Dan Patrick: NFL to add a Wildcard in each conference 2015 (1 Viewer)

[Shutout]

So was Pete Rozelle "ruining the league" when he added the two wild cards in the first place? When he expanded the number of teams to 32 and the schedule from 14 to 16 games? Would you prefer 26 teams, no wild cards, and a 14-game schedule? Why not?

More is not only better (unless its that At&T commercial). The difference between then and now is that, then, the league was growing and ready for it. Now, the league is pretty much saturated and decisions are based 90/10% on revenue, not actual concerns about whether markets can support the teams, if it will water the talent-pool down, etc.

I am not opposed entirely on the 7 team idea. 8 is absolutely too much just based on it allows half the teams in and, by the aggregate records of the past dozen years, it almost guarantees a perennial 8-8 or -9 team. But if this is about anything OTHER THAN MONEY in terms of finding a fix or better product, they really ought to start on the inside with reseeding or conversations about the divisions, etc; not pure number of qualifiers.

 

[Jeremy]

One constant theme of Goodell's time as commish is that he will look under every rock and sofa cushion for every dollar he can find for his bosses (the owners). As others have alluded to, this by itself maybe isn't a huge deal, but it's a emerging pattern that might not bode well for the future. It seems almost inevitable that this is a stepping stone to a 16 team playoff, which would further water down the regular season. And if you think they've given up on the 18 game season, you're crazy. All these proposed rule changes like eliminating kickoffs aren't because they care deeply for the health of the players. It isn't even about lawsuits anymore, IMO. They want to soften up the game to the point where they can convince the players that they can handle the additional toll of 2 more games.

Maybe they can do all this without sacrificing quality, but I doubt it. Already you've got these weekly Thursday games where it doesn't look like the games are quite as good.

Goodell and his bosses don't seem big on moderation. They see a pot of gold and they're heading for it, full speed ahead. They know we're not going anywhere, at least not in the short term. They're going to squeeze every egg they can out of the golden goose. I hope in their arrogance they don't kill it.

 

[B-Deep]

34 of the 35 most-watched fall TV shows in America were NFL games. The only non-NFL show that made the Top 35 was NBC’s coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which checked in at No. 22.

America’s most-watched TV show of the fall television season was the Thanksgiving game between the Raiders and Cowboys, which drew 31.7 million viewers. That was followed by the Week One Packers-49ers game, which got 28.5 million viewers, the Packers-Lions Thanksgiving game with 28.3 million viewers, the Broncos-Cowboys shootout with 28.3 million viewers, the December 1 Broncos-Chiefs battle with 28.1 million viewers, the November 24 Cowboys-Giants game with 27.9 million viewers, the December 15 Packers-Cowboys game with 27.8 million viewers, the December 8 Seahawks-49ers game with 27.6 million viewers, the season-ending Eagles-Cowboys game with 27.4 million viewers and the September Eagles-Broncos game with 27.0 million viewers.

And that’s just for the regular season. Already we’ve seen playoff games with even higher viewership totals. And playoff viewing numbers only go up as the postseason goes on, culminating with the Super Bowl, which is America’s most-watched show every year, and this year may turn out to be the most-watched show in American television history.

 

[Dentist]

One constant theme of Goodell's time as commish is that he will look under every rock and sofa cushion for every dollar he can find for his bosses (the owners). As others have alluded to, this by itself maybe isn't a huge deal, but it's a emerging pattern that might not bode well for the future. It seems almost inevitable that this is a stepping stone to a 16 team playoff, which would further water down the regular season. And if you think they've given up on the 18 game season, you're crazy. All these proposed rule changes like eliminating kickoffs aren't because they care deeply for the health of the players. It isn't even about lawsuits anymore, IMO. They want to soften up the game to the point where they can convince the players that they can handle the additional toll of 2 more games.

Maybe they can do all this without sacrificing quality, but I doubt it. Already you've got these weekly Thursday games where it doesn't look like the games are quite as good.

Goodell and his bosses don't seem big on moderation. They see a pot of gold and they're heading for it, full speed ahead. They know we're not going anywhere, at least not in the short term. They're going to squeeze every egg they can out of the golden goose. I hope in their arrogance they don't kill it.

The thursday games are already a slap in our face... a big one.. and the worst part is we're taking it and some people are even happy about it.

I definitely wouldn't care if it wasn't for FFL... between the rule changes, the parity, the thursday games, the horrible teams winning super bowls, the ridiculous passing numbers.... it's starting to not resemble the game I grew up with in the 80's/90's... and if the changes were making things better that would be one thing.. they are making it worse.

If they ever give me SuperBowl Saturday I'll forgive them though... Super Bowl SATURDAY so i can make it a real party

 

[roadkill1292]

Dentist, I don't support every little detail in this batch of posts (maybe more than you would expect, though) but this has been some quality ranting. Thanks.

 

[CalBear]

Sometimes it's in the best interest of a company to keep shearing their customers a little at a time like the casinos do instead of going for broke and flat out raping them.

I fail to see how adding another wildcard team does anything to "shear the customers." How much will it cost you?

 

[CalBear]

The thursday games are already a slap in our face... a big one.. and the worst part is we're taking it and some people are even happy about it.

I definitely wouldn't care if it wasn't for FFL...

The worst part is that someone disagrees with you?

Just for your info, fantasy football is over. This is the playoffs. So feel free to commence not caring.

 

[Run It Up]

I actually like the idea of adding another wildcard to each conference, but I hate the idea of them reseeding based on record a great deal.

I hope they stick with this one and skip the other. I maintain my opinion that if you can't win your division then you have to play on the road, rivalries matter.

 

[Dentist]

Sometimes it's in the best interest of a company to keep shearing their customers a little at a time like the casinos do instead of going for broke and flat out raping them.

I fail to see how adding another wildcard team does anything to "shear the customers." How much will it cost you?

It's going to cost the people that attend that game more, it's going to cost advertisers more to advertise for that game (and they will in turn raise the price of their products to compensate), it's going to cost the networks more to carry that game (and that will in turn raise my cable bill), and it means that there is going to be the inevitable 8-8 champion and I'll waste productive time posting on this message board #####ing about it.

So I'd say SEVERAL dollars.

 

[Dentist]

I actually like the idea of adding another wildcard to each conference, but I hate the idea of them reseeding based on record a great deal.

I hope they stick with this one and skip the other. I maintain my opinion that if you can't win your division then you have to play on the road, rivalries matter.

They shouldn't anymore.. these players are all mostly friends with each other in the digital age and with free agency its not like lifelong chiefs players really "hate" the raiders or broncos.. that's not real anymore.. it hasn't been in a well over a decade.

Give it up already... there are enough teams that I want one superconference and to play everyone in it one time... that's more interesting.. to play more different teams... also then the schedules are more balanced... some team doesn't just beat up on its crap division or some team isn't punished by being in an awesome division.

Divisions are an antiquated stupid concept.. and rivalries are dead.

 

[PatsWillWin]

Sometimes it's in the best interest of a company to keep shearing their customers a little at a time like the casinos do instead of going for broke and flat out raping them.

I fail to see how adding another wildcard team does anything to "shear the customers." How much will it cost you?

It's going to cost the people that attend that game more, it's going to cost advertisers more to advertise for that game (and they will in turn raise the price of their products to compensate), it's going to cost the networks more to carry that game (and that will in turn raise my cable bill), and it means that there is going to be the inevitable 8-8 champion and I'll waste productive time posting on this message board #####ing about it.

So I'd say SEVERAL dollars.

Considering there wouldn't be a game without this change, I'm not sure what the point is of saying that people who go to this new game will be paying more. No kidding. If they don't want to pay "more," they don't need to go.

As for advertising and cable bills...come on.

 

[Dentist]

The thursday games are already a slap in our face... a big one.. and the worst part is we're taking it and some people are even happy about it.

I definitely wouldn't care if it wasn't for FFL...

The worst part is that someone disagrees with you?

Just for your info, fantasy football is over. This is the playoffs. So feel free to commence not caring.

I like football.. I want to care, but the NFL doesn't want fans like me anymore... they want mindless drones

 

[Run It Up]

I actually like the idea of adding another wildcard to each conference, but I hate the idea of them reseeding based on record a great deal.

I hope they stick with this one and skip the other. I maintain my opinion that if you can't win your division then you have to play on the road, rivalries matter.

They shouldn't anymore.. these players are all mostly friends with each other in the digital age and with free agency its not like lifelong chiefs players really "hate" the raiders or broncos.. that's not real anymore.. it hasn't been in a well over a decade.

Give it up already... there are enough teams that I want one superconference and to play everyone in it one time... that's more interesting.. to play more different teams... also then the schedules are more balanced... some team doesn't just beat up on its crap division or some team isn't punished by being in an awesome division.

Divisions are an antiquated stupid concept.. and rivalries are dead.

I live in Missouri, everyone here is a Chiefs fan (outside of STL), and they all hate the rest of the AFC west. I hate the Jets with a passion, everyone hates the Patriots with a passion. My family on the east coast hate the Steelers (Ravens fans)... rivalries do matter.

Adding an extra wildcard and removing one bye also makes the regular season week 17 more important -- that BYE is going to be coveted.

However, if they were to seed playoffs based purely on record the only way I would be okay with it is if they completely got rid of divisions. Divisions may be a dumb concept but they have been around long enough for fans to build up strong feelings for them and thats worth something imo.

 

[CalBear]

Sometimes it's in the best interest of a company to keep shearing their customers a little at a time like the casinos do instead of going for broke and flat out raping them.

I fail to see how adding another wildcard team does anything to "shear the customers." How much will it cost you?

It's going to cost the people that attend that game more, it's going to cost advertisers more to advertise for that game (and they will in turn raise the price of their products to compensate), it's going to cost the networks more to carry that game (and that will in turn raise my cable bill), and it means that there is going to be the inevitable 8-8 champion and I'll waste productive time posting on this message board #####ing about it.

So I'd say SEVERAL dollars.

You think Coca Cola and Bud will cost more because they get another opportunity to advertise?

If you don't want to attend the game, don't. It doesn't sound like you do, anyway.

 

[Dentist]

You know what COULD be awesome.. if somehow wins were weighted differently. Like if you BARELY win a game by a FG or something that's worth X because you probably won because of some BS call or a bad bounce... BUT if you win HANDILY (14+) and even more if you super blow them out (28+) this would encourage better FFL stats and please some of your most ardent fans, would encourage running up the score and not taking your players out which sucks for the fans paying big bucks to attend, and would hopefully lead to more blowouts. Blowouts and definitive wins are CRIMINALLY underrated games because they are the only type of win where the loser has generally ZERO stake to complain about the game.

In almost all close games the aforementioned refs and/or bad bounces generally are what truly decide the games when you go back and watch the tape, not the players most of the time.. and really that sucks when it all comes down to it.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

poor Dentist

 

[Long Ball Larry]

You know what COULD be awesome.. if somehow wins were weighted differently. Like if you BARELY win a game by a FG or something that's worth X because you probably won because of some BS call or a bad bounce... BUT if you win HANDILY (14+) and even more if you super blow them out (28+) this would encourage better FFL stats and please some of your most ardent fans, would encourage running up the score and not taking your players out which sucks for the fans paying big bucks to attend, and would hopefully lead to more blowouts. Blowouts and definitive wins are CRIMINALLY underrated games because they are the only type of win where the loser has generally ZERO stake to complain about the game.

In almost all close games the aforementioned refs and/or bad bounces generally are what truly decide the games when you go back and watch the tape, not the players most of the time.. and really that sucks when it all comes down to it.

I support this.

 

[CalBear]

You know what COULD be awesome.. if somehow wins were weighted differently. Like if you BARELY win a game by a FG or something that's worth X because you probably won because of some BS call or a bad bounce... BUT if you win HANDILY (14+) and even more if you super blow them out (28+) this would encourage better FFL stats and please some of your most ardent fans, would encourage running up the score and not taking your players out which sucks for the fans paying big bucks to attend, and would hopefully lead to more blowouts. Blowouts and definitive wins are CRIMINALLY underrated games because they are the only type of win where the loser has generally ZERO stake to complain about the game.

Yeah, and then instead of having a playoff, you could have people vote on who the best team is! Since in a playoff the team that's not as good could always win because of a funny bounce or two. And the best way to determine the best team is to measure how much they beat the worst team by.

Welcome to the NCAA circa 1999. I guess they ruined that, too.

 

[The Ref]

Guess this means they are not ready to add 2 weeks to the regular season and or add a team in London. Thats what they are really working towards, this one more wildcard game stuff is just the warmup.

 

[PatsWillWin]

You know what COULD be awesome.. if somehow wins were weighted differently. Like if you BARELY win a game by a FG or something that's worth X because you probably won because of some BS call or a bad bounce... BUT if you win HANDILY (14+) and even more if you super blow them out (28+) this would encourage better FFL stats and please some of your most ardent fans, would encourage running up the score and not taking your players out which sucks for the fans paying big bucks to attend, and would hopefully lead to more blowouts. Blowouts and definitive wins are CRIMINALLY underrated games because they are the only type of win where the loser has generally ZERO stake to complain about the game.

In almost all close games the aforementioned refs and/or bad bounces generally are what truly decide the games when you go back and watch the tape, not the players most of the time.. and really that sucks when it all comes down to it.

Let's just make it a total points league.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

You know what COULD be awesome.. if somehow wins were weighted differently. Like if you BARELY win a game by a FG or something that's worth X because you probably won because of some BS call or a bad bounce... BUT if you win HANDILY (14+) and even more if you super blow them out (28+) this would encourage better FFL stats and please some of your most ardent fans, would encourage running up the score and not taking your players out which sucks for the fans paying big bucks to attend, and would hopefully lead to more blowouts. Blowouts and definitive wins are CRIMINALLY underrated games because they are the only type of win where the loser has generally ZERO stake to complain about the game.

In almost all close games the aforementioned refs and/or bad bounces generally are what truly decide the games when you go back and watch the tape, not the players most of the time.. and really that sucks when it all comes down to it.

Let's just make it a total points league.

All-play FTW

 

[KellysHeroes]

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/_/id/10237964/jerry-jones-dallas-cowboys-favor-expanding-nfl-playoffs

 

[KellysHeroes]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/myers-change-air-goodell-eyes-twists-nfl-playoffs-article-1.1569445

 

[Short Corner]

I actually like the idea of adding another wildcard to each conference, but I hate the idea of them reseeding based on record a great deal.

I hope they stick with this one and skip the other. I maintain my opinion that if you can't win your division then you have to play on the road, rivalries matter.

Just give the division winners hosting priority.

 

[Run It Up]

I actually like the idea of adding another wildcard to each conference, but I hate the idea of them reseeding based on record a great deal.

I hope they stick with this one and skip the other. I maintain my opinion that if you can't win your division then you have to play on the road, rivalries matter.

Just give the division winners hosting priority.

This blows my mind. Although in this years NFC picture, the first round of the playoffs would pit two division winners against each other, I feel like if you win your division you shouldn't have to play on the road in the first round.

1. Seahawks 13-3*

2. Panthers 12-4*

3. Niners 12-4

4. Saints 11-5

5. Eagles 10-6*

6. Cardinals 10-6

7. Packers 8-7-1*

Packers* @ Panthers*

Cardinals @ Niners

Saints @ Eagles*

What a cluster, you have one match-up with two division winners playing each other, one match-up with two wild cards playing each other, and one higher seeded wild card playing a division winner.

 

[Gargoylez]

By adding to the post season you are now making the regular season that less important.

 

[KellysHeroes]

why beat around the bush, make it 16 instead of 14, no BYES = major $$$$$$ increase... screw the players and their safety

 

[B-Deep]

By adding to the post season you are now making the regular season that less important.

did you see the tv stats i posted? We need the NFL, we cannot live without it.

only one of the top 35 shows of the fall (regular season) was not an NFL game. No matter what they do the feeling is people will watch, unless they are proven wrong they'll keep expanding the games they offer because more games on more nights is more money, it is that simple. The NFL is a giant, and we are all feeding the beast.

 

[B-Deep]

why beat around the bush, make it 16 instead of 14, no BYES = major $$$$$$ increase... screw the players and their safety

it'll happen at some point

 

[Dentist]

By adding to the post season you are now making the regular season that less important.

did you see the tv stats i posted? We need the NFL, we cannot live without it.

only one of the top 35 shows of the fall (regular season) was not an NFL game. No matter what they do the feeling is people will watch, unless they are proven wrong they'll keep expanding the games they offer because more games on more nights is more money, it is that simple. The NFL is a giant, and we are all feeding the beast.

I wonder how much of that is a function of the divide of viewers over other programs.

When there were 10-20 channels one program might get massive viewership... now there are 300 channels plus all types of internet content to divert people's time.

But if you're a sports fan and specifically an NFL fan there is only one choice.. the NFL game... isn't that more of the reason... are the nfl's ratings actually up from a few years ago?

 

[Dentist]

By adding to the post season you are now making the regular season that less important.

Agree.

for instance, I do enjoy NBA basketball, but because they take SO many teams to the post-season making the post-season SOOOO long, it's more than enough basketball for me to just tune in when the playoffs start. (disclaimer: I still praise the NBA's best of 7 format and the fact they are one of the very FEW leagues where the best team consistently wins the league title the most often... the NBA championship is still the trophy with the most prestige to me because teams a couple games over .500 don't win it.. BUT the NBA could achieve the same thing by taking just 4-6 teams from each conference and reducing the obscene length of teh playoffs)

Same with college basketball.. why would I tune in before the conference tournaments?

 

[B-Deep]

CBS

• The network said its regular-season schedule averaged 18.7 million viewers, a 6% increase over last year’s 17.7 million viewers. The 18.7 million viewers were second highest number of average viewers in 26 years for the regular-season AFC television package.

• The Top 10 markets (in descending order through Week 16) for CBS’s NFL coverage: Kansas City; Buffalo; Indianapolis; Cincinnati; Baltimore; Pittsburgh; Nashville; Denver; Boston; Cleveland.

Pregame: The NFL Today averaged 3.3 million viewers, about 28% lower than FOX NFL Sunday.

FOX

• FOX said its regular-season schedule delivered its most NFL viewers since the network began broadcasting NFL games in 1994. The network’s games averaged 21.2 million viewers, an 8% increase over last year’s viewership (19.7 million) and 5% over 2010 for the most-watched NFL on FOX season ever. FOX said its four most-watched NFL seasons have come over the past four years (2013: 21.2 million; 2010: 20.11 million; 2011: 20.96 million, and 2012:19.7 million).

• The network’s national game of the week—the late-afternoon window—averaged 27.2 million viewers. It was FOX’s most-watched package on record, eclipsing the previous record set in 2009 (26.2 million viewers).

• FOX said it increased its female viewers in 2013, including the demographics of women between 18-34, women 18-49 and women 25-54 (the latter was up 10%). The season average among women 18-49 tied for the highest-rated ever, and women between 25-54 ranked as the network’s best ever.

Pregame: FOX NFL Sunday averaged 4.8 million viewers, up 4% in audience over last year (4.6 million viewers) and 39% higher than CBS’s The NFL Today.

ESPN

• ESPN said its 17 Monday Night Football telecasts averaged 13,679,000 viewers. It was the third-most viewed season in ESPN’s eight years of presenting MNF. The network had six of cable’s 10 biggest audiences for the calendar year among viewers, and ESPN said eight times during its schedule it won the night as the most-watched network among households and total viewers—cable or broadcast—in prime time.

• ESPN’s most-viewed MNF game came on Sept. 9 when 16,524,000 viewers watched the Eagles at Redskins season opener.

• The 10 highest-rated markets for Monday Night Football in 2013: 1. New Orleans; 2. Sacramento; 3. Las Vegas; 4. San Diego; 5. Richmond, Va.; 6. Seattle-Tacoma; 7. Norfolk-Portsmouth, Va.; 8. Washington D.C.; 9. Charlotte; and 10. Baltimore.

• Monday Night Football on ESPN Deportes averaged 45,000 Hispanic households and 68,000 Hispanic viewers for the 17-game schedule in 2013, the most-watched MNF season on record for ESPN Deportes among Hispanic viewers.

• ESPN’s Monday Night Football online streaming generated an average minute audience of 610,000, an increase of 31% compared to 2012.

Pregame: Sunday NFL Countdown averaged 2.2 million viewers (up from last year’s 2.1).

NBC

• Sunday Night Football averaged 21.7 million viewers (up from 21.4 million in 2012) for its 19 NFL regular-season telecasts, the second-best viewership mark in NBC’s eight seasons of broadcasting the NFL’s Sunday primetime package. (The highest ever was 21.8 million, in 2010.)

• The most watched SNF broadcast was the Eagles-Cowboys game on Dec. 29. It drew 27.4 million viewers.

• Sunday Night Football was the No. 1 show in prime time for the fourth consecutive fall television season, and it won every key adult and male demos, including Adults 18-49. The show ranked first among Women 18-49, the first time the NFL primetime package won the fall TV season in that demo. It was also tops among Women 18-34 for the fall primetime for the third year in row, and it tied for No. 2 with The Voice in the Women 25-54 demographic behind only The Big Bang Theory.

• The Top 20 TV markets for Sunday Night Football: 1. New Orleans; 2. Denver; 3. Richmond; 4. Indianapolis; 5. Las Vegas; 6. Sacramento; 7. Albuquerque; 8. Dallas; 9. Baltimore; T-10. Seattle; T-10. Kansas City; T12. Washington D.C.; T12. Norfolk; 14. San Diego;15. Charlotte; 16. Phoenix; T-17. Pittsburgh; T-17. Nashville; T-17. Austin and T-17. Greensboro.

Pregame: Football Night in America averaged 8.0 million viewers in 2013, up 3% from last season.

NFL NETWORK

• The 13-game schedule produced the most-watched season for Thursday Night Football, with an average of 8.0 million viewers. That was up 10% from the 2012 season average.

• The most-viewed game came in Week 3 when an average of 11.1 million viewers watched the Chiefs defeat the Eagles on Sept. 19. The game’s 7.0 rating was the highest-rated Thursday Night Football telecast in NFL Network history.

Pregame: NFL GameDay Morning averaged 478,000 viewers for the 2013 season.

 

[B-Deep]

MNF was down, all the rest of the netwroks were up, a lot

wild card game between green bay and san fran set records for the wildcard round

the super bowl will likely be the highgest viewed show in TV history

this list of the top rated shows ever is from 2011, not sure where 2012 super bowl fit but you can prolly guess

1. Super Bowl XLV -- 111 million viewers (2011)

2. Super Bowl XLIV -- 106.5 million viewers (2010)

3. M*A*S*H* series finale -- 106 million viewers (1983)

4. Super Bowl XLII -- 97.5 million (2008)

5. Super Bowl XLIII -- 95.4 million (2009)

6. Super Bowl XXX -- 94.1 million (1996)

7. Super Bowl XLI -- 93.2 million (2007)

8. Super Bowl XLII -- 93.2 million (2008)

9. Cheers 100-minute finale special -- 93.1 million (1993)

10. Super Bowl XXVII -- 91 million (1993)

 

[B-Deep]

we cannot consume enough NFL fast enough. They'll keep feeding it to us till we choke on it.

 

[Dentist]

B-Deep - interesting stats thanks for posting them.

Pretty clear from those stats that I represent an old-school viewer and the NFL knows what people wants and is delivering it.

Shocking stats honestly.. I'm blown away.. (especially on MNF being on ESPN for 8 years... where did the time go?)

Interesting to me that someone who has been watching the NFL for 25 years and has never been more disillusioned by the product causing me to consume less of it than ever (it would be almost nill if not for my loyalty to teh Chiefs, FFL, and specifically the Red Zone which admittedly is the best product ever created in sports history).. is a time where people like it more than ever.

 

[roadkill1292]

B-Deep - interesting stats thanks for posting them.

Pretty clear from those stats that I represent an old-school viewer and the NFL knows what people wants and is delivering it.

Shocking stats honestly.. I'm blown away.. (especially on MNF being on ESPN for 8 years... where did the time go?)

Interesting to me that someone who has been watching the NFL for 25 years and has never been more disillusioned by the product causing me to consume less of it than ever (it would be almost nill if not for my loyalty to teh Chiefs, FFL, and specifically the Red Zone which admittedly is the best product ever created in sports history).. is a time where people like it more than ever.

Me, too. I just feel like it's being done to death yet everyone around wants more.

 

[B-Deep]

B-Deep - interesting stats thanks for posting them.

Pretty clear from those stats that I represent an old-school viewer and the NFL knows what people wants and is delivering it.

Shocking stats honestly.. I'm blown away.. (especially on MNF being on ESPN for 8 years... where did the time go?)

Interesting to me that someone who has been watching the NFL for 25 years and has never been more disillusioned by the product causing me to consume less of it than ever (it would be almost nill if not for my loyalty to teh Chiefs, FFL, and specifically the Red Zone which admittedly is the best product ever created in sports history).. is a time where people like it more than ever.

i don;t think the nfl is providing better football, and that is what people want

but more than better football they simply want more

 

[B-Deep]

it is stunning how well the NFL is doing, but nothing lasts forever

 

[Long Ball Larry]

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THE NFL CAN'T FIGURE OUT A PERFECT SYSTEM THAT WILL COMPLETELY SATISFY ALL OF THE OWNERS AND THE FANS AND MESSAGE BOARD NUDNIKS AND MAKE MORE MONEY AND PROGRESS AND KEEP THINGS EXACTLY THE SAME! IDIOTS!

 

[John 14:6]

I hate the idea of them reseeding based on record a great deal.

I maintain my opinion that if you can't win your division then you have to play on the road, rivalries matter.

When divisions were 5 teams I would agree. Each team had 8 games against division rivals and 8 outside of the division, so winning the divisions really mattered more.

But now with only 4 teams in each division, each team only plays 6 divisional games and 10 non-divisional games. When the minority of the regular season is divisional games, I think the overall records should account for more.

Plus before with only 3 division champs per conference, it was more likely that they were actually better teams. But with 4 divisions, it's a lot easier to get lesser teams as division champs.

 

[Quibbler]

This is why the regular season and all the football we have seen and witnessed have more value to me than one stupid game... one game tells me very little unless it's a complete and total blowout... then i might.. MIGHT learn something.

If the 4 team playoff was best of 3's, I'd mostly respect it.

Agreed. Which is why I don't really understand why anyone would object to an extra wildcard.

The NFL playoffs are pretty clearly not about finding the "best" team of the year. If you wanted that, you'd have series like the NBA, or two-legged matches like in international soccer, or just have a 20 week season with no playoff at all. The NFL's one and done playoff is closer to March Madness than any of those setups. It's a really entertaining tournament between some of the better teams in the league. But it's not like the league really cares about having its champion be the undisputed best team.

And why wouldn't the league keep pushing things in the March Madness direction? People love underdogs and Cinderella stories. Not to mention more national games = more revenue, etc.. The only downside I can see is that people might start losing interest in the regular season. But with fantasy football becoming more popular, casual fans are actually probably more interested in the regular season than 10 years ago.

TL;DR version: Don't like extra wild card teams; blame fantasy football.

 

[Dentist]

The NFL playoffs are pretty clearly not about finding the "best" team of the year. If you wanted that, you'd have series like the NBA, or two-legged matches like in international soccer, or just have a 20 week season with no playoff at all. The NFL's one and done playoff is closer to March Madness than any of those setups. It's a really entertaining tournament between some of the better teams in the league. But it's not like the league really cares about having its champion be the undisputed best team.

And why wouldn't the league keep pushing things in the March Madness direction? People love underdogs and Cinderella stories. Not to mention more national games = more revenue, etc.. The only downside I can see is that people might start losing interest in the regular season. But with fantasy football becoming more popular, casual fans are actually probably more interested in the regular season than 10 years ago.

TL;DR version: Don't like extra wild card teams; blame fantasy football.

completely agree.

But I think that most people accept that the super bowl champion was in fact the best team that season.

sometimes the best team of the year will win the tournament... or sometimes we get treated to a matchup where the top 2 teams play each other and we find out who was the luckiest team in that one game.... but just like in FFL, frequently the best team does not win.

I think that in the days before parity we had the best team winning the title more frequently... but in the days of parity it's just not happening as much anymore.

 

[James Daulton]

What I think is going to kill the league is ever increasing ticket prices. I've had Ravens season tix since their 1st year. They started at $35 and are now $97, that's about a 6.5% increase each year. I make decent scratch and what started as relatively minor $700 expense (2 tix) each year has turned into a $2,000 expense. The increase combined with the amazing experience on tv leads me to believe that the nfl will have increased difficulty selling the game tix, thus providing them a huge hurdle to overcome.

 

[unckeyherb]

why not just go to a total points league?

 

[unckeyherb]

I actually like the idea of adding another wildcard to each conference, but I hate the idea of them reseeding based on record a great deal.

I hope they stick with this one and skip the other. I maintain my opinion that if you can't win your division then you have to play on the road, rivalries matter.

They shouldn't anymore.. these players are all mostly friends with each other in the digital age and with free agency its not like lifelong chiefs players really "hate" the raiders or broncos.. that's not real anymore.. it hasn't been in a well over a decade.

Give it up already... there are enough teams that I want one superconference and to play everyone in it one time... that's more interesting.. to play more different teams... also then the schedules are more balanced... some team doesn't just beat up on its crap division or some team isn't punished by being in an awesome division.

Divisions are an antiquated stupid concept.. and rivalries are dead.

Disagree 110%. Come to Philly for any Divisional Game or more importantly when we play Dallas. Even the Free agents know whats up and the city certainly acknowledges to rivalry.

 

[ROCKET]

it is stunning how well the NFL is doing, but nothing lasts forever

Agreed. The demographic of the country is changing and the NFL will at some point lose popularity. I don't ever see it falling into obscurity but I do believe the league knows it's window will close some day. And like most businesses they will try and make the most money they can now knowing full well it won't last forever. It's all about how much can you earn in the short term.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

Good point ^^^ Rocket,

I'll add the fact that infrastructure of billion dollar NFL stadiums, used far to infrequently and with too short of a shelf life are economically unsustainable even for the rich power hungry gazillionaire owners. On the surface, all looks like the NFL is making money hand over fist, but it looks more and more like a giant ponzi scheme. Like you say, it can't last forever.

 

[Short Corner]

MNF was down, all the rest of the netwroks were up, a lot

wild card game between green bay and san fran set records for the wildcard round

the super bowl will likely be the highgest viewed show in TV history

this list of the top rated shows ever is from 2011, not sure where 2012 super bowl fit but you can prolly guess

1. Super Bowl XLV -- 111 million viewers (2011)

2. Super Bowl XLIV -- 106.5 million viewers (2010)

3. M*A*S*H* series finale -- 106 million viewers (1983)

4. Super Bowl XLII -- 97.5 million (2008)

5. Super Bowl XLIII -- 95.4 million (2009)

6. Super Bowl XXX -- 94.1 million (1996)

7. Super Bowl XLI -- 93.2 million (2007)

8. Super Bowl XLII -- 93.2 million (2008)

9. Cheers 100-minute finale special -- 93.1 million (1993)

10. Super Bowl XXVII -- 91 million (1993)

You realize they have TV in other countries right?

 

[Short Corner]

I actually like the idea of adding another wildcard to each conference, but I hate the idea of them reseeding based on record a great deal.

I hope they stick with this one and skip the other. I maintain my opinion that if you can't win your division then you have to play on the road, rivalries matter.

They don't really. Three teams had the best division record this season and failed to win their division, two of which missed the playoffs entirely.

 

[CalBear]

You realize they have TV in other countries right?

So you support Goodell's efforts to bring the NFL to Toronto and London?