NFL 2019-2020

[mcanadiens]

3 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

My wife is convinced that the NFL won't exist in this form in 10 years. There is too much greed from the owners and there are two many teams and not enough talent.

I don't think owners' greed is that big a factor. It will be the lack of talent that ultimately does them in.

CTE shook a lot of people up and it has already had a major impact on participation at the  younger levels. Even a big football state like Ohio had a big drop in players at the high school level. It's getting to the point where smaller schools may have to go to 8-man football before too long.

It might take a few years to catch up to the major college and pro levels, but it will. 

[Bucki1968]

High school participation in football has dropped about 30% here in Florida. I believe it's also dropped about that level in Ohio. Your starting to see that in College Football because the talent level drop off from the top 4 or 5 teams to the rest of the programs is becoming larger and larger every year. It will eventually flow up the NFL. 

[dennyjones]

2 hours ago, Bucki1968 said:

Maybe I'm just getting to the point of being the "stay off my lawn" old guy

It's called being a curmudgeon.    I'm a reformed one but giving up on pro sports helped in that regard.  

[Papa Steve 55]

RE Pats vs Cowboys.

How does Garrett have a job? Special teams totally unprepared, Dak on the sidelines during the game trying to figure out which rain glove to wear, down 7 and kick a field goal from the Pats 11 late in the 4th. Pats offence struggling mightily and  teams still insists on playing stupid against them & players whining about the officials.

I don't usually care how we win, but watching other teams beat themselves is ridiculous. I know most are Pats haters, but when they are done no team is in position to step up and play elite football. Enjoy it while you can. 

Edited November 25, 2019 by Papa Steve 55

[mcanadiens]

1 hour ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

How does Garrett have a job?

From the quotes, it sounds like Jerry Jones is asking himself that very thing. 

Dallas is still leading that division, so probably nothing is going to happen before the end of the season, but Garrett may need a decent playoff run to save his job.

[billchao]

4 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

Dallas is still leading that division

That's hardly a commendable feat.

[Shindig]

9 hours ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

down 7 and kick a field goal from the Pats 11 late in the 4th.

There's a term for it:  a surrender field goal.  At least that's what I call it.  It's when a successful field goal lowers the kicking team's chances of winning more than a missed kick would.  Hopefully analytics catches up and fewer teams do this.  I can't imagine Belichick, Rivera, or Harbaugh doing that in that position.  

[mcanadiens]

11 hours ago, billchao said:

That's hardly a commendable feat.

Suppose not, but my locals are trying to put up an 0-fer this year.

This week the oppo is starting Dak against Buffalo, so I'd love to see another effort like that while I'm eating dinner on Thursday. 

[Buckeyebowman]

On 11/15/2019 at 9:05 AM, mcanadiens said:

I don't think owners' greed is that big a factor. It will be the lack of talent that ultimately does them in.

CTE shook a lot of people up and it has already had a major impact on participation at the  younger levels. Even a big football state like Ohio had a big drop in players at the high school level. It's getting to the point where smaller schools may have to go to 8-man football before too long.

It might take a few years to catch up to the major college and pro levels, but it will. 

Oh, I think it's some of both, with the preponderance on the owner's greed side. Lack of talent didn't happen until over-expansion and the concussion scare! The players have been, for the most part, underpaid for decades! Back in the day, players had to find another job to sustain them through the off season!  If there is a professional sport that screams for guaranteed contracts, it is the NFL! Yet, it is the only one that does not! 

I heard an interesting idea floated quite a while ago. If the NFLPA could get their players to go along with it, play through the regular season to reach the playoffs. That's when you announce a strike against the league! No playoffs, no Super Bowl! 

[Shindig]

1 hour ago, Buckeyebowman said:

I heard an interesting idea floated quite a while ago. If the NFLPA could get their players to go along with it, play through the regular season to reach the playoffs. That's when you announce a strike against the league! No playoffs, no Super Bowl! 

I don't know enough about labor contracts, but could they do that?  I imagine the CBA might have something to say about when they can or cannot have a strike like that.

Also, for 20 teams' worth of players, striking in January would be meaningless.  Heck, for that matter, 3 teams haven't played in the wildcard round this decade. 

[mcanadiens]

10 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Oh, I think it's some of both, with the preponderance on the owner's greed side. Lack of talent didn't happen until over-expansion and the concussion scare! The players have been, for the most part, underpaid for decades! Back in the day, players had to find another job to sustain them through the off season!  If there is a professional sport that screams for guaranteed contracts, it is the NFL! Yet, it is the only one that does not! 

I heard an interesting idea floated quite a while ago. If the NFLPA could get their players to go along with it, play through the regular season to reach the playoffs. That's when you announce a strike against the league! No playoffs, no Super Bowl! 

The last time the NFL expanded was 2002. Obviously, fewer teams would mean a higher concentration of talent and that would be nice, but I'm not really sure that they are "over-expanded". You can point at things like attendance and tv ratings, but the league is still making money hand-over-fist.

As far as player's compensation goes, I agree that the lack of guaranteed contracts make it a tougher situation for the players than their MLB, NBA and NHL counterparts. However, has anyone actually turned down an NFL contract because it wasn't enough money? An NFL minimum contract is $480,000 per year. There are damn few people who are going to do better than that in some other line of work.

My point isn't that the NFLPA would be out of line seeking guaranteed contracts, only that the contract situation is not preventing talent from reaching the field.

Are there some specific areas of "owners' greed" impacting the game itself that I'm not considering?

 

[Shindig]

On 11/27/2019 at 6:53 AM, mcanadiens said:

Are there some specific areas of "owners' greed" impacting the game itself that I'm not considering?

 

Mike Brown's seeming refusal to fund quality practice facilities or a real scouting division probably impacts his team, and thus competitiveness.  I'm not sure if this is greed or if he thinks he can do these things well on a budget.

[Vinsk]

Jason Garrett needs to go. Absolutely ridiculous to have the talent the Cowboys have and be .5 for the season. And that talent for me doesn’t include Prescott. Absolutely just below mediocre. And all that fuss with Elliot wanting more money, getting it, then we punt on 4th & 4. I’ve had it with them. Jerry Jones then says in interview he expects to win 4-5 straight from here and make the Super Bowl. Lol!

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, Vinsk said:

Jason Garrett needs to go. Absolutely ridiculous to have the talent the Cowboys have and be .5 for the season. And that talent for me doesn’t include Prescott. Absolutely just below mediocre. And all that fuss with Elliot wanting more money, getting it, then we punt on 4th & 4. I’ve had it with them. Jerry Jones then says in interview he expects to win 4-5 straight from here and make the Super Bowl. Lol!

My question is, how do we know they really have talent? We keep hearing it from Jerry and the sports media, but are they really anymore talented than any other team? Every year we hear this about Dallas. Garrett is not a great coach, but I think it’s a myth that they have great talent on that team. I don’t think they have one #1 player on that team at any position.

[iacas]

6 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

My question is, how do we know they really have talent? We keep hearing it from Jerry and the sports media, but are they really anymore talented than any other team? Every year we hear this about Dallas. Garrett is not a great coach, but I think it’s a myth that they have great talent on that team. I don’t think they have one #1 player on that team at any position.

Agreed. Dallas is consistently one of the most overhyped teams.

[Cartboy]

My money's on Ravens and someone else in the Super Bowl (barring injury to Lamar). 

9rs or Saints for the other one.

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Agreed. Dallas is consistently one of the most overhyped teams.

I don’t think they were overhyped. They were set at #15 in the power rankings prior to starting. Shepherd, Cooper, Elliot and Witten are solid players. When you have a franchise QB, elite RB, solid WR and TE that can make ( should ) for a productive offense. They also have a very solid OL and a defense to boot. None of which have performed at the level expected. 

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

None of which have performed at the level expected. 

Hence overhyped.

I think this is closer to their level of play than the flashes from before.