Fan ideas on how to improve the NFL -- Peter King's latest FMIA column

[SoMAn]

10 hours ago, Gugny said:

Either play the Super Bowl on Saturday or make the Monday after the Super Bowl a national holiday.

It’ll always be Sunday, but wish they’d go back to making it an afternoon game like it used to be. Start at 3:30 east coast time, 12:30 in the west and we can still have a party and be winding down the weekend by 8:30.  None of the over-50 crowd I know that are still in the daily work force want to be partying late on a Sunday. 

Edited July 12, 2022 by SoMAn

[17islongenough]

54 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

The only issue I see with this is if lets say the Bills play in Munich for the 17th game.  They then have to play a 1st round playoff game the next week in LA.

In one week they'll experience jet lag in time zones with a 9 hour difference

These would not happen on week 18. It would still be the same as it now for international games

[Mr. WEO]

1 hour ago, sherpa said:

 

Seriously?

Ever been to an ACC game on a Sat afternoon in Feb?

Think the Super bowl would have an impact?

 

Ratings are ratings, and ratings are money.

That's what all these contracts are based on.

 

They all compete but to some degree they do what is best for each.

Friday night is high school football, not college.

Sat is college football or basketball.

Sunday/Monday and to some extent Thurs. is NFL.

 

There are some Sat playoff games, but these schedules are not coincidences. 

They are media driven.

 

 

We are talking about TV ratings, not how many people are present watching the game in the arena.   There is no HS or college football in February.

 

The SB would squash any random basketball conference games.  You know this and so does the NFL.  Why pretend otherwise.

[Mr. WEO]

1 hour ago, Gugny said:

 

Or ... I don't know ... College Basketball fans??  But don't let me stop you from judging people you've never met.

 

Being a bit (a tiny bit!) facetious there...

 

The ratings for those pre-March Madness/Conference Champ games are negligible compared to any NFL game:

 

CBS averaged 1.25 million viewers

ESPN 928,000

Fox 858,000

 

The top game of the regular season was Duke-UNC (K's last reg season game) at 4 million.  Only 8 games in the totality of televised NCAA basketball last season had over 2 million viewers. 

 

Not many people are watching college ball in this country in February.  The SB would steal most of that paltry number--certainly nothing that the NFL would consider if they wanted to switch the SB to saturday.

[maddenboy]

3 hours ago, ProcessAccepted said:

You need to have challenges but there are better and more efficient ways to handle them

Make the Referee review the play only in normal speed, 3 times maximum.  No back up.  No slow-motion.  No freeze-frame.

 

 

 

 

Because these devices are used to make the correct call.  Which is what fans want.  But that's not the intent of the rule as written.

 

If the referee cant see indisputable visual evidence that the call was wrong, with the benefit of multiple angles, then it should not be overturned.

 

Or else, re-write the rule, if the actual intent is to make the correct call.  As it is now, the rule is basically "did the official, who made the call in real time, eff up so obviously that we need to step in?"

Edited July 11, 2022 by maddenboy

[sherpa]

6 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

We are talking about TV ratings, not how many people are present watching the game in the arena.   There is no HS or college football in February.

 

The SB would squash any random basketball conference games.  You know this and so does the NFL.  Why pretend otherwise.

 

Of course there are no high school football games in Feb., but there sure are during the beginning of the college basketball season, and the NFL season.

The networks are not stupid, and pro sports doesn't want to upset their reputation and thus ratings.

High school football has no impact on that, but start running NFL games on Friday nights and see what the PR is.

 

They leave high school football alone.

They, largely, leave NCAA football and basketball alone and they all make money.

 

 

[Mr. WEO]

1 minute ago, sherpa said:

 

Of course there are no high school football games in Feb., but there sure are during the beginning of the college basketball season, and the NFL season.

The networks are not stupid, and pro sports doesn't want to upset their reputation and thus ratings.

High school football has no impact on that, but start running NFL games on Friday nights and see what the PR is.

 

They leave high school football alone.

They, largely, leave NCAA football and basketball alone and they all make money.

 

 

 

 

You lost me.

 

The topic of this conversation is moving a single NFL game (the SB to be specific) to Saturday, from Sunday.  

[sherpa]

Just now, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

You lost me.

 

The topic of this conversation is moving a single NFL game (the SB to be specific) to Saturday, from Sunday.  

 

Lost you?

 

The point I have made over quite a few posts is that the Sunday Super Bowl has a massive economic impact to the league, the media, the host city, even as far downstream economically as local restaurants and national charcoal companies.

Moving it to Saturday diminishes that.

[JoPoy88]

15 minutes ago, sherpa said:

 

Of course there are no high school football games in Feb., but there sure are during the beginning of the college basketball season, and the NFL season.

The networks are not stupid, and pro sports doesn't want to upset their reputation and thus ratings.

High school football has no impact on that, but start running NFL games on Friday nights and see what the PR is.

 

They leave high school football alone.

They, largely, leave NCAA football and basketball alone and they all make money.

 

 

The NFL is not allowed to play Fridays last I saw. Moving one game from Sun to Sat has nothing to do with this.

 

Edit: but I do take your earlier point about the high rollers not wanting to miss their hooker and drug parties the Saturday night before the game.

Edited July 11, 2022 by JoPoy88

[Doc Brown]

8 minutes ago, sherpa said:

 

Lost you?

 

The point I have made over quite a few posts is that the Sunday Super Bowl has a massive economic impact to the league, the media, the host city, even as far downstream economically as local restaurants and national charcoal companies.

Moving it to Saturday diminishes that.

Just make President's day the Monday following the Super Bowl.  Win win.

[sherpa]

8 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

Just make President's day the Monday following the Super Bowl.  Win win.

 

Couldn't agree more.

Some things make too much sense.

[Augie]

2 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

I guess I just don't see the big deal.  The game's over by around 10pm.

 

Yeah, but that’s when the fun begins for the winning city! There is rioting and looting to be done, and of course those couches are not going to burn themselves on the sidewalks! It’s a late night, for sure. 

[Kwai San]

4 hours ago, Gugny said:

Either play the Super Bowl on Saturday or make the Monday after the Super Bowl a national holiday.

 

Being retired this doesn't affect me as much......now just a few years ago.....yeah.  National Holiday was needed as I used quite a bit of vacay on said Mondays!!

[Beerball]

6 hours ago, eball said:

 

King actually selected and published this?  It has got to be the most moronic idea I've ever seen, and I'm trying to be kind.

 

This would be an epic chess match. I love the idea.

[DrW]

6 hours ago, Logic said:

Another Idea For Game 17 

 

Matthew Rule, Portland, Ore. [It's me!]

Make the extra game special and buzzworthy, rather than just a regularly rotating non-conference opponent.

The slate of extra games should be hand selected by the league to draw interest and eyeballs, using specific themes and player matchups. Some games could feature area rivalries, with, for example, the Jets versus Giants battle for New York, Chargers versus Rams battle for SoFi. Another theme could be Super Bowl rematches … Patriots-Giants or Cowboys-Raiders. Using this method, the league could create opportunities for great matchups we otherwise don’t get to see often.

If they want Josh Allen versus Aaron Rodgers but the Bills aren’t slated to play the Packers until 2025, no problem! Maybe they want one more bite at the Brady-Belichick apple, but the Bucs aren’t scheduled to play the Patriots till 2025. The NFL would have the power to create 16 monster matchups each season, however they see fit. Imagine, in the midst of schedule release mania, looking to see what “special feature” games were on the docket each year.

 

 

As to your idea, in many cases you can find interesting match-ups. In other cases, not so much. Who do you want to play the Jags? Carolina in the "expansion-team-from-the-same-year-which-also-has-a-large-cat-as-mascot" bowl? Or take the Falcons in their current state. Do they play the Texans in the "MLB-world-series-revenge" bowl?   

Edited July 11, 2022 by DrW

[Logic]

4 minutes ago, DrW said:

 

As to your idea, in many cases you can find interesting match-ups. In other cases, not so much. Who do you want to play the Jags? Carolina in the "expansion-team-from-the-same-year-which-also-has-a-large-cat-as-mascot" bowl? Or take the Falcons in their current state. Do they play the Texans in the "MLB-world-series-revenge" bowl?   

Off the top of my head, you could have Jaguars vs Dolphins. Two reasons, first it's a regional matchup. Second, Trevor Lawrence faced Tua Tagovailoa in the 2019 College Football National Championship game. It was a rout for Clemson, so giving Tua the chance to avenge the ugly loss would be cool, and might even draw in some college fans who don't always watch NFL football.

Falcons? A little trickier, but you could have them face the Vikings in a rematch of one of the biggest NFC Championship game upsets in history. The network could show the Randy Moss big plays and missed Anderson field goal coming out of commercial breaks.

Admittedly, bad teams aren't going to have matchups quite as juicy as good teams or historic franchises, but never underestimate the NFL's ability to make chicken salad out of chickenshit.

[Augie]

I know the NFL will do what’s best for the NFL. That is a given. Having said that, I am far more concerned about the 100 million people watching a Super Bowl on TV  (the “regular people”) than I am about the host city (who really would not be harmed)  or the tens of thousands of people who are fortunate enough to attend.  This is mostly a corporate event live, and increasingly attended by the titans of industry. They don’t have to grovel to get an extra day off. 

 

I was lucky enough to go to a Super Bowl, and I can tell you it would have made ZERO difference to me had it taken place on a Saturday. ZERO. I just would have adjusted my dates and arrived a day earlier and used Sunday as my travel home day, thereby not missing work the next week. Just come in a day or two earlier. All the same parties would still have taken place, the bars and restaurant filled just a day earlier. 

 

I don’t expect this to happen in my lifetime because they have figured out how to make the most money possible, and I don’t see that as ever being anything but priority #1.  Still, in so many ways it makes so much sense. 

[Mr. WEO]

1 hour ago, sherpa said:

 

Lost you?

 

The point I have made over quite a few posts is that the Sunday Super Bowl has a massive economic impact to the league, the media, the host city, even as far downstream economically as local restaurants and national charcoal companies.

Moving it to Saturday diminishes that.

 

you keep bringing up HS football for some reason, and NCAA basketball.  keep going though..

1 hour ago, JoPoy88 said:

The NFL is not allowed to play Fridays last I saw. Moving one game from Sun to Sat has nothing to do with this.

 

Edit: but I do take your earlier point about the high rollers not wanting to miss their hooker and drug parties the Saturday night before the game.

 

hookers work Friday nights too (i've heard).

[DrW]

9 minutes ago, Logic said:

Off the top of my head, you could have Jaguars vs Dolphins. Two reasons, first it's a regional matchup. Second, Trevor Lawrence faced Tua Tagovailoa in the 2019 College Football National Championship game. It was a rout for Clemson, so giving Tua the chance to avenge the ugly loss would be cool, and might even draw in some college fans who don't always watch NFL football.

Falcons? A little trickier, but you could have them face the Vikings in a rematch of one of the biggest NFC Championship game upsets in history. The network could show the Randy Moss big plays and missed Anderson field goal coming out of commercial breaks.

Admittedly, bad teams aren't going to have matchups quite as juicy as good teams or historic franchises, but never underestimate the NFL's ability to make chicken salad out of chickenshit.

 

Well, in my examples I tried to stick to the AFC vs. NFC set-up for the 17th game. If you allow for games within the same conference, there are certainly more possibilities; I like Jags versus Dolphins, hoping that Trevor Lawrence's development progresses faster than Tua's. .   

Edited July 11, 2022 by DrW

[Logic]

4 minutes ago, DrW said:

 

Well, in my examples I tried to stick to the AFC vs. NFC set-up for the 17th game. If you allow for games within the same conference, there are certainly more possibilities; I like Jags versus Dolphins, hoping that Trevor Lawrence's development progresses faster than Tua's. .   

Ah yes, that's a good point. I forgot that it's AFC vs NFC. That DOES make it trickier. 

I guess I liken it to prime time games currently: Every team in the league gets at least one primetime game. How do you find a way to make a Falcons or Jaguars prime time game interesting? You kind of don't. I suppose it would be a bit like that. You'd still have a few games a year in that "17th game" window that would be only nominally interesting -- if at all. But in my eyes, the majority of the 17th games would be more interesting than their current totally random iteration.

I liked the idea listed in the first submission, too. Instead of what I proposed, they could keep the scheduling just as it is, but make the extra game a neutral site game for both parties, played in either a non-NFL market or an international marketplace. Great way to grow the game.