The NFL Owners are meeting today in Atlanta. One of the agenda items is the proposed 18 game NFL schedule. This proposal would move two preseason games (currently four) to the regular season (from 16 games to 18 games). This is an inevitable move. I’m not a fan of the move for multiple reasons. The primary reason is that it is motivated by greed. Yes, Gordan Gekko states that, “Greed is good” but not in this case. It is a kin, in my mind, to the realignment that we see in major college football this past spring. It is about the almighty dollar. Yes, I get that the NFL is a business, I’m not naive but it is more complicated than the financial bottom line. There are people involved—both players and fans.
The 18 game schedule will create more wear and tear on the players’ bodies. This could mean more money during a season but less money over their careers because careers will be shorter. Running backs, already the disposable heroes of the league, will suffer even more of a beating over 18 games (plus the play offs which could push the total to 21 games). NFL is being hypocritical on this issue. On one end it discusses (and mandates) the need to vigilance and increased safety (technology, screenings, and equipment) regarding head injuries (which I support fully) about player safety. Then on the other end they extend the regular season, when veterans and starters will bear the brunt of the load, and ignore the wear and tear.
One of the arguments for an 18 game regular season is that the quality of play in the preseason is below the regular season. Roger Goddell discusses this all the time. The fans are demanding a better product in the preseason. Yes, some season ticket holders have to pay for preseason games and yes the preseason doesn’t count, but it is essential. More on that issue below. The fact is that no one complains about the quality of spring training in baseball. That is because we understand that it is practice, that players are working into game shape and speed, and that teams need to assess the talent on the roster. Why don’t we afford that same understanding to the NFL? Preseason games are not supposed to be the same quality as regular season games. Coaches are assessing a roster of 80 players and working out kinks in their offenses and defenses. No one brings up the fact that there are meaningless games in the regular season (see Indianapolis Colts, Cincinnati Bengals after clinching divisions last year). There is poor and inconsistent play in the NFL during the regular season (see Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Bucs). Also note that the more games on the schedule the more opportunity for teams to clinch early, rest starters, and for there to be even more meaningless games on the back end (instead of meaningless preseason games on the front end).
The lack of a four game preseason will make it harder for coaches to assess talent the talent on their rosters. It will be particularly harder for lower draft picks and undrafted free agents to prove themselves in game situations. Practice and OTAs are one thing but a roster is made in game situations. Mark Schlereth (former NFL lineman and ESPN analyst), Jeff Saturday (Colts starting center), and Terrell Davis (former Denver Bronco running back) have all said publicly that they would not have made the NFL if it weren’t for the full complement of preseason games. As mentioned before, fans gripe about the quality of play in the preseason and the fact that the stars don’t play that much. THE PRESEASON IS NOT FOR FANS. It is for coaches and players to get ready for the year. We, as fans, are merely observers in that process, a process that is essential to developing future NFL stars and to insuring a high quality product during the regular season. Preseason games may not count but they are important.
Yes, as a fan, I would love more NFL games. An 18 game schedule in the NFL is a complex, multi-faceted issue with long ramifications for the league and the players. It can simply be summed up as, will this be too much of a good thing?
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