The Golden Goose is dying.

that the lack of contact conditioning may very well be doing more harm than good...

They blow the clock at the end of the Pats game.

However, let's remember that fans showed up to watch replacement players.

We root for laundry.

and lack of hitting in practice is not going to stop hyper-extended knees...

And read some old articles by Dr.Z from the 80s and 90s.

He was saying the exact same thing back then.

.

You have to hit a tree with your bare hands to make them tough

In comment 12652025 Chris in Philly said:

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and lack of hitting in practice is not going to stop hyper-extended knees...

But it will condition the bodies and stop ruptured ligament and tendons. Players return from "hyperextended knees" The shit popping left and right is the problem.

Get off the couch and go run a 5k. Let me know how you feel. The only thing that will get these players more conditioned to play is practicing more and hitting.

is making watching the nfl a shit exerience. watching injuries happen every week is a real pain in the ass to have to see and hear. Today alone Groinkowski, Jimmy Graham and how many other are out with injuries? Must be a bunch more. It has gotten ridiculous. Football in the past was not like this with all the injuries.
The list of star players on IR is growing exponentially.

injury causes. The main focus of the article was the shoes the players wear. Too much traction without the support could be a factor in the ruptures in the knees, and foot and ankle injuries. Don't remember exact quotes, but it was interesting. Of course it doesn't matter what you have on you feet if you take a helmet to the knee.

That unless some form of significant and perhaps sport altering change is made to American football that it will exist 50 years from now. And 50 may be a generous number.

In comment 12652052 BlueHurricane said:

Quote:

In comment 12652025 Chris in Philly said: Quote: and lack of hitting in practice is not going to stop hyper-extended knees... But it will condition the bodies and stop ruptured ligament and tendons. Players return from "hyperextended knees" The shit popping left and right is the problem.

No it won't.

How hitting in practice stops tendon and ligament damage

In comment 12652086 moespree said:

Quote:

That unless some form of significant and perhaps sport altering change is made to American football that it will exist 50 years from now. And 50 may be a generous number.

Yes, but the television ratings still increase and the money flows in.

Perhaps those that became addicted to football in the years when ESPN used to sell VHS tapes of the greatest hits of the year, most of which would draw a flag now, can't kick the habit but the next generation perhaps won't be interested enough to become addicted.

To think MORE hitting is the solution to the NFLs problems is laughable.

I've found the quality of play to be much lower this year. Who knows, maybe it's just me.

this same post every week. Football is dying. This isn't the game I grew up loving. Football will be unwatchable in 20 years. No dude, your just old. You're a luddite. Things will be fine, just maybe not for you.

?

In comment 12652131 giantgiantfan said:

Quote:

this same post every week. Football is dying. This isn't the game I grew up loving. Football will be unwatchable in 20 years. No dude, your just old. You're a luddite. Things will be fine, just maybe not for you.

Luddite ? Seriously ? Typically that refers to tecnophobes not sure how that applies to football.

Nfl ratings may be great today but the injuries to star players is going to eat away at viewership and fandom. Is already happening. I live in Texas do you think the viewership for the Cowboys has gone down since romo went down ? A shit ton it has.

The nfl was and has been very successful because it was managed very well, salary cap etc. but this concussion stuff and the injury issues could do quite a bit of damage.

Personally my whole outlook and interest level drops when I don't know the players on the team. And with the injury issues to stars you are getting much less for tour dollar or time.

If Eli went down I don't think I would watch another giant game all year .

One possible solution is an NFL farm system. It's crazy to me to see when you need players to fill in due to injury you are getting guys off the street at times who have been not playing any football a all... like in other leagues where they pull from minor league affiliates.

I wonder if the quality of play would go up overall and more players would "tough it out" through injuries if they would be replaced easily .. They can't now and I think it's affecting the quality of the game.

That can solve a depth of talent issue that the NFL certainly seems to have.

it is clear that the NFL product has changed even since the '07 title run.

A change not for the better either. So the OP is not the only one who feels this way.

The increase in body building drugs, i.e. HGH etc. is playing a big part in this ( how many torn pecs.did we see in the past, that injury has really exploded in the last few years). Also I read a article not to long ago about the cleats current players use and the grip it gives them is a major contributor.

but many die hard fans that I know young and old aren't walking away from football but not one likes the game today compared to a decade ago. Most say they can't watch if there team is not involved. Football may be getting TV ratings but the underpinnings are starting to erode

out number pure football fans. When people can play with their moms and sisters vs when in the past that part of the family was shopping or in the kitchen it has a massive impact on the fan base.

Many new fans don't even know the old product.

The penalties, the injuries, the mediocre teams.

Yeah, there's too many commercials, offense is obviously favored, the officiating sucks...

All that said, it's my most favorite sport by far. I love the NBA, but it's not even close to football. There's nothing I love to do more than sit around on a Saturday & Sunday & watch college & pro football.

will be back

If cord cutting accelerates, ESPN might not be able to bid as much they did in 2011 when the deal comes up for renewal in 2019 - other players will likely know this and adjust their bids accordingly. If the 'subsidy' from pay-TV non-sports watching fans goes away, the league will be in trouble.

With the ever increasing number of injuries often to key players why wouldn't the NFL consider lengthening their rosters kind of like a quasi college roster. I realize it comes down to money but those guys on the practice squad get paid too so why not make them all eligible on game day. In may in some small way improve the overall play.

its on TV on Sunday afternoons when I want to sit around and do nothing. The score is always in the upper left hand corner so I don't have to pay attention, as opposed to a movie with a plot. And there are infinite replays so I don't miss anything.

The game has great athletes too.

But the violence, the arbitrary rules and ADD programming style is awful.

In comment 12652183 blueblood'11 said:

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With the ever increasing number of injuries often to key players why wouldn't the NFL consider lengthening their rosters kind of like a quasi college roster. I realize it comes down to money but those guys on the practice squad get paid too so why not make them all eligible on game day. In may in some small way improve the overall play.

It reminds me of the tobacco industry 40 years ago....

The executives figured out that they were making billions with a toxic product. They faced a big decision: own up to it, try to find a cure that keeps smokers smoking or just deny it and make as much money as you can while you can. Big tobacco chose the latter.

The NFL owners are doing the same. The are paying lip service to "player safety" while buying out old players and injecting lawsuit-proof contract language into all new player contracts.

Point is they are milking the Golden Goose for all they can. Which means they will not increase rosters that cut into their profits.

Is it the field turf? Cleats? Lack of practice? I have no idea.

But it sure does seem like more star players are getting hurt every year and it's absolutely affecting my enjoyment of watching the game.

That and the refs are definitely making the game shittier. And I'm not just a crotchety old fuck, I'm in my early 30s.

As a season ticket holder it worries me that the NFL has to keep changing rules minimizing "unnecessary" contact and yet the injury rate continues to climb. It is getting to a point where the most lucky team may go to the SB and not the best. Broken legs, knees, concussions. It is getting scary. I understand the next man up theory but it is to the point where guys that have no business being in the NFL are starting at key positions.

I believe there is going to come a time where the concept of traditional football may not die but come to an end where people are more interested in fantasy stats and less interested in teams because if say Eli goes down, the Giants are done but if he goes down in fantasy, make a trade or hit the waiver wire and you are still playing.

With each season I find myself gravitating more towards the NHL and MLB because injuries don't pull teams down at the level the NFL has. Yes you can lose a starting pitcher but he only pitches once every 5 days. You can lose your HR hitter. Play small ball. You lose your #1 center in hockey. It will hurt but have 11 other forwards to help pick up the slack. You lose a few DB's or OL or QB over a 16 game season. You can be done really quick.

Could the NFL significantly ramp up PED policing and increase the penalty if caught.

Could the NFL place a weight ceiling on players by position. No human should be 300 lbs.

PEDs anyone? The former Giants' LB that posted here mentioned the NFL doesn't even test for HGH. The size/strength of the players continues to grow bit the size/strength of their ligaments don't. How about an NFL where everyone was 20% smaller. Have you seen Chris Snee? He was 300+ and now, I think, is in the low 200's. What? Do you think he just stopped eating that extra portion of mashed potatoes?

In comment 12652131 giantgiantfan said:

Quote:

this same post every week. Football is dying. This isn't the game I grew up loving. Football will be unwatchable in 20 years. No dude, your just old. You're a luddite. Things will be fine, just maybe not for you.

I'm old? LMAO. In in my 30's. If you can't see the downward trend this league is on you are nuts. The poster who compared it to big tobacco is spot on. It's not too big to fail. It just seems that way.

Take a look around elementary, middle and high schools. Football is not nearly as popular with the next generation of fans as it was with mine and the one before mine

As far as the concussion issue and hitting in practice. Practice hitting and game hitting is not the same thing and what I am talking about is practice volume. These guys are never on the field. The repetition is not there. They are not conditioned to play the game. They are conditioned to be big strong human beings with the off the field conditioning and drugs but they are not conditioned to be football players.

in order to be considered a "star" player you were probably headed for the HOF. Until the emergence of the 49ers with Rice and Montana teams were not star driven, the star was the system and the players were interchangeable. There have always been injuries but somewhere along the line the GMs and coaches got lazy and decided that spending millions on a handful of key players could take the place of having multiple contingent plans for winning with a hobbled roster. Could a backup QB win a Superbowl in the modern game? I remember that happening multiple times when I was a kid.

the issue continues to be that players are outgrowing their skeletal frames, which has the most impact on joints and ligaments and tendons.

It is HGH related, but the NFL would rather not open that can of worms. If they truly did strict PED testing, you'd have 85-90% of the lines suspended.

Quote:

I'm old? LMAO. In in my 30's.

Yup. That's old.

In comment 12652268 BillT said:

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PEDs anyone? The former Giants' LB that posted here mentioned the NFL doesn't even test for HGH. The size/strength of the players continues to grow bit the size/strength of their ligaments don't. How about an NFL where everyone was 20% smaller. Have you seen Chris Snee? He was 300+ and now, I think, is in the low 200's. What? Do you think he just stopped eating that extra portion of mashed potatoes?

have to think there is something to this .

and let's face it, Gronk was the only real weapon, Brady had with Lewis, Edelman, and Amendola out....

Several times, DB's dived for his legs and just missed.....this is a big guy....and when he was hit, you could see the knee turn a funny way...something is stretched bad in there.....if he returns, it will be like when he played in the SB against us....he will be a shell....he won't be "Gronk".....

Well, it took, the loss of Lewis, Edelman, Amendola, Collins, Hightower, Gronk and most of the OL, for the Pats to finally lose a game.....but it did take an overtime to do it....with their team decimated, think they show up for the Eagles game? Will the Giants show up for the Jets?

I was actually thinking about reposting him as a example to further my thoughts but you beat me to it

than many people think...

within a few years of their retirement:

Alan Faneca



Jordan Gross




Jeff Saturday:

except improving surgical and rehabilitation methods to get players back in the game quicker.

Football helmets haven't fundamentally changed in a long time. You would think that they could come up with better head protection where the helmet or other head protection device could absorb most of a blow before it reached the head.