NFL

[Kapitan]

Aug 17, 2024 12:01:03 GMT Sheriff John Stone said:

I agree with everything that was said above about the increasing risk of injury, diluting the product, and records being tainted. I'll add a third thing that is rumored to being discussed in the commissioner's office. There is talk that if the league moves to 18 games, they might have - force! - the teams to mess with the rosters to keep the players...fresh and reducing injuries. For example, if the schedule is 18 games, players can only play 16 games or whatever, meaning teams would have to sit certain players for 2 games. How crazy is that? Can you imagine, say a Chief's game, and having to play, or if you're a fan watch, the backup quarterback play for the Chiefs while Patrick Mahomes stands on the sideline wearing a baseball cap! This opens up all cans of worms in all kind of areas, on and off the field.

I hadn't heard that, and wow. I get why the players' union would want to push for that kind of thing, but it definitely goes back to that major point that a few of us agree one, anyway: it's trying to get too much of a good thing, which ends up with a worse thing!

[kds]

I think that the exposure of the NFL is partly them catering to Fantasy Football fans, and fans who use gambling apps.

While fans who appreciate a good game might be less likely to tune in for a crap game on a Thursday Night, you're fans who have fantasy seasons or money on the line probably will.

[Kapitan]

Aug 17, 2024 12:37:52 GMT kds said:

I think that the exposure of the NFL is partly them catering to Fantasy Football fans, and fans who use gambling apps.

While fans who appreciate a good game might be less likely to tune in for a crap game on a Thursday Night, you're fans who have fantasy seasons or money on the line probably will.

I think you're exactly right. Gambling is really impacting the game. (All sports, really.) And not to the benefit of the sports themselves.

Not to mention the actual dangers of gambling addiction. I'm not morally opposed to all gambling, but I do think it's awfully dangerous to keep promoting it so broadly, especially online, where it's so simple to do and is almost divorced from reality. I've known a few people who developed serious problems gambling. Luckily, I just don't have the taste for it, not online, not in casinos, not really at all. 

[B.E.]

I think the strongest argument against expanding the regular season beyond 16 games is the "diluting the product" argument. I agree with all the points you guys brought up in that regard. Ultimately, I don't think they should have made that change (although, I didn't/don't feel too strongly about it). I'm also a "stat guy", so I appreciate that argument, but stats never told the whole story. The additional game or two is just another of a long list of factors to consider when comparing players across eras. I also don't disagree that expanding to 18 games would increase injury risk (because I assume total snaps would increase on average), I'm just questioning how much. I'm not convinced that it's significant. And it's the framing this as an extra game, when it really only represents 1/2 a game or less (potentially), that rubs me the wrong way a little. It's still 20 games in total. But I'm contemplating this in the wake of the season-ending injury to McCarthy in a meaningless preseason game. I've always thought preseason was too long (same with the NBA). If it were me, I wouldn't want to play in those games. If I'm risking injury, I'd prefer it be in a game that counts! So, from that perspective, I'm open to reallocating regular vs preseason games. What they probably should have done is just ditch one preseason game and had 16 regular season games and 3 preseason games.

[B.E.]

Aug 17, 2024 12:01:03 GMT Sheriff John Stone said:

I'll add another thing that is rumored to being discussed in the commissioner's office. There is talk that if the league moves to 18 games, they might have - force! - the teams to mess with the rosters to keep the players...fresh and reducing injuries. For example, if the schedule is 18 games, players can only play 16 games or whatever, meaning teams would have to sit certain players for 2 games. How crazy is that? Can you imagine, say a Chief's game, and having to play, or if you're a fan watch, the backup quarterback play for the Chiefs while Patrick Mahomes stands on the sideline wearing a baseball cap! This opens up all cans of worms in all kind of areas, on and off the field.

I've not heard of this and so have no idea how serious this rumor is, but I can't imagine a change this radical ever happening. That would be crazy. 

[Sheriff John Stone]

Questions to Ponder about Smile 

[Kapitan]

ESPN published a story on five teams likely to decline in 2024. It was not kind to this board! Among the teams were Philly, Baltimore, NY Giants, and Cleveland (plus Pittsburgh).

Meanwhile, I'm almost jealous at being ignored, because I think the Vikings seem likely to be right up (down?) there, too. I know we only won 7 games last year, but honestly it might be tough to match that this time around. Stars will have to align.

[kds]

Aug 20, 2024 14:43:25 GMT Kapitan said:

ESPN published a story on five teams likely to decline in 2024. It was not kind to this board! Among the teams were Philly, Baltimore, NY Giants, and Cleveland (plus Pittsburgh).

Meanwhile, I'm almost jealous at being ignored, because I think the Vikings seem likely to be right up (down?) there, too. I know we only won 7 games last year, but honestly it might be tough to match that this time around. Stars will have to align.

Baltimore isn't unreasonable.   The Ravens went 13-4 with the #1 seed last year.   Our OL is less stable.   We lost our DC - Mike MacDonald.   We lost several key players in free agency.   It's hard to not decline from that. 

That said, if Lamar stays healthy, I still think we're legit SB contenders.   

[Sheriff John Stone]

I don't think the prediction of the Eagles declining is unreasonable either. They lost a Hall Of Famer in Jason Kelce and a possible Hall Of Famer in Fletcher Cox. They were both still productive players but it's their leadership that will be missed. And, the Eagles have not replaced them.

The Eagles also got two new coordinators, Kellen Moore on offense and Vic Fangio on defense. They might have good track records and be an improvement over last year's coordinators, but you still need the talent. The Eagles definitely have the talent on offense (and they picked up Saquon Barkley to boot), but there were/are a lot of holes to fill on defense. Last year the Eagles defense was one of the worst in the league. We'll see.

I still think the team will ultimately sink or swim on the performance of QB Jalen Hurts. He does so many things on offense, but it seems like he's always nicked. And, he had some problems with Head Coach Nick Sirianni last year. Hurts has to stay healthy and he has to have a big year.

The Eagles were 10-7 last year but lost six of their last seven games. Then they got blown out in the playoffs. They have to prove quickly, right out of the chute, that they turned things around. The season hasn't even started yet and Sirianni is already on the hot seat. I could see the Eagles duplicating last year's record of 10-7 (there is a lot of talent on offense) but I can't go higher than that. And playoffs? Playoffs! You wanna talk about playoffs?

[Kapitan]

I know none of this means anything, but just for fun, I'll share the relevant teams from ESPN's new ranking of NFL coaching staffs.

1. carllove's KC Chiefs
5. kds's Baltimore Ravens
10. My Minnesota Vikings
14. The Cincinnati Kid's Cincinnati Bengals
15. Sheriff John Stone's Philadelphia Eagles
24. B.E.'s NY Giants

Is that everyone's team (of those into football / on this thread)?

I can't really speak to the other teams, but I'll say that might be a little high for the Vikings. I think HC Kevin O'Connell is solid, but not great. That first year when we had a great record, I FULLY believe luck was a big part of it. A lot of close-game wins (and not necessarily because of coaching). OC Wes Phillips is seemingly redundant, a stand-in for O'Connell. He's had the same two seasons as OC that KOC has had as head coach, and he's just doing what KOC wants, from what anyone can tell. Results are good passing game, bad run game. And DC Brian Flores is exciting, but mixed. We've just had him one year, and his personnel was poor, so it's tough to judge him, but he's a major gambler. I'm not sure what I think about that yet.

Does all this end up putting a staff in the top third of the league? Maybe, but I'm not so sure.

[kds]

Five seems fair for the Ravens. I think John Harbaugh is probably a legit HOF candidate as HC. Todd Monken is a solid OC. They might be ranked higher if the Ravens didn't get away from the offensive gameplan that got them to the AFC Championship during the AFC Championship. Also, we have an unproven DC in Zach Orr.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Like the above ESPN team prediction, I have no problem with the coaching staff ranking either. The Eagles' staff comes in at #15. OK. As I mentioned above, the Eagles lost six of their last seven regular season games, got blown out in the playoff game - and Nick Sirianni had no answers. As I also mentioned above, I like the new coordinators, Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio. But, even though they both have been around, there are still some question marks. The Chargers weren't exactly juggernauts on offense last year as they were expected to be. And, Vic Fangio is now 66 years-old. Can he relate to players one-third his age? And, if you look at Fangio's resume', he's starting to become a journeyman coach! So, yeah, I'm OK with #15 ranking.

[kds]

I was just thinking the other day, when the preseason ended, about how my general interest in the NFL has faded a bit over time.

Up until maybe my mid 30s (mid 2010s), I used to kept up on NFL news, and I used to try to watch as much NFL football as I could on Sundays. I even subscribed to RedZone for a few years. The playoffs were absolute must watch events and, sometimes to my wife's chagrin, I made sure to be plan free for those weekends in January.

I guess it's somewhat natural that my interest began to wane when we had my son in 2017. When your free time suddenly dwindles, you find that maybe dedicating 12 hours to football on a Sunday might not be the best way to spend a day. Nowadays, I'll still try to watch the Ravens. But, other games, not so much. I don't even make a huge effort for the playoffs anymore (partially because I think the NFL ruined the format with their Super Wildcard Weekend).

This happened to me around 2011 or so with baseball. That was probably the last time I remember watching a non Orioles game.

But, I'm increasingly finding myself to be more of a casual observer than a rapid fan. Even with my own teams. I still love my Orioles and Ravens, but I no longer feel the need to let the results of sporting events really affect my mood too much.

[Kapitan]

I’m the same way, even minus the son. For me it was a steady decline in non-Vikings interest from about 2000-2010. And honestly, while I still catch most Vikings games, my devotion there has dropped, too—that began around 2010 or the early ‘10s and has only continued.

I still basically keep up on Viking news, but not obsessively. And while I catch most of most games, if I have a conflict or a game is going late or badly, I don’t mind just turning it off.

It’s been similar with other sports/teams I like: NBA/Wolves and NCAA football and basketball/Gophers.

[kds]

I also feel like obsessive sports (or any kind really) fandom is unhealthy. I probably told this story before. But, after the Ravens lost the 2011 AFC Championship Game in devastating fashion, I allowed it to pretty much ruin by winter. It possibly even cost me a relationship with a really nice girl I went out with a few times (this was winter 2012, so a few months before I met my wife, so probably for the best). I kind you not, I would sit up at night, and think about the last minute of that Ravens loss.

As winter turned to Spring, I told myself that I just can't do that anymore, that I have to either not take these games so seriously, or find another hobby. I'm happy that I chose the former as the 2012 sports years wound up being one of my favorites as the Orioles ended their 14 year postseason drought and the Ravens won the Super Bowl.

But, I think that come to Jesus moment was probably the beginning of my journey from obsessive fan to interested, but relatively casual, observer.