rphguy Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Goodell, owners discuss adding 17th gameby Alex Marvez Alex Marvez is a Senior NFL Writer for FOXSports.com. He's covered the NFL for 13 seasons as a beat writer and is the president of the Pro Football Writers of America. Updated: May 21, 2008, 10:46 AM EST 199 comments add this RSS blog email print NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has an idea to combat the declining interest in the NFL preseason: a 17th regular season game. More on the meetingsVideo: Marvez breaks it all down Marvez: Squabbling over money Marvez: Goodell in the spotlight Owners opt out of CBA Marvez: Implications of opting out Goodell broached the subject at the owners' meeting on Tuesday in Atlanta. The basic premise would be to eliminate one preseason game, bringing that number down to three, and add on one regular season game. Since most starters and veterans play sparingly the first few preseason games, the move would likely not have an impact on a team's ability to prepare for the regular season. With the odd number of regular season games, the conferences would alternate between its teams hosting nine games in a season and its teams hosting eight games. The move could also have the added benefit of increasing league revenues, which might make it easier for players and owners to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement. On Tuesday, the owners opted out of the current labor deal, which means that the CBA now runs through 2010, not 2012. If no new agreement is reached, the 2008 and 2009 seasons would be played under the current terms, the 2010 season would be an uncapped year, and there would be no agreement covering the 2011 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Eh, I'm for it, cut the lame ass preseason games down to 2 for all I care....make it even if you're gonna add games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYG Hampton 27 Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Eh, I'm for it, cut the lame ass preseason games down to 2 for all I care....make it even if you're gonna add games. And give young players less chance to prove themselves and make the team? With "important" games coming earlier they'll probably want to have practice start earlier. How will players like that? And starter injuries will increase with an increase of game time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lubeck Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 And give young players less chance to prove themselves and make the team? With "important" games coming earlier they'll probably want to have practice start earlier. How will players like that? And starter injuries will increase with an increase of game time. Agreed. The season is long enough. Owners just want another game to guarantee income regardless of making the playoffs. What they should be doing is increasing roster sizes both in the preseason (the much discussed NFL Europe exemptions being gone) and during the regular season. A big reason the Rams choked last season was the lack of depth on their Oline. I read recently there were 14 different lines they put out last season, or some stupid number. Having more players on your roster would increase salary costs though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedinBlue Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 I like the idea of more games that mean something. And I agree with Storm.....make it two more games and cut two preseason games out. And I agree with Lub as well.....expand the roster size so the team's season isn't determined solely by injuries. Let them add 4 players to the active roster and 4 more to the practice squad and I would add that 2 from the practice squad should be protected from other teams taking them. That way, teams can develop a player they believe in without having to lose him just as he is starting to reach potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lubeck Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 A "Project Player" tag would be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Giant Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 And give young players less chance to prove themselves and make the team? With "important" games coming earlier they'll probably want to have practice start earlier. How will players like that? And starter injuries will increase with an increase of game time. Couldn't agree more. 16 is plenty, sure we'd all love to see more games that count, but at the risk of stunting development of youngsters or costing even more injuries? I'm thankful at the end of each season heading into the playoffs we havn't got a completely new team of the field from the opener to the finale because of the injury problems we have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarence the Blue Puppet Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 How come the only sport where they bitch about the number of preseason games is football? They are meaningless in the standings, but how else are coaches supposed to figure out who is going to make the team? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allstarjim Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Cut a preseason game for all I care. But don't increase the regular season. 16 games in enough, and the owners are letting greed drive this decision if it comes to that. If you keep adding games, the product will suffer. Players as it is fight chronic injuries from the toll that is inflicted on them through a 16 game schedule. Most starting running backs can't get through 16 games injury free. Plus adding a game will make all records acheived after the 17th game is put in place have to have an asterick next to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagleEye Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 I was always told that if it isnt broken, dont fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueInCanada Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 I was always told that if it isnt broken, dont fix it. Yeah but once the owners hear "Hey we could make more money" their eyes glaze over and they nod their heads. It's a shame that money now rules the sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagleEye Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Yeah but once the owners hear "Hey we could make more money" their eyes glaze over and they nod their heads. It's a shame that money now rules the sport. The owners are morons. Most of them didnt build the team from the ground up. Id love to know how many of thee owners are actually smart buisness men. No smart buisness man would ever give 30 plus million dollars to someone who has never worked in his company before. Ala top picks getting 30 plus million in garunteed money, while veteran players dont make that much. You tell me whats wrong with that? I know damn well If I was an owner, I would not give a player that money. If he didnt like it, than Ill find someone who does. Top prospects are just that, "prospects." It is a sahme money rules the sport. If Antonio Peirce was sitting out becaue he wanted more money, Id go to Giants Stadium right outside the stadium entrance and burn his jersey. Ala Brian Urlacher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlb37 Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 there selling 20 games anyway. I have to buy the pre season games whether I want them or not. given that why not make one more of them count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echochamber Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 there selling 20 games anyway. I have to buy the pre season games whether I want them or not. given that why not make one more of them count? I had the same thought. My gripe is that I feel you'll have way too many peeps getting injured in those first 4 games....... but i'm bombed right now so what do i knwo........ weeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 I like the idea of more games that mean something. And I agree with Storm.....make it two more games and cut two preseason games out. And I agree with Lub as well.....expand the roster size so the team's season isn't determined solely by injuries. Let them add 4 players to the active roster and 4 more to the practice squad and I would add that 2 from the practice squad should be protected from other teams taking them. That way, teams can develop a player they believe in without having to lose him just as he is starting to reach potential. Didn't we poach Ward of the Jets' practice squad? The tagging of 'project' players would just mean those guys have less opportunity to see the field and I bet it's something the players would oppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lubeck Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Didn't we poach Ward of the Jets' practice squad? The tagging of 'project' players would just mean those guys have less opportunity to see the field and I bet it's something the players would oppose. Yeah we got Ward from the Jets. And being tagged as a project player might hurt a players chances to start initially (such as a player like Ryan Grant) and you are probably right that the union would oppose it, but being tagged as a project player would be most likely mean the team is planning on your starting or making the active roster after you have some time to adjust to the NFL while protecting a team from their investments being poached. If nothing else use it as a bargaining chip in the upcoming CBA discussions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Money Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 The owners are morons. Most of them didnt build the team from the ground up. Id love to know how many of thee owners are actually smart buisness men. No smart buisness man would ever give 30 plus million dollars to someone who has never worked in his company before. Ala top picks getting 30 plus million in garunteed money, while veteran players dont make that much. You tell me whats wrong with that? I know damn well If I was an owner, I would not give a player that money. If he didnt like it, than Ill find someone who does. Top prospects are just that, "prospects." It is a sahme money rules the sport. If Antonio Peirce was sitting out becaue he wanted more money, Id go to Giants Stadium right outside the stadium entrance and burn his jersey. Ala Brian Urlacher. The rookie salaries aren't the owners' choice. And good luck finding a top prospect that agrees to sign a cheaper deal than his draft position warrants... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 The rookie salaries aren't the owners' choice. And good luck finding a top prospect that agrees to sign a cheaper deal than his draft position warrants... See, that's how I feel. If enough money isn't offered then they'll just hold out and that's bad for everyone involved. And the gripe I'm hearing is that unproven rookies are getting paid more than veterans...well veterans=age...they don't exactly have many years left. With rookies at least you're buying potential... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 If the owners were smart they would have negotiated a set rookie wage scale. Make it a set amount over three years based on the position they were drafted, and set it a relative to the cap. It'd save all the crazy hold-out threats and missed camp time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeMesiS Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 Adding more games will make stats or records completely meaningless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 Adding more games will make stats or records completely meaningless. You can still easily compare on a per game basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rphguy Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 You can still easily compare on a per game basis. not if you get injured on game 14 and miss the last few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 If 16 games were enough, nobody would watch preseason games. We simply do not get enough football. Its the reason why we are here doing mock drafts, watching teams during free agency, watching the draft, reading the mini camp reports, and following every single practice during late July and August. They could make it 20 games and there still wouldn't be enough football to satisfy the demand for the game. One of the items that the players union has not wanted to cap is actually rookie salaries. I'm surprised considering the veterans would be the ones getting short changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
so-cal dub Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 fuck it, play 3 times a week, making it a 48 game schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 If 16 games were enough, nobody would watch preseason games. We simply do not get enough football. Its the reason why we are here doing mock drafts, watching teams during free agency, watching the draft, reading the mini camp reports, and following every single practice during late July and August. They could make it 20 games and there still wouldn't be enough football to satisfy the demand for the game. One of the items that the players union has not wanted to cap is actually rookie salaries. I'm surprised considering the veterans would be the ones getting short changed. I would love a 20 game season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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