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An Open Letter to the NFL: (1 Viewer)

Grahamburn

Grahamburn

Footballguy
Dear NFL,

Seriously? :penalty:

You are taking the old adage "you can throw a flag on any NFL play" a little too literally. It is to the point where your fan can't even celebrate a big play in the game anymore without scanning the field for yellow or checking the broadcast for the FLAG drop-down.

You are systematically removing everything great about the game of football. Big hits. Big blocks. Big plays. Big kick returns. Big Celebrations. The pace of play has crawled to a screeching halt. Defense has practically disintegrated into hoping for a turnover or facing a Geno Smith led offense.

Percy Harvin had 3 touchdowns called back due to penalty last night. THREE! Louis Murphy got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for language on Sunday. LANGUAGE! Are you ####### kidding me?!

There is also absolutely no consistency in what is and is not called. The players don't know what they can and cannot do. The officials clearly have no idea what is and is not a penalty. This receiver got mugged? No call. That receiver gets a wet willie? 60 yards for pass interference.

Worse than that, you are influencing the outcomes of the games with penalties on "infractions" nowhere near the actual play. When it's 3rd and 10 in overtime and Drew Brees has to roll to his right because of pressure, throws an incomplete pass, and your official calls an illegal contact penalty because the receiver on the entire other end of the field who had no opportunity to be involved in the play was sneezed on YOU ARE RUINING THE GAME!

I think the NFL is 10 years away from an implosion. When pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they’re getting hoggy. When you try to take it too far, people turn the other way. I’m just telling you, when you got a good thing and you get greedy, it always, always, always, always, always turns against you.
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Mark Cuban was right.

Sincerely,

Guy who will be at the golf course on Sunday afternoons

 
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Somebody raised this in the Skins game, but the NFL is becoming more and more about gambling, fantasy and cross-promotion marketing than the actual game. Those things have always played a role but they seem to be becoming the focus. Competition and the sport are secondary.

It's possible this is actually Goodell's goal.

 
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I was explaining to my wife on Sunday how game days have changed.

6 commercials, return to game for field goal, 3 commercials, kickoff, network promotion on screen covering huddle, 2 commercials, return to 1st play since kickoff after fieldgoal but not until the ball was snapped. Every spare second is being used for advertising and marketing and finally to the point where some game action is actually not being seen!

 
slackjawedyokel said:
I was explaining to my wife on Sunday how game days have changed.

6 commercials, return to game for field goal, 3 commercials, kickoff, network promotion on screen covering huddle, 2 commercials, return to 1st play since kickoff after fieldgoal but not until the ball was snapped. Every spare second is being used for advertising and marketing and finally to the point where some game action is actually not being seen!
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It's borderline unwatchable. Even when the game is going on the penalties absolutely ruin it.

Honestly, I'd like to say the best way to catch the games will be during the week on NFL Replay or to DVR them, but then the flags will just piss me off again.

 
IMO, Goodell needs to go more for the penalty CF that the game has become rather than the Ray Rice mishandling. As the OP stated, there are too many subjective calls that are too inconsistently applied. It is clearly ruining the game.

 
Slapdash said:
Watching games without RedZone has become a miserable experience.
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I agree with this. I find myself (as a dolphin fan) moving more and more to just watching redzone. No commercials (for the most part) and always something happening.

 
Slapdash said:
Watching games without RedZone has become a miserable experience.
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Agreed. There are five full weeks in the books and I have not watched one complete game. I just can not do it. I am trying to remember which game it was last week, but they had a stoppage of play for commercials, and when they came back the play was already over and the announcers had to describe what happened.

 
Of course I agree but Goodell is making billions for the owners so it will get worse before it gets better (if ever).

 
I realized I'm losing interest in this game when I found myself watching the Strain (DVR'd) over the defending Super Bowl champs on MNF.

 
Slapdash said:
Watching games without RedZone has become a miserable experience.
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I was late to the RZ party but I have to say now that I'm here, forget the ticket (if I can get RZ without it next year).

I find myself watching RZ 90% of the time and I find myself frustrated during MNF because I'm growing tired of sitting on a couch for 4 hours to watch 3 minutes of game, 7 minutes of commercial, 1 play, 3 minutes of commercial, etc.

The only drawback to RZ is finding that perfect spot to grab food, let the dog out to do his business, acknowledge the non-football people in the house with their non-football questions.

Thursday night football, as everyone on the planet seems to know but still refuses to fight, is atrocious. The game last night might actually serves as a good example. Washington actually gave the champs a good game last night, but when these teams get on the road in these short-short weeks, it is unwatchable. I thin we see that over and over and over. SOMETIMES the divisional games aren't blowouts but that is likely just because the teams are so familiar with one another and those games are usually deflated duds.

I think the ONLY thing that could derail TNF is if someone organized a heck of a protest in the form of no one betting or watching that game and that's impossible because as much as WE ALL gripe about it, none of us seem to have the willpower to actually not watch.

 
FUBAR said:
I realized I'm losing interest in this game when I found myself watching the Strain (DVR'd) over the defending Super Bowl champs on MNF.
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I post a lot in the forums during TNF and MNF games and that is an indicator to me that I'm not drawn to the game, I'm just sitting outside the emergency room waiting for the doc to come out and report the news every once in a while.

 
It is insanely annoying, but I'm not sure how they could make it much better without changing the rules substantially. There really are penalties on almost every play that could be called.

 
I still watch TNF, but I watch it at the bar, mostly. I refuse to let my cable box let the NFL know that I am tuning in. #### Thursday Night Football.

 
I have the Gamepass overseas and I immensely prefer watching the condensed game after the live one has aired. Watching every play without commercial and a complete game in under an hour is fantastic. The alternative is watching SNF and MNF at 0330 am but sitting through the commercials, especially on ESPN, is too painful to handle.

Regarding the refs, they are killing the game. Slowly. Either the rules have become too complicated or it has become harder to find competent refs, I don't know. What happened to the agreement they negotiated after the ref strike about training more refs? Making some fulltime? Doesn't seem to be working.

It's definitely not as fun to watch as the good ol' days, but then again, not much is...

 
humpback said:
It is insanely annoying, but I'm not sure how they could make it much better without changing the rules substantially. There really are penalties on almost every play that could be called.
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Of course there are, but that's what used to be so great about football. These guys smash into each other for a living, and they let them do it to a degree. Sure, there always were and there always will be penalties. Blatant holding, blatant pass interference, false starts, offsides, etc, but the ticky tack stuff is way out of hand. Illegal contact, illegal hands to the face, roughing the passer, hitting a defenseless receiver, language, unsportsmanlike conduct, excessive celebration. Where does it end?

Throwing a flag on every play in a sport where 22 men weighing 200 to 300+ pounds are running into each other at full speed makes absolutely no sense.

 
Pro Tip on the RZ Channel: when you want to go get food or let the dog out or fornicate with your SO, just hit the "II" (pause) button. :D

 
Grahamburn said:
humpback said:
It is insanely annoying, but I'm not sure how they could make it much better without changing the rules substantially. There really are penalties on almost every play that could be called.
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Of course there are, but that's what used to be so great about football. These guys smash into each other for a living, and they let them do it to a degree. Sure, there always were and there always will be penalties. Blatant holding, blatant pass interference, false starts, offsides, etc, but the ticky tack stuff is way out of hand. Illegal contact, illegal hands to the face, roughing the passer, hitting a defenseless receiver, language, unsportsmanlike conduct, excessive celebration. Where does it end?

Throwing a flag on every play in a sport where 22 men weighing 200 to 300+ pounds are running into each other at full speed makes absolutely no sense.
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I agree, but again, but it's all so subjective. How do you define "blatant"? You wouldn't be upset if your team lost a game because a ref didn't think a PI was "blatant" enough to call?

Injuries (especially brain injuries) are a huge reason behind a lot of this as well- so many more stories about guys basically becoming vegetables later on in life (or ending their own lives).

 
Shutout said:
Slapdash said:
Watching games without RedZone has become a miserable experience.
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I was late to the RZ party but I have to say now that I'm here, forget the ticket (if I can get RZ without it next year).
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Dish gives RZ as a standalone for $11 a month, and they give it to you free the first year when you switch. I left DirecTV this year and I'm paying $45 a month for TV right now, and that's including taxes, fees, and red zone.

If nothing else, it gives you a credible threat to leverage against DirecTV next year when they tell you it can't be done.

 
Slapdash said:
Watching games without RedZone has become a miserable experience.
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I agree with a lot of what is stated in this thread, and if I was inclined to invest a day watching the games, the red zone would be my go to option. Instead I use Game Rewind to catch up on Tuesday and Wednesday. I can literally watch 3 games in the time it takes to watch a full game on Sunday.

 
I just have an antennae. When two games are on at the same time, I usually switch back and forth at the commercials. Unless my dad is watching with me, he hates that :) If there's only one game on, I'll pop in here with my phone during commercials if there's nothing else to do...

 
I was sick on Sunday and as a result, actually plopped myself in front of the TV to watch football, which I hadn't done in ages. It is virtually unwatchable and the "virtually" part is mostly denial. The game is just a cork board to stick commercials on.

 
NFL Game Rewind.

First year I've actually paid for it, but it is very VERY nice to be able to see (typically about 12-15hrs after a broadcast game finishes) a fully broken down play-by-play that you can click from play to play. It's not perfect, and you'll get hitches where the clicked play is actually from 4 plays back, but I find myself more and more not even bothering to DVR games, as there are entire series (3 and out, 2 pentalties, and a punt) I have NO interest in watching at all. So, see it in the play-by-play, skip the whole series, and move on.

Either way, even if you just watch the whole thing, it takes the commercials out for ya. *Forrest Gump voice* one less thing.

 
Change PI to a 15 yard flat penalty.

Illegal contact should be 5 yards BUT NOT an automatic first down.

Those two changes would make the game vastly more competitive and watchable because they're not game changers.

 
Just popping in to say I couldn't agree more. Commercials + flags killing the game. I've actually been bored watching football this year. Ugh.

 
I forgot to complain about the lack of kickoff returns too. Why even have this play? Just start at the 20 and move on. Previously one of the most exciting aspects of a game (the potential for a return TD or great field position right after the other team has scored) has been virtually eliminated.

 
If you are truly pissed off at the state of the NFL, about the only thing you can do is find an attorney and punch him/her right in the neck. Hopefully you can get a nice blindside shot in and be on your way.

 
Adam Harstad said:
Shutout said:
Slapdash said:
Watching games without RedZone has become a miserable experience.
Click to expand...
I was late to the RZ party but I have to say now that I'm here, forget the ticket (if I can get RZ without it next year).
Click to expand...
Dish gives RZ as a standalone for $11 a month, and they give it to you free the first year when you switch. I left DirecTV this year and I'm paying $45 a month for TV right now, and that's including taxes, fees, and red zone.

If nothing else, it gives you a credible threat to leverage against DirecTV next year when they tell you it can't be done.
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I have direct...and when I did my call to complain and see what I could get...I got RZ for free (channel 703) as a stand alone.

First person claims they can't offer it...2nd guy (retention people) offer it.

 
People are right on with the stuff about commercials and penalties, but let's also not forget how poorly the NFL treats their fans. Blackout rules that the FCC had to overrule, exclusive Sunday Ticket licensing to make a few extra bucks instead of letting people watch their favorite team, exclusive video game licensing to make a few extra bucks instead of having an opportunity to actually get a good NFL video game, etc.

They're so damned anti-consumer, and they're so lucky that fantasy football, which was someone else's idea, became so popular. And let's not forget that they tried to screw that up too a few years back when they tried, through litigation, to get exclusive rights to using player names/stats for fantasy.

Just a bunch of corporate schmucks incapable of looking past tomorrow's bottom line who have gotten lucky that someone else invented a way to make their product more watchable and then doubly lucky that they lost a lawsuit when they tried to mess that up through more exclusivity BS.

 
Commercials...they do suck when actually watching a game live.

I typically don't watch that many live games.

RZ for now...Packer full games when they are on (but usually I don't start watching til about 30-40 minutes after it has started and I DVR to get through all the commercials and downtime).

 
FreeBaGeL said:
People are right on with the stuff about commercials and penalties, but let's also not forget how poorly the NFL treats their fans. Blackout rules that the FCC had to overrule, exclusive Sunday Ticket licensing to make a few extra bucks instead of letting people watch their favorite team, exclusive video game licensing to make a few extra bucks instead of having an opportunity to actually get a good NFL video game, etc.

They're so damned anti-consumer, and they're so lucky that fantasy football, which was someone else's idea, became so popular. And let's not forget that they tried to screw that up too a few years back when they tried, through litigation, to get exclusive rights to using player names/stats for fantasy.

Just a bunch of corporate schmucks incapable of looking past tomorrow's bottom line who have gotten lucky that someone else invented a way to make their product more watchable and then doubly lucky that they lost a lawsuit when they tried to mess that up through more exclusivity BS.
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How dare they try to make money off of their product with licensing deals.

 
sho nuff said:
FreeBaGeL said:
People are right on with the stuff about commercials and penalties, but let's also not forget how poorly the NFL treats their fans. Blackout rules that the FCC had to overrule, exclusive Sunday Ticket licensing to make a few extra bucks instead of letting people watch their favorite team, exclusive video game licensing to make a few extra bucks instead of having an opportunity to actually get a good NFL video game, etc.

They're so damned anti-consumer, and they're so lucky that fantasy football, which was someone else's idea, became so popular. And let's not forget that they tried to screw that up too a few years back when they tried, through litigation, to get exclusive rights to using player names/stats for fantasy.

Just a bunch of corporate schmucks incapable of looking past tomorrow's bottom line who have gotten lucky that someone else invented a way to make their product more watchable and then doubly lucky that they lost a lawsuit when they tried to mess that up through more exclusivity BS.
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How dare they try to make money off of their product with licensing deals.
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The key word you're missing is "exclusive".

They could license out their product to every cable provider and multiple game companies and make slightly less money while actually letting people get a better product. Instead they bully consumers around so they can make a couple extra bucks.

Just think about it. Local blackouts, exclusive licensing of their games. They're intentionally making it more difficult for fans to watch their favorite teams in favor of making a couple of extra dollars today. That's going to catch up with them in time, when more and more people who can't actually watch their team play just give up on the league entirely. And once again, many of the people who have not yet made that decision only stick around because of fantasy football, someone else's idea that only still exists because the NFL lost a lawsuit where they tried to make that more difficult too.

 
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Blackouts was an outdated concept to try and encourage game attendance.

Intentionally making it more difficult? Please.

There is more opportunity to watch your team now than there ever was before.

Its not even close.

 
I'm going to put on my flak jacket now.

People have been moaning about the game going to #### for approximately forever. There is always something (or multiple somethings) that is ruining the game. And yet...

Viewership is up. Brand awareness is up. And from a personal perspective, though I can pick a LOT of nits, I still find the games enjoyable.

I don't like Thursday games either. SOME of the flags do seem inconsistent. Kickoffs are mostly pointless. But none of that stuff is "end of the world" type stuff.

And on the penalty issue in particular, that is an area where the NFL HAD to make significant changes and will probably continue to make them. I'm sure many of us fondly remember the brutality of the bye-gone era. Crushing blows by the defense on a regular basis. A MAN's game. That's great and all, but have your seen many of these guys when they hit middle age? The concussion thing is real folks. As hard as it is to regulate hits on "defenseless" players and hits to the head etc, it's got to be done. In the old days, nobody much cared, and the science wasn't there to support the definitive causation of some of these issues. Sorry, those days are over. The one thing that COULD kill the golden goose is a massive lawsuit by every former player in the league or some killer regulation preventing the sport to be played the way it is at all. It doesn't really matter if a guy in his 20s says "I don't give a damn about my future". He will care when he is 40 and done playing, and so will his lawyers if the NFL doesn't CYA as much as humanly possible. I'm not going to debate about whether that is right or wrong, but I do believe it is a fact.

So watch or don't watch, and feel free to gripe. I will be right there with you on some issues. As long as you realize you are basically spittin in the wind.

 
sho nuff said:
Blackouts was an outdated concept to try and encourage game attendance.

Intentionally making it more difficult? Please.

There is more opportunity to watch your team now than there ever was before.

Its not even close.
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IF you want to pay for it there is.

I get both sides of the point you guys make. We don't live in an age where we would pull up a radio and, heavens forbid, listen to an NFL game like our grandparents did. But at the same time, you'd just like the option to do so without the NFL attempting to jam every signal and access point for a fan to see and enjoy a game in the way they want to.

 
I have no issue whatsoever with the rules put in place for safety, but the illegal contact, the 'what is or isn't PI' mess that puts refs in a bad position...those need to change.

 
Insein said:
Change PI to a 15 yard flat penalty.

Illegal contact should be 5 yards BUT NOT an automatic first down.

Those two changes would make the game vastly more competitive and watchable because they're not game changers.
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I cannot possibly agree harder with this than I am right now.

 
Holy Schneikes said:
I'm going to put on my flak jacket now.

People have been moaning about the game going to #### for approximately forever. There is always something (or multiple somethings) that is ruining the game. And yet...

Viewership is up. Brand awareness is up. And from a personal perspective, though I can pick a LOT of nits, I still find the games enjoyable.

I don't like Thursday games either. SOME of the flags do seem inconsistent. Kickoffs are mostly pointless. But none of that stuff is "end of the world" type stuff.

And on the penalty issue in particular, that is an area where the NFL HAD to make significant changes and will probably continue to make them. I'm sure many of us fondly remember the brutality of the bye-gone era. Crushing blows by the defense on a regular basis. A MAN's game. That's great and all, but have your seen many of these guys when they hit middle age? The concussion thing is real folks. As hard as it is to regulate hits on "defenseless" players and hits to the head etc, it's got to be done. In the old days, nobody much cared, and the science wasn't there to support the definitive causation of some of these issues. Sorry, those days are over. The one thing that COULD kill the golden goose is a massive lawsuit by every former player in the league or some killer regulation preventing the sport to be played the way it is at all. It doesn't really matter if a guy in his 20s says "I don't give a damn about my future". He will care when he is 40 and done playing, and so will his lawyers if the NFL doesn't CYA as much as humanly possible. I'm not going to debate about whether that is right or wrong, but I do believe it is a fact.

So watch or don't watch, and feel free to gripe. I will be right there with you on some issues. As long as you realize you are basically spittin in the wind.
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I don't disagree with your point and, like you say, don't want to argue a point. But I will give a different presentation of it.

Yes, in the "good old days" these guys absolutely did play a man's game with a lot of consequences. But...they also made the choice to play and they were rewarded handsomely for it and, because of that (it was by choice and they weighed the risk/reward), I lean on the side of "I wish it was still like that just because people will CHOOSE and then do it. Just like a boxer. Just like a fire fighter or policeman, etc. They all say "I get this and I will give this" and for those who make the millions and make the choice, I applaud them and hope they spend their money living a life I never dreamed of..I just want to see the GREAT product it used to be.

To this day, some of my best NFL memories are the games when I wondered "Can the high-flying offense of Team X match the physicality of Team B". It was abut contrast of styles and how teams seemed to adopt the persona of their cities. Steelers and Bears were living avatars of the city and the people in those cities. Now its, with little exception, 32 copy and pastes and the dividing line is literally a handful of players and luck of who avoids injuries.

I would just prefer to sit down and have the question answered "Is Danny Amendola the type of guy with the guts to go across the middle against the Panthers?" rather than wonder the question "Would the Cardinals be the Broncos if Peyton Manning played there?"

 
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