Jump to content
  • Welcome!

    Register and log in easily with Twitter or Google accounts!

    Or simply create a new Huddle account. 

    Members receive fewer ads , access our dark theme, and the ability to join the discussion!

     

NFL, union officials meet to discuss longer regular season


Dpantherman

Recommended Posts

NEW YORK (AP) -- NFL and union officials discussed adding two games to the regular season when they met Wednesday for their first negotiating session since February.

Teams would still play a total of 20 exhibition plus regular-season games under the proposal. The league would go from four in the preseason and 16 in the regular season to two and 18.

"This is an idea that is really gaining momentum, particularly with the owners," Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy said on a conference call.

The current collective bargaining agreement expires in March, which could lead to a work stoppage during the 2011 season.

In quotes released by the NFL Players Association, Tom Brady and Ray Lewis expressed concern about the damage two extra regular-season games could do to players' bodies.

"I've taken part in several postseason runs where we have played 20 games," said Brady, the New England Patriots quarterback. "The long-term impact this game has on our bodies is well-documented. Look no further than the players that came before we did. Each player today has to play three years in order to earn five years of post-career health care."

Murphy said he frequently hears Packers fans complain about the quality of exhibition games, as starters now play sparingly in the preseason. With offseason training, he said, players come into camp in good shape and no longer need four games to prepare.

"Part of it is really providing more value to our fans," Murphy said. "The quality of our preseason has really deteriorated over time."

Murphy suggested that more regular-season games would mean more revenue -- which means more money distributed to players. The earliest season with an expanded schedule would be 2012.

"I know our fans may not like preseason games and I don't like all of them," said Lewis, the Baltimore Ravens linebacker, "but swapping two preseason games for two end-of-season games -- when players already play hurt -- comes at a huge cost for the player and the team."

Murphy said the league would look into how players train during the offseason and season to try to reduce injuries. The size of the active roster and practice squads could also be increased; that would have to be agreed to in bargaining.

The NFL could expand to 22 games -- four exhibition, 18 regular season -- under the current CBA, subject to financial negotiation with players, but Murphy said the league would not make a change without an agreement from the union.

He floated the possibility of creating a developmental league to make up for the experience lost by younger players with the reduction in preseason games.

"If you look across most professional sports, we're the only league without some type of minor league or developmental system to develop players," Murphy said.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/nfl/06/16/season.ap/index.html#ixzz0r4FogucK

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Adding playoff games kind of popped into my head but the playoff system is pretty good and I wouldn't want to eff it up.

I like the idea of a Minor league since NFL Europe has been dead for so long.

These billionaires who keep pushing for another NFL caliber league could help out with that. Attendance and revenue probably wouldn't be that different.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder how they'd do the scheduling, as of now it's H/A per team in Division, 2H/2A against NFCdivision, 2H/2A against AFC division, 1 H NFC opponent that placed the same as us in another division, 1 A NFC opponent that placed the same as us in another division.

Would that mean more cross conference games?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like making games more meaningful. We have to pay for the games already so we ought to get our money's worth instead of a water downed product. I agree with expanding rosters to include 4 or 5 more players who if they were rookies would be pretty cheap to keep.

As for the injury issue it should be pretty easy to see how much of an impact that has by looking at the playoff teams for the past 10 years and how many more guys were injured in weeks 18 and 19. They could even give teams a longer break between the regular season and the playoffs to get guys healthy and start training camp 2 weeks earlier.

The players will have to eventually agree with this as one means to raise more revenue otherwise they are looking at a 20% cut right now. This is one way they could make up some of the difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hell f**king no.

More value? Adding games does not give the fans or especially the game anymore value in any area whatsoever, the only value it brings goes in the pockets of the owners. Add two more games to suck up the fan's money while winning teams sit their starters? Already happens now...

Minor league is an interesting idea but isn't college basically that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Start Training Camp two weeks earlier, Keep four Preseason Games but start them two weeks earlier, Expand Regular season by two more games, Give two weeks between final regular season game and beginning of playoffs for resting and recuperating players, possibly expand NFL by two more teams, possibly expand playoffs, expand roster by seven spots and add another spot or two to the practice squad.

Love the idea of a minor league.

Sounds like fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • PMH4OWPW7JD2TDGWZKTOYL2T3E.jpg

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • I see they blamed Slavin for the goal like I did. 
    • See this is the problem, you say "can't get off the line quick" and "can't separate quick" but in reality it's "he can get off the line better and create more separation" which are two completely different things. If he couldn't get off the line or separate, he wouldn't have put up the numbers he did and end up a Top 10 pick. But he can get better, and maybe more accurately, consistent with them both, and that will take his game to the next level.  These are things that are also much easier to improve once you get to the NFL than things like being a poor route runner or having bad hands, two of his strengths. Thinking he can't get open in the short passing game also shows you haven't watched enough tape on him, as he was used in that role so much in college with little issue getting open and making plays. And him not using his physicality as much isn't even something that hurts his game because he's so much more agile than a player of his size should be, which he used to his advantage.  Instead of throwing passes where he'd go up and box out a player like a TE or Mike Evans does, they use his athleticism and put the ball in places that only he can get to it, and he usually does (and yes, he'll still be able to do that against NFL DB's with his catch radius). But now that he's in the NFL, I'd like to see him get stronger and add that to his game because it also will help him take his game to another level. As I've said before, if he doesn't improve on those things at all, I think he's a Top 25 WR in this league, he's already that good.  But I think he'll improve on those things and be a perennial Top 10 WR and in his prime is considered and perform like Top 5 guy in some years. My expectations for him this year at 800 yards and 8 TDs (although I do think he'll get to 10 TDs) with a real chance at getting to 1,000.  But those expectations are because I think Thielen will lead the team in yards with close to 1k and XL/Coker each end up in the 500-600 range themselves, just too many mouths to feed this year for a rookie to dominate yardage, especially if we're running the ball well again. But if Thielen can't stay healthy or puts up sub 750 yards, then yea, my expectations for T-Mac likely shift to getting to 1k as a rookie.
    • Svech only 1 goal behind the guy they've pretty much already given the Conn Smythe to...
×
×
  • Create New...