NFL considers 8 Game Season (2 Viewers)

[mjr]

Link: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/06/06/nfl-plans-for-season-as-short-as-eight-games/

AP At a time when signs of real optimism finally are beginning to emerge regarding a labor deal that would allow the season to start on time, Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal reports that the NFL is planning for a season that would be as short as eight games.

An eight-game season would begin in late November, with a whopping five weeks allowed for free agency, training camps, and maybe a single preseason game. This would require a deal to be reached in October.

In 1982, the NFL played only nine games due to a strike, and no one ever questions the legitimacy of the Redskins’ Super Bowl trophy. That year, the NFL set up a 16-team tournament, with only 12 teams not making it to the postseason. In each conference, one 4-5 team landed in the No. 8 spot, nudging out two other 4-5 franchises in each conference. (The two 4-5 teams — Detroit and Cleveland — lost in the first round.)

Still, one less game feels less legitimate. Several 4-4-or-worse teams undoubtedly would qualify for the playoffs. And while in 1982 the 8-1 Redskins and 7-2 Dolphins advanced to the championship game after the strike wiped out seven games in the middle of the season, there’s a chance that a 3-5 team could get hot and win the whole thing, which could move the asterisk from the NFLPA to Super Bowl XLVI.

With the league able to play the Indianapolis Super Bowl as late as February 12 and thus the conference title games on February 5, the regular season could end on January 15, which would allow an eight-game season to begin on Thanksgiving weekend, possibly with the Lions and Cowboys kicking off the season in their traditional fourth-Thursday-in-November spot and the first full Sunday landing on November 27.

Though Kaplan reports that the league is looking at five weeks of prep time, we’ve previously heard that the absolute minimum is three weeks, which would put the drop-dead date on which all of us would tell the league and the players to drop dead in early November.

 

[Football Critic]

I seen this, would make things interesting to say the least. Maybe an a lot of points champ take all leagues.

...but I still see a deal getting done, losing half the season would mean a gigantic loss for both sides.

 

[Dez]

We would play less games.

 

[LHUCKS]

Scare tactic by the NFL...showing the players that the owners have no problem delaying the season and cutting the players pay in half.

 

[Yenrub]

I doubt I would go through the trouble of setting up my leagues for 8 games

 

[Addai's Adidas]

Our 15 year old league would be dissolved. I would not watch one game.

 

[moderated]

The chances this happens are < 1%.

 

[Jason Wood]

I think an 8-game season would devastate fantasy football. I floated this notion out to a number of my long-running (10-15 years) leagues and in each a number of guys were vehement that they would have no interest in participating. So at a minimum lots of leagues would be scrambling to add new owners, and then potentially risk alienating guys you would normally want to have back in the league.

Thankfully, I think the odds of this happening are remote.

 

[coolnerd]

6 weeek regular schedule with 2 weeks playoff..At 8 weeks no byes to deal with and a greater chance that the last week will matter to most of the NFL.

 

[Crippler]

6 weeek regular schedule with 2 weeks playoff..At 8 weeks no byes to deal with and a greater chance that the last week will matter to most of the NFL.

Play doubleheaders and you get everyone once in a 12 team league. Game 12 would be based on this years result. 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4 etc

 

[Football Critic]

Our 15 year old league would be dissolved. I would not watch one game.

Sounds like yet another hardcore football fan and league! We all know we would find a way to make a league work and watch the games, if you or we say no, u and we are liars....otherwise why are you on a football site in June, cuz you hate football and dont want to watch it?

 

[FUBAR]

Our 15 year old league would be dissolved. I would not watch one game.

Sounds like yet another hardcore football fan and league! We all know we would find a way to make a league work and watch the games, if you or we say no, u and we are liars....otherwise why are you on a football site in June, cuz you hate football and dont want to watch it?

I doubt this happens, but those of us hanging out here would watch. Many casual fans and work leagues might not be quite as forgiving. Screw the owners, screw the players. What about the concession and other workers who will lose $ due to the Billionaires vs. Millionaires fight?

 

[Warhogs]

6 weeek regular schedule with 2 weeks playoff..At 8 weeks no byes to deal with and a greater chance that the last week will matter to most of the NFL.

Play doubleheaders and you get everyone once in a 12 team league. Game 12 would be based on this years result. 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4 etc

This was the first thing I was thinking when reading this thread. Less weeks would simply mean playing double or even triple headers each week in a shortened season with 2 weeks needed for playoffs.

 

[Yenrub]

I have a question for those in leagues that have double headers.

Are owners allowed to submit different lineups for each game of the double header if they choose?

Does MFL support such a thing?

 

[Crippler]

I have a question for those in leagues that have double headers.Are owners allowed to submit different lineups for each game of the double header if they choose?Does MFL support such a thing?

I dont know. We play doubleheaders in my home league for 15 years now and we dont do separate lineups but we start 11 and 11 so you usually are not playing matchups. I think you might have to get the deluxe but it could be done by creating the team twice for like a 24 team league where they would have to input the lineup twice.

 

[mjr]

I know the leagues I play in would require a lot of bylaws to be ammended for 2011. Trading deadlines would have to be cut back from week 11 or 13 in the leagues I play in to week 5 at the latest. The number of wire moves would be cut in half in some of those leagues as well, unless you double or triple the number of permitted moves. And a big problem with wire moves in a 5 game fantasy season is that you don't know if you're getting a guy who's having a break out season or is just having a good 2 or 3 game streak.

You're going to have 2-3 fantasy teams making the playoffs. ADPs next year will be screwy. Every player is going to be projected on what he could have done in 16 games.

The real challenge might not be the 2011 season, but navigating through 2012 realistically.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

6 week regular season. 2 week playoffs.

Just a 1 year thing, if it even happens.

 

[Football Critic]

6 week regular season. 2 week playoffs. Just a 1 year thing, if it even happens.

Regular season would mean so much more this year if only 4 teams make playoffs.

 

[Hoss_Cartwright]

Say your league has two divisions or three divisions and your league awards 6 playoff spots. I say keep it as it is with regards to the number of playoff teams and playoff weeks.

Two Divisions - play a 5 game schedule with 3 playoff weeks

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Play each team in your division once for a total of 5 games and after 5 games that's the end of the regular season.

Play a a 3 game playoffs with the top two division winners getting a first round bye and have the #2 and #3 teams in each division play each other in week 6 and the winners play the division winners in week 7, and the winners from those games play for the SB in week 8.

Three Divisions - play a 5 game schedule with 3 playoff weeks

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Each team in each division plays each other once for a total of 3 games. Games played outside the division is based upon the standings of the previous year. Weaker teams get an easier 2 game schedule, better teams get a harder 2 game schedule.

1) First place team plays fisrt place team from the other divisions

2) Second place team plays second place team from the other divisions

3) Third place team plays third place team from the other divisions

4) Fourth place team plays fourth place team from the other divisions

5) Fifth place team plays fifth place team from the other divisions

6) Sixth place team plays sixth place team from the other divisions

Play a a 3 game playoffs with the division winners getting a first round bye and have 4 wildcard teams. The wildcard teams are seeded 1 through 4 with #1 playing #4 and #2 playing #3 in week 6. The higher seeded divsion winner plays the lowest remaining wildcard seeded winner and the other division winner plays the highest seeded winning wildcard team in week 7, and the winners of those games play in week 8 for the SB.

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

My league has draft picks that have been traded for the 2011 season. If it's abbreviated, we'd probably carry that over to 2012 and play 2011 as a separate fantasy game where everyone has their regular picks. I think it would be unfair for teams to get such little benefit (or such little detriment) by not playing a full season.

That way we'd still participate and play fantasy football, but we wouldn't let the NFL disrupt our own transactions by punishing those who made those moves expecting a full season of risk/reward.

 

[Dave Larkin]

Not gonna happen, folks. Let's be optimistic, why don't we?

 

[golfguy]

I have a question for those in leagues that have double headers.Are owners allowed to submit different lineups for each game of the double header if they choose?Does MFL support such a thing?

mfl does not allow different lineups at this point in time. i've been bending the ear the past few years on this one. in my leagues we don't do playoffs, so we play all 17 weeks and have double header weeks sprinkled in.