Is the NFL dying?

Originally posted by judodono:

Originally posted by susweel:

Not dying but it is declining.

Agree there. Someone mentioned it above, it was the king of American sports and probably just now coming off its peak. Has everything to do with entertainment value. Nothing else.

It's still # 1 over all

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Supply and demand...there is simply too much football (Hell they already have a whole day devoted to the sport). I love my Sunday football and it's always a plus when your teams on MNF.

But now it seems to have flooded the market, Thursday night football needs to go IMO (and Saturday games when that happens). It's for the most part poorly played while players are still recovering from last week.

I also think we don't need to be going to Europe and china (reportedly).

Also like everyone said it seems like the players vs the owners which is annoying.

Agreed. It used to be that Saturday was for College ball and Sunday was for the Pro's. But now the NFL wants to be a year round product. They stretch out the season, the draft and training camp to try to stay in the media spotlight all year long.

Originally posted by eastie:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Supply and demand...there is simply too much football (Hell they already have a whole day devoted to the sport). I love my Sunday football and it's always a plus when your teams on MNF.

But now it seems to have flooded the market, Thursday night football needs to go IMO (and Saturday games when that happens). It's for the most part poorly played while players are still recovering from last week.

I also think we don't need to be going to Europe and china (reportedly).

Also like everyone said it seems like the players vs the owners which is annoying.

Agreed. It used to be that Saturday was for College ball and Sunday was for the Pro's. But now the NFL wants to be a year round product. They stretch out the season, the draft and training camp to try to stay in the media spotlight all year long.

agreed...I love the NFL draft but they've been making that longer now for ratings, plus it seems like football players have their own TV shows and stuff. Just throwing football down the consumers throats and after awhile people get tired of it.

Originally posted by English:
How's about they set up a committee of ex players, coaches and a couple of owners to go through the rule book a line at a time asking just 3 questions:

Is this fair?

Does it protect players from injury?

Does it contribute to the excitement and smooth running of the game?

And dump everything else.

They can start with the tuck rule...

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Supply and demand...there is simply too much football (Hell they already have a whole day devoted to the sport). I love my Sunday football and it's always a plus when your teams on MNF.

But now it seems to have flooded the market, Thursday night football needs to go IMO (and Saturday games when that happens). It's for the most part poorly played while players are still recovering from last week.

I also think we don't need to be going to Europe and china (reportedly).

Also like everyone said it seems like the players vs the owners which is annoying.

Agree with all of this. Well said!

Thursday Night Football is dumb
Commercials flooding the game is dumb
New ticky tack "player safety" rules with questionable calls are dumb
New ticky tack "sportsmanship" rules with questionable calls and fines are dumb
Watching boring OT rules leading to draws instead of college rules is dumb

Originally posted by TheNef77:
Thursday Night Football is dumb
Commercials flooding the game is dumb
New ticky tack "player safety" rules with questionable calls are dumb
New ticky tack "sportsmanship" rules with questionable calls and fines are dumb
Watching boring OT rules leading to draws instead of college rules is dumb

Agreed

Player safety rules were not an option for the league. We may never know the full story but I would bet the mortgage that the insurance companies told Goodell that they either did something to cut down on injuries, particularly head injuries, or look for other insurance coverage.

NFL has changed, the refs control the game. Holding can be called on almost every play. No fouls are called the last two minutes, usually. If you hit someone too high or too low it's a penalty. If you play the game like Ronnie Lott go directly to the suspension room. My point is the game is no longer the game of my youth. I'm programmed like you and I still watch. I've watched more baseball this year than the past 40 years. Except for the challenges it's the same game, I like that.

Originally posted by RishikeshA:

NFL has changed, the refs control the game. Holding can be called on almost every play. No fouls are called the last two minutes, usually. If you hit someone too high or too low it's a penalty. If you play the game like Ronnie Lott go directly to the suspension room. My point is the game is no longer the game of my youth. I'm programmed like you and I still watch. I've watched more baseball this year than the past 40 years. Except for the challenges it's the same game, I like that.

Exactly, the sport is completely different from what I watched growing up.

Originally posted by dj43:
Player safety rules were not an option for the league. We may never know the full story but I would bet the mortgage that the insurance companies told Goodell that they either did something to cut down on injuries, particularly head injuries, or look for other insurance coverage.

Sure, but the rules aren't clear cut or called the same across the board. I watched Cam, in the game vs. Denver, take hits in the pocket that gets flagged if it were Brady or Brees. Ball carriers duck into helmet to helmet contact and get a free 15. I could go on and on with this.

Originally posted by TheNef77:

Originally posted by dj43:
Player safety rules were not an option for the league. We may never know the full story but I would bet the mortgage that the insurance companies told Goodell that they either did something to cut down on injuries, particularly head injuries, or look for other insurance coverage.

Sure, but the rules aren't clear cut or called the same across the board. I watched Cam, in the game vs. Denver, take hits in the pocket that gets flagged if it were Brady or Brees. Ball carriers duck into helmet to helmet contact and get a free 15. I could go on and on with this.

Oh, I agree that the rules are not clear cut. I believe Newton is not afforded the same protection as others because of his size. That should not be. However, I do not believe that has a big impact on viewership/attendance. The bigger issue (there are others) is that a number of national broadcasts have been stinker games. The most compelling games have been NFC games on Fox. Their viewership is still strong.

EDIT: The fact the league has put in all these new rules, and suffered through the inconsistency, is evidence that the owners are concerned about the future value of the product and the costs that might be imposed if they did not take substantial moves to protect the players. I believe the Concussion movie has put more fuel on the fire to continue with player safety rules and the demand they be enforced.

Originally posted by dj43:
There have been multiple suggestions as to why attendance/viewership is down and I believe most of them are valid.

One thing I have noticed on Facebook are petitions/notices from different individuals that they are no longer watching/attending games due to the failure of certain players to respect the flag/anthem. A couple of them are Vietnam veterans who are friends of mine. One of them used to go with me to every home game. He was an avid fan. Man cave full of 49er memorabilia before man caves were popular. For him to quit watching at this point is surprising and telling. Just saying...

That's non sense and BS. You do know there are thousands of Veterans who support their right to NOT stand for the flag right? That is the LAST reason why viewership is down.

Again last night the NBA and NCAA games were more entertaining. KD Westbrook Lebron and Steph vs ATL/TB? Ucla vs Colorado or ATL/TB? Pretty easy decision. I barely thought about NFL last night. And next week they gotta be nuts putting on Cleveland vs Baltimore. I'm not wasting a second on that garbage match up. The product is the main issue in my eyes.

Originally posted by TheNef77:
Thursday Night Football is dumb
Commercials flooding the game is dumb
New ticky tack "player safety" rules with questionable calls are dumb
New ticky tack "sportsmanship" rules with questionable calls and fines are dumb
Watching boring OT rules leading to draws instead of college rules is dumb

Why?
That's how the NFL makes most of it's money. Will never get rid of commercials.
Agree. Plus a lack of Refs getting full time training by the NFL.
Refs need to be full time and make more money.
Agree. I'd be fine with college OT rules in the NFL.