players get hurt, when Chris Johnson, Andre Johnson, Patrick Willis, Darrelle Revis etc have to play 2 more complete football games the odds of them staying healthy decrease.

I would be fine with cutting down to 2 preseason games, but adding 2 regular season games I just think is a bad idea.

 

[JeffGollin]

I'm in favor of 52 games a year and 100-man rosters.

 

[seesred]

If there are extra by weeks to let players catch there breath and heal I would be more inclined to agree. However I like the current plan that allows evaluation. If we didn't have at least 3 pre season games we would have no QB? It appears our team needs every inch of these four games.

GBR
40

 

[CaptTurbo]

Give me a 30 games season I dont care.

It will make the depth of your roster that much more important. I want as much football as I can get.

 

[Evil Ash]

No you can't. If you go 6-0 in division. And another team goes say 2-4 but goes 6-6 in the non division games they would be 8-8 and win the division with the best overall record.

8-10. Not so good with the math there chief

 

[Crazy Canuck]

That is what I kind of disagree with, because say you go 6-0 in your division and blow off the other 12, theoretically, you could be in the playoffs with a 6-12 record?

Dunno exactly what to make of this yet.

And theoretically you could win a division with a 6 and 10 record today.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

No you can't. If you go 6-0 in division. And another team goes say 2-4 but goes 6-6 in the non division games they would be 8-8 and win the division with the best overall record.

???

If the other three teams win less than six, you win the division with your half dozen wins.

6-10
5-11
4-12
3-13

 

[dreamcastrocks]

LOVE IT. I'll only have to pay full price for two meaningless games instead of 4.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

No you can't. If you go 6-0 in division. And another team goes say 2-4 but goes 6-6 in the non division games they would be 8-8 and win the division with the best overall record.

Head to Head and division records would still be the first and second tiebreakers respectively. If I understood you right, the 6-0 division winner would still win the division in your scenerio.

 

[THESMEL]

I watched 12 game seasons, I watched 14 game seasons and I would watch 18 game seasons. But i will expect the play to and the talent to be decreased.

We have no NFL europe to develope players, coaches, refs and TV crews are not ready to put the best product on the field opening day.

The best thing for football quality would be reduce the preseason to 3 games and reduce the regular season to 15 and give every team the same bye week at week 8.

But this isn't about football quality it is about money. We have all but locked up the NFCW early in the last 2 seasons. Edge was benched because we could afford to bench Edge and develope THT. early in 08 Dege ran between the 20's and THT was brang in with fresh legs to finish the drive, 10 TD's as a rookie came mostly behind Edges efforts.

So the next time you go to starbucks ask them to water it down and charge you more so you can better help Starbucks donate to their charitable agenda.

 

[Russ Smith]

I watched 12 game seasons, I watched 14 game seasons and I would watch 18 game seasons. But i will expect the play to and the talent to be decreased.

We have no NFL europe to develope players, coaches, refs and TV crews are not ready to put the best product on the field opening day.

The best thing for football quality would be reduce the preseason to 3 games and reduce the regular season to 15 and give every team the same bye week at week 8.

But this isn't about football quality it is about money. We have all but locked up the NFCW early in the last 2 seasons. Edge was benched because we could afford to bench Edge and develope THT. early in 08 Dege ran between the 20's and THT was brang in with fresh legs to finish the drive, 10 TD's as a rookie came mostly behind Edges efforts.

So the next time you go to starbucks ask them to water it down and charge you more so you can better help Starbucks donate to their charitable agenda.

15 would never fly because you would always have some teams playing 8 home games and others playing only 7. There would be complaints every year how it's unfair team A got one more home game than team B.

They will always play an even number of games for that reason alone.

 

[MadCardDisease]

I don't like the idea of 18 regular season games.

By the time we get to the playoffs, Half of the starters will be hobbled on the bench or out for the year on IR.

 

[D-Dogg]

Head to Head and division records would still be the first and second tiebreakers respectively. If I understood you right, the 6-0 division winner would still win the division in your scenerio.

6-12 wouldn't win the division over an 8-8 team in the division, even if the team went 6-0 in the division. Best overall record in the division is the priority.

 

[Cardiac]

LOVE IT. I'll only have to pay full price for two meaningless games instead of 4.

I'm not a season ticket holder but wouldn't it be paying for 1 meanlingless game instead of 2. You don't get charged for away games...right.

 

[kerouac9]

I think the problem with expanding the rosters is that it doesn't address the real problem that I personally see, which is injuries to star players. It doesn't matter if the Patriots can carry 4 QB's, if Tom Brady gets hurt it diminishes their appeal to the fan. Adding more players to the roster certainly helps with depth but it won't solve the problem of having marquee players get hurt, when Chris Johnson, Andre Johnson, Patrick Willis, Darrelle Revis etc have to play 2 more complete football games the odds of them staying healthy decrease.

I would be fine with cutting down to 2 preseason games, but adding 2 regular season games I just think is a bad idea.

Yeah... that's kind of where I am. No one is going to say "Oh, man, thank God we didn't have to get rid of Ornea Jones!" if Larry Fitzgerald goes down.

I think that what we'll see is a lot more global substitutions in blowout games, like we see in college. There are fewer laughers in the NFL than there are in college, but the entire talent pool will be diminished if you're adding 10 players to every roster, anyway.

I think you'll see a gentleman's agreement in a lot of games that if you go down by 17 or 24, we're both going to pull our starters, and we'll see the matchup of Max Komar v. Cam Chancellor for a quarter or two in some games. Does anyone really want to see that?