Now that Week 18 is actually here, do you like having the extra game or not?

[SoCal Deek]

Wait a minute! You mean the season already started? Can someone fill me on what’s happened so far? Feel free to just give me the highlights. 

[Warcodered]

Honestly the season is the season, as a fan watching a season with 17 weeks is far too little of a difference from one with 16 for me to really notice. The players perspective on it after would be more interesting.

[Cash]

Still don’t like it. Would’ve preferred to give every team 2 bye weeks - that’s an extra week of TV revenue, but no extra wear & tear on players. 
 

Plus I hate the inelegance of a 17-week schedule. Can’t have an equal number of home & road games. Final records will all be unpleasant to look at (10-7? Ugh.) And who makes their schedule a prime number? It’s weird and off putting. 

[nucci]

I'll watch the NFL every day of the week and all year long

1 hour ago, Cash said:

Still don’t like it. Would’ve preferred to give every team 2 bye weeks - that’s an extra week of TV revenue, but no extra wear & tear on players. 
 

Plus I hate the inelegance of a 17-week schedule. Can’t have an equal number of home & road games. Final records will all be unpleasant to look at (10-7? Ugh.) And who makes their schedule a prime number? It’s weird and off putting. 

it'll be 18 games very soon

[Since1981]

18 games…mmmeehh. ONE of the key elements that makes the NFL “must see tv”?
 

I watched any random game last weekend and most games mattered and had significance. I’m not saying they are close to MLB, but 80% of MLB games quite literally don’t matter.

 

…they have to be careful to avoid bigger clutches of meaningless games (and teams)

[TBBills]

It's the reason this team needs a dome.

[Deadstroke]

I'm not sure I understand the logic of the "fan" who likes a limited season.  Yeah sure, it makes sense in many respects, but for we hardcore followers who dread the Feb. to Aug. down time, the more the better. 

 

I read any Bills' news 365 days a year.  Give me as much as feasible and I'll be happy. 

[SCBills]

Yes. 
 

Im also in the camp of an 18 game season with two preseason games and two bye weeks. 
 

Edited January 8, 2022 by SCBills

[SoTier]

34 minutes ago, TBBills said:

It's the reason this team needs a dome.

 

Not happening.  None of the major players in the stadium talks are considering a dome.

 

Moreover, the only northern or midwestern teams with domes are Detroit, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis.   That includes many stadiums built in the last decade or so.   Think about it ... cold weather teams like the Patriots, the Jests, the Giants, the Browns, the Bears, the Packers, the Broncos and the Chiefs all have open stadiums.  I think most cold-weather cities/teams building new stadiums opt for open stadiums because of economics.  Not only are open stadiums cheaper to build, they are infinitely cheaper to operate.  It's much cheaper to heat or cool smaller spaces like concourses, boxes, locker rooms, etc than a giant dome ... not to mention that for most of the season, most of those northern teams are not going to be playing in really cold or snowy weather.

[Orlando Buffalo]

Yes because without it we would not have the division lead right now- we beat Washington vs NE losing to Cowboys 

[BarleyNY]

IMO the NFL didn’t need a 17th game or a 7th playoff team in each conference.  But this is what happens when squeezing the last nickel out of something is the primary factor in decision making rather than maintaining a high quality product.  I see a 20 game season with 18 games and 2 byes on the horizon.  I wouldn’t be surprised by an eighth playoff team either.  The only upside is the reduction of preseason games. 

[BuffaloBill]

1 hour ago, Deadstroke said:

I'm not sure I understand the logic of the "fan" who likes a limited season.  Yeah sure, it makes sense in many respects, but for we hardcore followers who dread the Feb. to Aug. down time, the more the better. 

 

I read any Bills' news 365 days a year.  Give me as much as feasible and I'll be happy. 

 

 

I agree with the longer season. However, if another game is added they should start the season a week earlier and add a 2nd bye week.  I am all for football spanning seasons and some of the games being played in the elements. Another winter game due to length of the season may be a bit much for the fans. 

[BADOLBILZ]

On 1/7/2022 at 6:21 AM, GunnerBill said:

 

They did actually cut a pre-season game down to 3... but then had a bye week before the season. I agree with you if they want to have 18 weeks start a week earlier. I think there are historical reasons about college football's start date etc as to why they didn't. 

 

It's not really to do with college football.    They don't want to start the season on Labor Day weekend.    We have 3 big "outdoor" holidays here in the US that people plan family trips around and that's the last one of the calendar year.    The NFL has had the opener on Labor Day weekend but the ratings are way below expectation and they don't want to kickoff their season that way.

 

For TV purposes having the season end the last week of February is ideal.   February is a programming deadzone for sports here.    So expect the season to continue to be pushed back.

[BADOLBILZ]

2 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

 

 

I agree with the longer season. However, if another game is added they should start the season a week earlier and add a 2nd bye week.  I am all for football spanning seasons and some of the games being played in the elements. Another winter game due to length of the season may be a bit much for the fans. 

 

 

Tasker has kicked around the idea of starting the season in mid-August and then giving everyone a bye on Labor Day weekend.    Problem is people don't want to sit inside and watch football on a summer weekend afternoon so ratings-wise it will be something of a depressed start unless they played all the games in the evening.     And the having a bye two weeks into the season doesn't really provide much relief to players.   Both byes need to be between weeks 6-14, IMO.

[GunnerBill]

14 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Tasker has kicked around the idea of starting the season in mid-August and then giving everyone a bye on Labor Day weekend.    Problem is people don't want to sit inside and watch football on a summer weekend afternoon so ratings-wise it will be something of a depressed start unless they played all the games in the evening.     And the having a bye two weeks into the season doesn't really provide much relief to players.   Both byes need to be between weeks 6-14, IMO.

 

So a 20 week season, starting when the current one does (2nd Sunday in Sept), running through to basically the final Sunday of February. Two byes... say every team has one between weeks 5 and 10 and then a second between weeks 13 and 17.... then everyone is playing the first 4 weeks, the last 3 weeks and for a couple of weeks in the middle (including the Thanksgiving weekend). Is that the kinda structure you forsee? Clearly the league will push for 18 games at the next CBA. 

[BillsFan4]

Yes! I like the extra game. It’s made the playoff race so much more interesting. Plus it adds an extra week of football for us to watch.

[HappyDays]

If they're going to do a 20 week season with 2 bye weeks they should also make the bye week structure more fair. Having one bye in week 6 followed by 11 straight regular season games is a distinct disadvantage.

 

I think they should have 4 bye week pairs with 8 teams assigned to each pair. In a 20 week schedule I would have the bye week pairs as weeks 7 and 13, weeks 8 and 14, weeks 9 and 15, and weeks 10 and 16.

 

With that structure:

1) Every team would have bye weeks at reasonable points in the season.

2) The most consecutive regular season games played after the 2nd bye week would be just 7.

3) A team's 2nd bye week would always be spaced 6 weeks after the 1st bye week.

4) Every team would play in the last 4 weeks of the season which would be an exciting home stretch.

 

Ideally the 8 teams in each bye week pair would be teams from the same two divisions. So teams in each division would have the same bye weeks as their divisional rivals.

 

Yeah I've given this way too much thought.

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by HappyDays

[maddenboy]

2 hours ago, HappyDays said:

Ideally the 8 teams in each bye week pair would be teams from the same two divisions. So teams in each division would have the same bye weeks as their divisional rivals.

 

so then, it should be the AFC division that's playing that particular NFC division that season? 

 

and to be silly here:  maybe the superbowl champion can decide which bye weeks it wants, and then the rest of the bye schedule would be automatic off of that, since the divisions will travel together through byes.  And it should be BEFORE the superbowl team sees the schedule.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

This week of football was absolutely amazing. Lots of upsets and games with playoff implications. Lots of teams out if the playoffs playing really hard and well. Amazing football week!!!

[TheFunPolice]

I was happily surprised! This week was amazing!