18 games ahead?

[Cyberjag]

I know we all hate Florio, but this may be factual and if it is, it's interesting.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/05/24/union-already-has-agreed-to-expand-of-the-regular-season/

[Guild]

I kind of like the 17 game idea.

Every team always has a winning or losing season never an even one.

What are the drawbacks?

[Captroop]

I kind of like the 17 game idea.

Every team always has a winning or losing season never an even one.

What are the drawbacks?

Uneven number of home and away games. Owners would be furious at the prospect of playing an extra away game in a given year with no money coming into their stadium.

Of course the solution to that is that every team plays in one neutral site game each year. Which I like. The league is already doing this with London and Mexico City. I think the NFL should expand to 16 neutral site games every year. And not just outside the US, but in areas without a Pro team. Like Vegas, LA, Hawaii, and College football towns in Oklahoma, Alabama and Arkansas, etc.

[MadHatter]

Uneven number of home and away games. Owners would be furious at the prospect of playing an extra away game in a given year with no money coming into their stadium.

Of course the solution to that is that every team plays in one neutral site game each year. Which I like. The league is already doing this with London and Mexico City. I think the NFL should expand to 16 neutral site games every year. And not just outside the US, but in areas without a Pro team. Like Vegas, LA, Hawaii, and College football towns in Oklahoma, Alabama and Arkansas, etc.

Very valid point. I do not see an odd number of games in the season for that very reason.

[Guild]

Great point Captroop.

I also like your idea. It could help expand the appeal of the NFL within the country and world wide.

[Lt Pinkerton]

Owner's wouldn't go for that either. I think 18 games is best.

[pstall]

Not only would the neutral site thing be good exposure, could be a great shot in the arm to those local economies.

[thefuzz]

As much as I love football, I cannot get on board with adding more games to an already marathon like season.

[Lumps]

One word: injuries. Sure an extra game might be be too much but if it then moves to 18 it just seems like they are pressing the limit. And teams already play the second stringers if they can to avoid injuries or whatever, add another game or two on that is just another game with backups for some teams.

Also on a side note I would not want to spread to another country PLEASE. Keep the NFL American! Keep it smaller for more competition and keep the season the same number of games for not only the sake of the injuries but also for the meaning of the win. Doing this also helps keep the win AND tickets worth more.

Just some ideas I am against pretty much all expansion I just think keeping it somewhat small preserves the game's tradition, value and talent. IF the season HAS to be lengthened for money's sake (yea right) I would rather it be longer and without adding more teams.

[Guild]

Gaining an overseas audience is probably a major part of the NFL's future.

[eViL jEsTeR]

my thread from last year on this subject....

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the nfl wants to add more games overseas. fans don't want their teams to lose home games. it isn't fair to the team or the fans.

most fans might agree that preseason is too long. many want the regular season extended not only in overall length (weeks) but also in number of games.

my suggestion to appease the masses.....

1. cut the preseason to 3 games. add the cut game to the regular season extending it to 17 games. this only adds 1 game to the length of the regular season.

2. add an extra bye week to the season giving each team two bye weeks.

these two changes extend the regular season by two weeks. but one of those weeks is in place of the week 4 preseason so the overall football schedule only grows by 1 week in total length of time from preseason to the superbowl.

now..... what to do that that extra 17th game? it would change the 8 home game/8 away game dynamic, right? NO! here's what you do....

add one week for each team on a neutral, overseas site. that's right! the league wants more games overseas. this is the opportunity to expand the league not only to england but world wide! ALL 32 teams would play one game each season at one of many possible sites world wide.

england

Ireland

france

germany

italy

spain

belgium

poland

russia

egypt

Dubai, UAE

south africa

austrailia

japan

brazil

chile

these are suggestions, others may be better suited. maybe canada? of course multiple games could be played in multiple cities in one country such as england, france, spain etc..... instead of spreading out across all of europe or the globe.

this opens the sport up to the world and doesn't rob the teams of home games with us the american home fans. it also makes it fair as each team will have to travel abroad for a game and feel the effects on its team and travel schedule within the regular season.

16 overseas games would start in week 2 or 3 and continue with 1 game each week throughout the season. all teams still maintain 8 home and away games.

the bye weeks should be separated within the season with each team being required to start the season with 3 games, and end the season with 3 games, and have a minimal 4 games during the middle of the season between bye's. otherwise, bye's may come early or late or have minimal games between or play many games between their two bye's.

the biggest flaw, and it just so happens to be the one point that bugs me the most about extending the season past 16 games is what it does to current records. obviously long time regular season records will be broken by adding an extra game's worth of stats to the regular season but this has happened before when the season was expanded in the past from 14 to 16 games.

i hate how now there is one game overseas. i hear there is likely to be more. but this will just rob teams and fans of a home game. i believe expanding the schedule in this manner accomplishes the goals of the league by allowing world wide expansion and exposure to create interest in other countries which may in turn lead to future leagues in other countries such as NFL Europe, Africa, or South America. This expansion to make all teams play a game overseas also makes it fair to all teams.

and most importantly of all, it preserves our beloved 8/8 season here in the states and gives us a longer regular season as well as shortening the preseason.

final suggestion... instead of adding a week for the second bye, eliminate a second preseason game and keep the length of the season as is by having only 2 preseason games and using the other two weeks for the second bye and overseas game. this keeps the playoffs and superbowl where they are during the course of the year. not sure if this is a good alternative as a 2 game preseason might not be long enough to accomplish preseason goals but it sure seems 4 games is a waste. i think losing a preseason game for a bye gives the team much more in the way of rest during a tough regular season.

i think this is a pretty damned good idea although i am sure it will be ripped apart by most, so have at it!

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link

http://www.carolinahuddle.com/forum/carolina-panthers/24714-a-suggested-future-nfl-schedule.html

[guyinchesapeake]

Only the NFL could take something that's not broken and 'fix 'it. The pounding these guys take over 16 games is unbelievable, but now they want to make it 18? For what (well, I KNOW why, it's all about more gross from the live gate!)? Gee, with the billions guaranteed from the TV packages, when does enough become enough? One thing that hasn't changed from when the league went from 14 games to 16, they STILL play a total of 20 games before the post season. Under the 14 game season, teams played 6 preseason games.

I'd like to see them keep the present 16 game schedule, and DROP a preseason game. That would help shorten the season somewhat. Heck, on that basis, drop TWO!!.

I also don't like the idea of overseas games. This deprives the fans of those games from attending. If overseas locations want NFL games, let them apply for a franchise.

[Wither]

Gaining an overseas audience is probably a major part of the NFL's future.

Future as in, 20 years from now they might need to start worrying about it.

Other than that, I think they can make bank off of what they are doing now.

EDIT: On the note of preserving records, I think they should keep that as a major consideration. There is no real need to expand the number of games at the moment and it would only be detrimental to the sport. Let there be a slow evolution of the game, not a revolution every single season.

[frash.exe]

if this happens, you can pretty much guarantee more injuries across the board, and soon, the league will institute new rules to "prevent" injuries which will soften the physicality of the game

wish i could've used a better word than physicality