Thinking back this year in the NFL, the stories that are the most prominent ave been.
1. Ray Rice
2. Adrian Peterson
3. Deflategate
4. Controversial calls in playoffs
5. New penalty procedures
IMO, if the most memorable things you can remember all bring negative attention to the product, something is wrong. I am sure ESPN/NFL network brought more coverage to these stories than say...
- Incredible/historic years from Justin Houston/JJ Watt
- the re-emergence of running games (Bell, Murray, Lynch)
- Greatness from guys like Rodgers, Luck, Brady
- One of the best offensive rookie classes ever
- Emergence of the Cowboys (yuck, but it is true)
And there are about a hundred more football stories that could have been talked about that is overshadowed by controversial and negative press. It's sad to say but as far as quality, the NFL is dropping below a lot of other sports.
- Ill leave it to the soccer fans to explain why soccer is in just great shape around the world.
- The NBA product and talent is at its highest since the 80s
- NHL is growing by the day
- MLB turned out one of the best playoffs in recent history.
- Golf and tennis have had some outstanding individual performances as well.
- Nascar - ehhh, that doesnt count...
And the sad thing is I dont think the NFL big wigs care much about the quality of the product it presents because the $$$$$$$$$ is just so astronomical. It's a shame. Because for about 5-6 years now, unless the Giants played in it, the SB just doesnt excite me as it use too.
And yet...
I would say this draft will likely be one of the greatest for wideouts as I think all the first round picks will have stellar careers.
meant to say, you will get in trouble, if you get caught on camera...
However, they made another ship load of money, so they'll take it.
We get no discussion of the nuts and bolts of Seattle's defense or why Aaron Rodgers's throwing mechanics make him such a great passer, but we do get a ton of JJ Watt's charitable work, Colin Kaepernick being adopted, or whatever good cause the NFL is cashing in on this month.
It seems like many people in high places in the NFL and its partner networks don't actually like the game of football itself, and it shows.
We get no discussion of the nuts and bolts of Seattle's defense or why Aaron Rodgers's throwing mechanics make him such a great passer, but we do get a ton of JJ Watt's charitable work, Colin Kaepernick being adopted, or whatever good cause the NFL is cashing in on this month.
It seems like many people in high places in the NFL and its partner networks don't actually like the game of football itself, and it shows.
It's not the '80s-'90s when football talk, analysis and commentary mattered..I haven't watched pre or post games(save for our SBs in many years..They are largely awful and uninformative..NFLN had a chance to bring us diehards relevant info, but they essentially became ESPN II..
Twitter has made and will make matters much worse with the tracking of every bowel movement and belch..Yes, I love when you guys bring breaking news(FA, cuts, trades), but that's it..
The officiating and their hamstrung rules have made watching anything other than Giants painful and for the first time that I can recall, I have greatly limited watching other games
We get no discussion of the nuts and bolts of Seattle's defense or why Aaron Rodgers's throwing mechanics make him such a great passer, but we do get a ton of JJ Watt's charitable work, Colin Kaepernick being adopted, or whatever good cause the NFL is cashing in on this month.
It seems like many people in high places in the NFL and its partner networks don't actually like the game of football itself, and it shows.
These are great points. I agree completely.
One of the main goals of the commissioner should be protecting the integrity of the game. To be a steward for professional football. The NFL now just whores the sport out to make the most money. It is like they want the league to be like reality TV.
It is so sad how in this era of information, there is way less discussion of the sport itself then ever.
Screwed up enough for 2(TWO) CEOs to be fired, but he's still there, and will likely beat his 44.3M earnings from last year.
I have no desire to do it, but how much do you think FF has impacted how the NFL is viewed nowadays?
It's always about new revenue sources.
As a kid I remember watching Terry Bradshaw break down how putting the index finger on the tip of the ball helped with throwing a spiral, particularly in bad weather. I ran outside afterwards and tried that for an hour. I used to really enjoy Edge NFL Matchup, where plays were broken down and analyzed. I remember seeing guys like Jimmy the Greek actually talking about football...when he made his picks, you listened.
Yeah, get off my lawn and all that. But now we're getting Frank Caliendo and the insidious Rob Riggle going out to an entire generation of people, some of whom will eventually get jobs operating the TV networks. What is in store in the future?
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whereas prior to the last, let's say ten years, it seemed like everyone understood what made the NFL tick, how the hardcore fans bonded with it, etc. Perhaps even the execs involved on the NFL and TV side also loved the NFL. Now? Sucks by comparison.
I have no desire to do it, but how much do you think FF has impacted how the NFL is viewed nowadays?
I play FF...I can't speak for anyone else but I don't think it has a huge effect. Yeah you hope your players do well but that isn't mutually exclusive from seeking, recognizing, and enjoying good football.
In those other sports flew past dep's radar.
I do think the emergence of NFL Hipsters has been annoying. The so-called "real" fans who think today's game isn't as good as it used to be because "they're too mainstream maaan". What's especially annoying about those people is how they ignore the fact that the primary reason the game is changing is because of the concussion issue. I don't want flag football either but you're an absolute dumbass if you don't think the NFL needs to protect their players more.
The only thing that really bugs me is the defensive holding/interference penalties that are clearly there to give teams more of a reason to pass than run. There's definitely a relationship with bigger passing stats and fantasy football. That part bugs me. Fuck Peyton and Polian for bitching so much and making the game easier for good QBs.
In those other sports flew past dep's radar.
Are you going to tell me that the quality of the nfl is better than any other major sport? Because right now, I don't think it's even close to any of the sports I mentioned.
Throw in the off field incidents and the nfl right now is a site for sore eyes.
i don't know whether or not it was a good year for the NFL financially - it seemed like there were sold out stadiums and the usual attention; they didn't lose money on their TV deals or sponsorships; the US economy is picking up and gas prices are down so people have more discretionary income to throw at merchandise, etc.
on the field, there were some interesting things that happened, some exciting games/finishes, so it's hard to say the product diminished substantially.
the playoffs have been generally exciting and the super bowl is an awesome showdown with a lot of great story lines.
I would say this draft will likely be one of the greatest for wideouts as I think all the first round picks will have stellar careers.
True, Bridgewater could be a solid QB. He went 14 TD, 12 INT, 64% completion, with nearly 3,000 yards in 13 games played. That's not bad for a very late 1st round rookie QB on a bad team.
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The only thing that can keep this draft back from being an all-time great one is the lack of a top notch #1 QB. Derek Carr looked good and who is to say he can't jump up but I'm not sure about say QB Bortles and how high his ceiling truly is now.
I would say this draft will likely be one of the greatest for wideouts as I think all the first round picks will have stellar careers.
True, Bridgewater could be a solid QB. He went 14 TD, 12 INT, 64% completion, with nearly 3,000 yards in 13 games played. That's not bad for a very late 1st round rookie QB on a bad team.
All while missing their best offensive player to a huge controversy.
We get no discussion of the nuts and bolts of Seattle's defense or why Aaron Rodgers's throwing mechanics make him such a great passer, but we do get a ton of JJ Watt's charitable work, Colin Kaepernick being adopted, or whatever good cause the NFL is cashing in on this month.
It seems like many people in high places in the NFL and its partner networks don't actually like the game of football itself, and it shows.
Wow, Terps. Hell of a post. Probably very accurate unfortunately. If they increase the # of teams in the playoffs, I'll be really, really pissed off.
We get no discussion of the nuts and bolts of Seattle's defense or why Aaron Rodgers's throwing mechanics make him such a great passer, but we do get a ton of JJ Watt's charitable work, Colin Kaepernick being adopted, or whatever good cause the NFL is cashing in on this month.
It seems like many people in high places in the NFL and its partner networks don't actually like the game of football itself, and it shows.
Well yes, the NFL is no longer a mere game played by athletes. It is a product that brings in a metric fuck ton of cash, and thus, must be treated like one to increase flow of said cash...
On the other hand, Goodell's mistakes as commish have hurt. As have the mistakes committed by the officials, team owners and players, so that makes it a bad year.
But comparing to other leagues and sports across the globe, it seems like the NFL to me isn't as bad as say Soccer is.