Back to 14 games?! Niners and an 18 game season

18 games is a recipe for disaster...I saw Troy Aikman on Bryant Gumbel's Real Sports (HBO) a few days ago. He was asked about 18 games and he said it's crazy...the owners want it because it'd mean more $$ in their pocket. Recent fan polls are heavily against it...primarily because they realize there are too many injuries now. Adding two more games that count just means more players on the IRL. Even expanding the rosters isn't enough...it's all about greed...which is one of the disputes between the NFLPA and the owners already. I'd say leave things at 16 games, but increase the roster limit to a minimum of 55. If they want to cut out two preseason games, fine, but the owners won't want that...because it'd be lost revenue.

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by Rubberneck36:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by tondiman:

Originally posted by Wodwo:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
16 > 14 > 18

Yep.

Plus, I think we should drop 2 preseason games.

So, in the end... there is no point being proven by this poll.

Well... except that the majority of people want to keep a 16 game schedule.

weeeeeeeell except for the fact that if injuries and stats were the REAL reason, the fans should prefer the 14 game season. hence, the fact the majority would not go back to a 14 game season means they would probably feel the same about going back to a 16 game season once it does go to 18.

ya see?! ahah!! so what the fans are reeeeeeeally saying......is that they want an 18 game season

this makes no sense. none of this makes sense. good lord.

yeah, that was senseless. I would ask him to explain but not sure I want that either

yeah, it might be funny, but it will probably just give me a headache.

I'll try to break it down in "easy-english" then..
(ace ventura deep breath):

Many people don't want 18 games.
They don't want 18 games because of injuries and stats.
THEREFOR they "should" be favorable of a situation that has less injury and has familiar statistics and records.
14 games means less injuries (and stats as they were back in the days.)
BUT, as you can see nobody would want to go back to 14 games, even if the players risk injury.
BECAUSE 14 GAMES JUST ISN'T ENOUGH FOOTBALL! and neither is 16!

I love it how when we were talking about illegal hits, and shots to the head, and below the waist hits or defenseless players bla bla bla, so many fans were like "THIS IS FOOTBALL..WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO DO?! TWO HAND TOUCH?"
but now, people are miraculously wanting to protect their players by NOT having them play football. unbelievable.

For me, it boils down to this: 16 games isn't enough football. All the reasons why fans DON'T want an 18 game season would disappear in no time once an 18 game season started, and they would NEVER want to go back to 16 games.

I'm fine with 2 extra playoff games. Just give me more football.

Originally posted by Rubberneck36:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by tondiman:

Originally posted by Wodwo:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
16 > 14 > 18

Yep.

Plus, I think we should drop 2 preseason games.

So, in the end... there is no point being proven by this poll.

Well... except that the majority of people want to keep a 16 game schedule.

weeeeeeeell except for the fact that if injuries and stats were the REAL reason, the fans should prefer the 14 game season. hence, the fact the majority would not go back to a 14 game season means they would probably feel the same about going back to a 16 game season once it does go to 18.

ya see?! ahah!! so what the fans are reeeeeeeally saying......is that they want an 18 game season

this makes no sense. none of this makes sense. good lord.

yeah, that was senseless. I would ask him to explain but not sure I want that either

I didn't post it but it made sense to me. Here's my explanation:

Back when the switched from 14 to 16, some people said "14 games works great why mess with going to 16"?

But now everyone likes 16.

Where did all the people who wanted to keep it at 14?

They are still fans and have gotten used to the 16.

Therefore if we switch to 18, in a few years, everyone would think 18 is best.

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by Rubberneck36:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by tondiman:

Originally posted by Wodwo:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
16 > 14 > 18

Yep.

Plus, I think we should drop 2 preseason games.

So, in the end... there is no point being proven by this poll.

Well... except that the majority of people want to keep a 16 game schedule.

weeeeeeeell except for the fact that if injuries and stats were the REAL reason, the fans should prefer the 14 game season. hence, the fact the majority would not go back to a 14 game season means they would probably feel the same about going back to a 16 game season once it does go to 18.

ya see?! ahah!! so what the fans are reeeeeeeally saying......is that they want an 18 game season

this makes no sense. none of this makes sense. good lord.

yeah, that was senseless. I would ask him to explain but not sure I want that either

I didn't post it but it made sense to me. Here's my explanation:

Back when the switched from 14 to 16, some people said "14 games works great why mess with going to 16"?

But now everyone likes 16.

Where did all the people who wanted to keep it at 14?

They are still fans and have gotten used to the 16.

Therefore if we switch to 18, in a few years, everyone would think 18 is best.

Thankyou.

Originally posted by tondiman:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by Rubberneck36:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by tondiman:

Originally posted by Wodwo:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
16 > 14 > 18

Yep.

Plus, I think we should drop 2 preseason games.

So, in the end... there is no point being proven by this poll.

Well... except that the majority of people want to keep a 16 game schedule.

weeeeeeeell except for the fact that if injuries and stats were the REAL reason, the fans should prefer the 14 game season. hence, the fact the majority would not go back to a 14 game season means they would probably feel the same about going back to a 16 game season once it does go to 18.

ya see?! ahah!! so what the fans are reeeeeeeally saying......is that they want an 18 game season

this makes no sense. none of this makes sense. good lord.

yeah, that was senseless. I would ask him to explain but not sure I want that either

I didn't post it but it made sense to me. Here's my explanation:

Back when the switched from 14 to 16, some people said "14 games works great why mess with going to 16"?

But now everyone likes 16.

Where did all the people who wanted to keep it at 14?

They are still fans and have gotten used to the 16.

Therefore if we switch to 18, in a few years, everyone would think 18 is best.

Thankyou.

yeah and that was back when nobody paid attention to players health either. when they switched to 16 games, everyone got used to it, but i guarantee you it took more of a toll on players. moving to 18 with only 2 preseason games is like playing 20 games. both preseason games would be everyone going all out to get ready for the season as fast as they could. starters would play full games, backups wouldnt play much, and teams wouldnt be able to see what they had in those guys.

i think Troy Aikman was the one who said he believes if the NFL moves to 18 games, it will be the beginning of the downfall of the NFL as a league. dont fix what isnt broken. theyre going to cut players careers short and degrade the product, all for money. not a good move.

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by Rubberneck36:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by tondiman:

Originally posted by Wodwo:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
16 > 14 > 18

Yep.

Plus, I think we should drop 2 preseason games.

So, in the end... there is no point being proven by this poll.

Well... except that the majority of people want to keep a 16 game schedule.

weeeeeeeell except for the fact that if injuries and stats were the REAL reason, the fans should prefer the 14 game season. hence, the fact the majority would not go back to a 14 game season means they would probably feel the same about going back to a 16 game season once it does go to 18.

ya see?! ahah!! so what the fans are reeeeeeeally saying......is that they want an 18 game season

this makes no sense. none of this makes sense. good lord.

yeah, that was senseless. I would ask him to explain but not sure I want that either

I didn't post it but it made sense to me. Here's my explanation:

Back when the switched from 14 to 16, some people said "14 games works great why mess with going to 16"?

But now everyone likes 16.

Where did all the people who wanted to keep it at 14?

They are still fans and have gotten used to the 16.

Therefore if we switch to 18, in a few years, everyone would think 18 is best.

maybe. the schedule has been 16 games longer than it was 14, and longer than it was any other length, for that matter. I don't think anyone is saying they would stop watching if it went to 18, especially if the quality of the games, and the post-season, remained the same, in which case I would probably have to eat crow about all this.

But 18 games is an incredibly long season, and football is not a game designed to have really long seasons. Maybe people got used to 16 and maybe we would get used to 18, but just because increasing the schedule has worked in the past doesn't mean that it will always work. At some point the increased schedule dilutes the game too much. And since the schedule has been at 16 games for most of the super bowl era and seems to be long enough to really separate the good and the bad teams without having many meaningless games, and since we know much more now than ever about the physical toll of the modern game, I don't see the need to go to 18 games, and I have trouble seeing a true correlation from the switch from 14 to 16.

the way you explain it makes more sense than how it was originally posted, but i still find the logic dubious.

Originally posted by tondiman:



I'll try to break it down in "easy-english" then..
(ace ventura deep breath):

Many people don't want 18 games.
They don't want 18 games because of injuries and stats.
THEREFOR they "should" be favorable of a situation that has less injury and has familiar statistics and records.
14 games means less injuries (and stats as they were back in the days.)
BUT, as you can see nobody would want to go back to 14 games, even if the players risk injury.
BECAUSE 14 GAMES JUST ISN'T ENOUGH FOOTBALL! and neither is 16!

I love it how when we were talking about illegal hits, and shots to the head, and below the waist hits or defenseless players bla bla bla, so many fans were like "THIS IS FOOTBALL..WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO DO?! TWO HAND TOUCH?"
but now, people are miraculously wanting to protect their players by NOT having them play football. unbelievable.

For me, it boils down to this: 16 games isn't enough football. All the reasons why fans DON'T want an 18 game season would disappear in no time once an 18 game season started, and they would NEVER want to go back to 16 games.

I'm fine with 2 extra playoff games. Just give me more football.

lol. how much would be "enough football"? what is lacking in the 16 game season?

For the record, I don't care about the stats. Stats are already more inflated than they were because of rule changes. It is already difficult to compare stats of different eras, and adding games wouldn't really change that. Dead-end argument, IMO.

And I, for one, am not someone who complained about the player-safety rule changes, so there is nothing inconsistent in my stance that the 18 game schedule will bring an unnecessary physical toll on the players, leading to a degraded "product."

There is no competitive reason to go to the 18 game season.

And since your reasoning doesn't apply to my stance on the 18 game season, your entire case falls apart. Which is why it makes no sense.

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by Rubberneck36:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by tondiman:

Originally posted by Wodwo:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
16 > 14 > 18

Yep.

Plus, I think we should drop 2 preseason games.

So, in the end... there is no point being proven by this poll.

Well... except that the majority of people want to keep a 16 game schedule.

weeeeeeeell except for the fact that if injuries and stats were the REAL reason, the fans should prefer the 14 game season. hence, the fact the majority would not go back to a 14 game season means they would probably feel the same about going back to a 16 game season once it does go to 18.

ya see?! ahah!! so what the fans are reeeeeeeally saying......is that they want an 18 game season

this makes no sense. none of this makes sense. good lord.

yeah, that was senseless. I would ask him to explain but not sure I want that either

I didn't post it but it made sense to me. Here's my explanation:

Back when the switched from 14 to 16, some people said "14 games works great why mess with going to 16"?

But now everyone likes 16.

Where did all the people who wanted to keep it at 14?

They are still fans and have gotten used to the 16.

Therefore if we switch to 18, in a few years, everyone would think 18 is best.

Got it now. I see the logic in that but don't agree, which is fine.

Many leagues have raised the games played and then later discussed it added to many. I believe that will be the case is it goes to 18. I like the 16 game schedule and I think it is important of younger guys to get the 4 preseason games...the owners just don't like it because it isn't profitable. I would hate to raise it to 18 and regret it because with only two preseason games, vets will actually have to play more in them. That, and the 2 extra games, makes it much more likely to have injured players.

When they first brought this up, I imagined a playoff caliber Super Bowl favorite team that loses to the IR. Just me though. My other reservation is late round picks and undrafted guys will have a harder time making the squad.

To each his own though.

I say stay with 16 games. I say that even though I would love to watch two more games.

But, I think an eighteen game season would have two negative impacts.

1. I think the health of the players would suffer.
I have no medical expertise, but with accumulated wear and fatigue on the body, two games might go past the wall.

2. Teams have less time to evaluate new players and to get the team functioning before the real season starts.

People always resist change.

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by tondiman:



I'll try to break it down in "easy-english" then..
(ace ventura deep breath):

Many people don't want 18 games.
They don't want 18 games because of injuries and stats.
THEREFOR they "should" be favorable of a situation that has less injury and has familiar statistics and records.
14 games means less injuries (and stats as they were back in the days.)
BUT, as you can see nobody would want to go back to 14 games, even if the players risk injury.
BECAUSE 14 GAMES JUST ISN'T ENOUGH FOOTBALL! and neither is 16!

I love it how when we were talking about illegal hits, and shots to the head, and below the waist hits or defenseless players bla bla bla, so many fans were like "THIS IS FOOTBALL..WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO DO?! TWO HAND TOUCH?"
but now, people are miraculously wanting to protect their players by NOT having them play football. unbelievable.

For me, it boils down to this: 16 games isn't enough football. All the reasons why fans DON'T want an 18 game season would disappear in no time once an 18 game season started, and they would NEVER want to go back to 16 games.

I'm fine with 2 extra playoff games. Just give me more football.

lol. how much would be "enough football"? what is lacking in the 16 game season?

For the record, I don't care about the stats. Stats are already more inflated than they were because of rule changes. It is already difficult to compare stats of different eras, and adding games wouldn't really change that. Dead-end argument, IMO.

And I, for one, am not someone who complained about the player-safety rule changes, so there is nothing inconsistent in my stance that the 18 game schedule will bring an unnecessary physical toll on the players, leading to a degraded "product."

There is no competitive reason to go to the 18 game season.

And since your reasoning doesn't apply to my stance on the 18 game season, your entire case falls apart. Which is why it makes no sense.

i think you're chasing your own tail there buddy..

Originally posted by Rubberneck36:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by Rubberneck36:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by tondiman:

Originally posted by Wodwo:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
16 > 14 > 18

Yep.

Plus, I think we should drop 2 preseason games.

So, in the end... there is no point being proven by this poll.

Well... except that the majority of people want to keep a 16 game schedule.

weeeeeeeell except for the fact that if injuries and stats were the REAL reason, the fans should prefer the 14 game season. hence, the fact the majority would not go back to a 14 game season means they would probably feel the same about going back to a 16 game season once it does go to 18.

ya see?! ahah!! so what the fans are reeeeeeeally saying......is that they want an 18 game season

this makes no sense. none of this makes sense. good lord.

yeah, that was senseless. I would ask him to explain but not sure I want that either

I didn't post it but it made sense to me. Here's my explanation:

Back when the switched from 14 to 16, some people said "14 games works great why mess with going to 16"?

But now everyone likes 16.

Where did all the people who wanted to keep it at 14?

They are still fans and have gotten used to the 16.

Therefore if we switch to 18, in a few years, everyone would think 18 is best.

Got it now. I see the logic in that but don't agree, which is fine.

Many leagues have raised the games played and then later discussed it added to many. I believe that will be the case is it goes to 18. I like the 16 game schedule and I think it is important of younger guys to get the 4 preseason games...the owners just don't like it because it isn't profitable. I would hate to raise it to 18 and regret it because with only two preseason games, vets will actually have to play more in them. That, and the 2 extra games, makes it much more likely to have injured players.

When they first brought this up, I imagined a playoff caliber Super Bowl favorite team that loses to the IR. Just me though. My other reservation is late round picks and undrafted guys will have a harder time making the squad.

To each his own though.

Fair enough. However if we think about it, in the NBA they play 82 games..PLUS PLAYOFFS. That's 82 games in (my opinion) the toughest sport. They go at it for 48 minutes more than 82 times a year (plus preseason, plus practises etc).

I'm not saying that football is less agressive. you probably risk worse injuries in football, but in basketball it takes nothing to tear or break something. Hell it takes one crossover to loose your ankles. 82 GAMES. that's a lot. yet they do it. It's professional sports.

A couple years back the celtics lost garnett for the entire playoffs.. sh!t happens. This year in the superbowl, important players were lost for the superbowl....and the season is "only" 16 games.

An NBA team going to the finals playes over 100...yes 100 games. I suggest ANYONE in the forum to go play one full court game. basketball players are HUGE, the push they shove they beat they're fast they hit.. 82 games.

I also agree that there is a limit and you can't keep increasing, but 16 isn't enough football.
Our season ended after 5 games.

Originally posted by Niners99:

Originally posted by tondiman:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by Rubberneck36:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by tondiman:

Originally posted by Wodwo:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
16 > 14 > 18

Yep.

Plus, I think we should drop 2 preseason games.

So, in the end... there is no point being proven by this poll.

Well... except that the majority of people want to keep a 16 game schedule.

weeeeeeeell except for the fact that if injuries and stats were the REAL reason, the fans should prefer the 14 game season. hence, the fact the majority would not go back to a 14 game season means they would probably feel the same about going back to a 16 game season once it does go to 18.

ya see?! ahah!! so what the fans are reeeeeeeally saying......is that they want an 18 game season

this makes no sense. none of this makes sense. good lord.

yeah, that was senseless. I would ask him to explain but not sure I want that either

I didn't post it but it made sense to me. Here's my explanation:

Back when the switched from 14 to 16, some people said "14 games works great why mess with going to 16"?

But now everyone likes 16.

Where did all the people who wanted to keep it at 14?

They are still fans and have gotten used to the 16.

Therefore if we switch to 18, in a few years, everyone would think 18 is best.

Thankyou.

yeah and that was back when nobody paid attention to players health either. when they switched to 16 games, everyone got used to it, but i guarantee you it took more of a toll on players. moving to 18 with only 2 preseason games is like playing 20 games. both preseason games would be everyone going all out to get ready for the season as fast as they could. starters would play full games, backups wouldnt play much, and teams wouldnt be able to see what they had in those guys.

i think Troy Aikman was the one who said he believes if the NFL moves to 18 games, it will be the beginning of the downfall of the NFL as a league. dont fix what isnt broken. theyre going to cut players careers short and degrade the product, all for money. not a good move.

Call me crazy but I smell BS here with Aikman.

As a former member of the player's union, and surely he still knows many active players, I think he has the player's backs. He knows the player's are going to bit*h and moan in order to leverage 18 games into more money for them. He gets that and therefore publicly supports that argument.

I side with the owners on this one in the sense that it's the same amount of games either way. It's just a matter of 18 regular and 2 preseason or 16 regular and 4 preseason. The player's union represents all players not just the starters. And the players as a whole won't be taking any more snaps than they already do.

Originally posted by tondiman:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by tondiman:



I'll try to break it down in "easy-english" then..
(ace ventura deep breath):

Many people don't want 18 games.
They don't want 18 games because of injuries and stats.
THEREFOR they "should" be favorable of a situation that has less injury and has familiar statistics and records.
14 games means less injuries (and stats as they were back in the days.)
BUT, as you can see nobody would want to go back to 14 games, even if the players risk injury.
BECAUSE 14 GAMES JUST ISN'T ENOUGH FOOTBALL! and neither is 16!

I love it how when we were talking about illegal hits, and shots to the head, and below the waist hits or defenseless players bla bla bla, so many fans were like "THIS IS FOOTBALL..WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO DO?! TWO HAND TOUCH?"
but now, people are miraculously wanting to protect their players by NOT having them play football. unbelievable.

For me, it boils down to this: 16 games isn't enough football. All the reasons why fans DON'T want an 18 game season would disappear in no time once an 18 game season started, and they would NEVER want to go back to 16 games.

I'm fine with 2 extra playoff games. Just give me more football.

lol. how much would be "enough football"? what is lacking in the 16 game season?

For the record, I don't care about the stats. Stats are already more inflated than they were because of rule changes. It is already difficult to compare stats of different eras, and adding games wouldn't really change that. Dead-end argument, IMO.

And I, for one, am not someone who complained about the player-safety rule changes, so there is nothing inconsistent in my stance that the 18 game schedule will bring an unnecessary physical toll on the players, leading to a degraded "product."

There is no competitive reason to go to the 18 game season.

And since your reasoning doesn't apply to my stance on the 18 game season, your entire case falls apart. Which is why it makes no sense.

i think you're chasing your own tail there buddy..

i guess so, since you are incapable of having an intelligent conversation.

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by tondiman:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by tondiman:



I'll try to break it down in "easy-english" then..
(ace ventura deep breath):

Many people don't want 18 games.
They don't want 18 games because of injuries and stats.
THEREFOR they "should" be favorable of a situation that has less injury and has familiar statistics and records.
14 games means less injuries (and stats as they were back in the days.)
BUT, as you can see nobody would want to go back to 14 games, even if the players risk injury.
BECAUSE 14 GAMES JUST ISN'T ENOUGH FOOTBALL! and neither is 16!

I love it how when we were talking about illegal hits, and shots to the head, and below the waist hits or defenseless players bla bla bla, so many fans were like "THIS IS FOOTBALL..WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO DO?! TWO HAND TOUCH?"
but now, people are miraculously wanting to protect their players by NOT having them play football. unbelievable.

For me, it boils down to this: 16 games isn't enough football. All the reasons why fans DON'T want an 18 game season would disappear in no time once an 18 game season started, and they would NEVER want to go back to 16 games.

I'm fine with 2 extra playoff games. Just give me more football.

lol. how much would be "enough football"? what is lacking in the 16 game season?

For the record, I don't care about the stats. Stats are already more inflated than they were because of rule changes. It is already difficult to compare stats of different eras, and adding games wouldn't really change that. Dead-end argument, IMO.

And I, for one, am not someone who complained about the player-safety rule changes, so there is nothing inconsistent in my stance that the 18 game schedule will bring an unnecessary physical toll on the players, leading to a degraded "product."

There is no competitive reason to go to the 18 game season.

And since your reasoning doesn't apply to my stance on the 18 game season, your entire case falls apart. Which is why it makes no sense.

i think you're chasing your own tail there buddy..

i guess so, since you are incapable of having an intelligent conversation.

Not being capable of having and "intelligent conversation" is exactly why i started this debate....right?

As for your comment on "the no competitive reason to go to an 18 game season", we agree on something. As a matter of fact, as i stated previously it's not about competition, or injuries, or money....just plainly a fan wanting to see more football.
But, i wouldn't expect you to understand that, seeing you have a hard time detecting an intelligent conversation, when you're in one.