A league of quicksand we didn't create

[ksadler1]

It's truly a sad year for the fans. There's NFL shops all over the nation that are struggling to survive right now. They're usually thriving this time of year. Yet the NFL lets goons like Goodell trample all over players rights and do as he pleases. It's the "do as I say, not as I do mentality" in the NFL right now that's bringing the NFL down. I never thought I'd see the pessimism towards the NFL that I've seen this year. But like I said in another thread; I never imagined life without football, now I'm preparing for life without it. I find myself caring less and less every week.....

 

[Brooksey]

What you grew up watching were 240-260 LB offensive lineman ect. The modern athlete has evolved to a point where the human body cant keep up and isn't made to protect us from 260 lb men running 4.40 40's crashing into each other.
Players break down very young these days and this is why we can't keep up with who plays in the league anymore. Long productive careers are very rare anymore. The league doesn't have the star power because the physical demands have gotten to this point.

Any player in this generation who is even marginally good would dominate the football we grew up watching.
Its not about wussification of the league. Its about physics and anatomy.

You have no facts to post so I'll call BS. You have no proof of any of this either, you sound like CNN and Bob Costas.

 

[Everson24]

You have your head in the sand about cte dude.And masculinity is being attacked? Come on. is it macho to put a bullet in your chest at 54 years of age?

What then is the solution. Flag football? The hitting and violence was the very thing that drew in a lot of fans back in the 70s.

 

[Cowboysfan917]

I completely agree. There is a total over saturation. I used to spend entire Sundays, absorbing as much football as I could and now, it's just Cowboys games... I guess part of it is my life has gotten busier, maybe part of it is the watered down play. Goodell has also crapped the bed with the anthem stuff. Adam Silver and the NBA was smart enough to make a stand.

 

[Sarge]

Where are the bad *** players nowadays? There are no fearsome players anymore. The league is soft. It's gone from the likes of Mean Joe Green and Harvey Martin etc. to doing silly potato sack TD celebrations. There are many many reasons why the NFL is failing and because there are so many reasons, the chances of it all turning around are slim to none. I am personally very close to hanging it up and that's sad.

 

[tideh20heel]

I don't watch the NBA and only watch MLB for the WS. I watch a lot of college sports though.

Every rule and procedure save the automatic targeting ejection is better in the college game. The ref’s obsession with dominating the flow and outcome of the NFL games needs to be addressed immediately. The crews that can’t curtail this bevavior need to be fired immediately. The refs/rules are a huge part of the problem. All of the tick tack away from the ball penalties that have no impact on the play need to go. Also when they do thev do the split screen for commercials during short stoppages it seems slightly less annoying so that is at least a step in the right direction.

 

[superonyx]

You have no facts to post so I'll call BS. You have no proof of any of this either, you sound like CNN and Bob Costas.

What do you think this place is dullard?
Stop expecting to be spoon fed like a partial stillborn eastern block reject baby and start thinking for yourself.
Since you lack the ability Bob I will help you one more time.


https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/03/01/nfl-careers-shortened-two-years-data-analysis

 

[Brooksey]

What do you think this place is dullard?
Stop expecting to be spoon fed like a partial stillborn eastern block reject baby and start thinking for yourself.
Since you lack the ability Bob I will help you one more time.


https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/03/01/nfl-careers-shortened-two-years-data-analysis

Football is a violent game played by Men. The emasculating NBC-CNN crowd has been brainwashing the country into thinking it should be flag football. I think safety should be over the top in Pop Warner, High School and College but once they start making millions per year...

Players should sign a waiver to play in the NFL saying they understand the game may cause CTE, paralysis or death. If you don't want to play then don't. I think they should bring back the big hits and I would also allow some fighting with no more then a 15 yard penalty. I want to watch gladiators & warriors not primadonna's.

They should do a wussy flag version league for chumps like you.

 

[Pants]

nice OP....yes, football isn't now what it once was

1. Teams cheat to win (see: Patriots) and get a "c'mon guys...."
2. The constant pandering to people that don't even watch football sickens me...STOP TRYING TO GET 100% OF PEOPLE WATCHING - PEOPLE SUCK, WE DON'T NEED THEM
3. Kneeling....do that on your own time...ask Kaepernick, he has plenty of time now, but you don't see him kneeling any more (because he is non-relevant)
4. To enhance my enjoyment I do the following:
a) I play FFL this year (haven't in 10 years, but got asked this year); I work with people remotely so did two on line drafts; but I do miss the actual draft where you had to write down who was taken and then publicly make fun of drunk jimmy when he forgets in the 5th round that Tom Brady was already taken "you guys suck, how did you miss this?....in the fifth round, Jimmy's Jerks select TOM BRADY." a thunderous round of laughter and endless recounts in future weeks/months...."remember when jimmy blurted out 'brady'?...."
b) I dabble in FanDuel
c) I come in to CowboysZone almost daily
5. I fear the gap in time that is coming up when college football ends before the legit bowl games...we will only have the watered down, batass crazy NFL to watch.....go Sixers!

Goodell has ruined the sport with his maniacal, "I am always right and make up my own rules" way of doing things; it is almost at the point where they may not be able to come back from this....I have been involved with football for too long, I have no replacement...need to see a Roger back behind center (we have Dak, so that is good), we need to see rivalries again (Dallas v. Washington was awesome in the 70's/80's....it is no rivalry now except to me...the networks don't even play up that angle any more....

money has ruined the NFL....if they want to make this exciting, the raise the cap by $50M....THEN you will see dominant teams again and perhaps look forward to watching a game between two high-priced teams....w/e, I am going to go look up the sixers on the internet now

 

[ksadler1]

Where are the bad *** players nowadays? There are no fearsome players anymore. The league is soft. It's gone from the likes of Mean Joe Green and Harvey Martin etc. to doing silly potato sack TD celebrations. There are many many reasons why the NFL is failing and because there are so many reasons, the chances of it all turning around are slim to none. I am personally very close to hanging it up and that's sad.

Yea, that potato sack race was about the stupidest thing I've ever seen. All I could think was, WTH are these guys thinking when making this stuff up.....

 

[Sasquatch]

Using taxes to build stadiums to enrich billionaires (greed), moving teams to different cities (disloyalty -- greed), games 3 days a week, draft/combine spectacles, and NFL network (over saturation -- greed), too many commercial breaks (tortuously long format -- greed), and over officiating to sanitize and discipline a game that is sometimes messy, controversial, and violent (greed). America's sport is on the decline.

 

[hornitosmonster]

What then is the solution. Flag football? The hitting and violence was the very thing that drew in a lot of fans back in the 70s.

I remember eagerly awaiting for NFL films to put out their yearly greatest hits tape. A little example of what I mean

Bigger, faster, stronger my butt. Softer is more like it

 

[Diehardblues]

I still think we have a shot for this season to be an upward trend by winning a playoff game in Wild Card round with an opportunity to play for a conference championship.

If this defense keeps coming on who in our conference really scares us? Eagles, Seahawks, Rams, Saints , Panthers or Vikings.

These NFC teams are not head and shoulders above us even with an average defense.

NFL doesn’t have powerhouses teams anymore. The margin between winning and losing is so thin in today’s NFL.

It’s tough for us ole Diehards to recognize a championship caliber team because it won’t resemble anything we’ve seen before in our history.

 

[SlammedZero]

To me a lot of it boils down to commercials and refs. It's like you watch a play and then it is flag. Commercial. Flag. Commercial. Oh wait, 2 plays in a row!! It is heating up.....oh wait, flag. Well, might as well go to commercial. Look, I get they need sponsors for money and they are trying to protect the players. Too much advertising just kills the momentum of fun watching the game. As for flags, call very obvious ones but lets forget these ticky tacky ones and let a guy play. It is so bad now that if a play doesn't develop, the players are automatically whining for a flag.

We get about 15 minutes of actual football play per game and the rest is all garbage. I love football and I used to love watching all the other games. This year, I've hardly watched any outside the Cowboys.

 

[Diehardblues]

To me a lot of it boils down to commercials and refs. It's like you watch a play and then it is flag. Commercial. Flag. Commercial. Oh wait, 2 plays in a row!! It is heating up.....oh flag. Well, might as well go to commerical.

We get about 15 minutes of actual football play per game and the rest is all garbage. I love football and I used to love watching all the other games. This year, I've hardly watched any outside the Cowboys.

I have the Sunday Ticket and 5 TV’s , my laptop and tablet streaming in my Sports Cave so depending how many games are broadcast at the same time I rarely look at commercials.

Even before we had satellite TV I had 2 TV’s on for both networks. I can’t imagine watching a single game at once unless I’m at the game.

 

[Richmond Cowboy]

Never have I enjoyed a football season less. I'm ready for the 2017 season to just end.

I'm up to here with Zeke talk. Jerry is now suing anything that moves, weeks after being inducted into the Hall of Fame. I've learned more, and now know less, than I ever have about the US judicial system. Colin Kaepernick has been anointed as the Dr. Martin Luther Unitas of football. Flags are flying out of referee pockets like they're wrapped in fire ants. Targeting hits are now grounds for Harvey Weinstein scorn.

And all the while, the games are just putrid. Bad football by dudes from college who aren't prepared for NFL football. Teams no longer practice for more than 10 minutes at a time. Hamstrings are getting pulled more than Harvey Weinstein's....oops, already used that one.

This seems like a conflation of so many related and unrelated events, movements, and issues all coming to a collective head simultaneously. It's been brewing inside and outside of football for a long, long time obviously.

The game has become a reflection of society as we have it today.

- The joy and excitement of a big play is almost always interrupted by that moment of hesitation when you hope there is no penalty. I’m happily married, but I am fairly certain in today’s environment, a single person looking for companionship must feel like walking on eggshells, hoping not to offend or appear misogynistic during courtship. Just like today’s players immediately call for flags often when they are not warranted, an army of twitter users is ever vigilant of every misstep in society ready to be outraged.

- The joy of a good defensive battle or of a strong defense has been emasculated by a league bent on increasing scoring. This is symptomatic of a generation where immediate gratification is paramount and constant stimulation is requisite.

It’s a different time and I suppose the league has decided to place its eggs in the new rather than the old...

 

[superonyx]

Football is a violent game played by Men. The emasculating NBC-CNN crowd has been brainwashing the country into thinking it should be flag football. I think safety should be over the top in Pop Warner, High School and College but once they start making millions per year...

Players should sign a waiver to play in the NFL saying they understand the game may cause CTE, paralysis or death. If you don't want to play then don't. I think they should bring back the big hits and I would also allow some fighting with no more then a 15 yard penalty. I want to watch gladiators & warriors not primadonna's.

They should do a wussy flag version league for chumps like you.

Get off my lawn..

 

[Shake_Tiller]

Get off my lawn..

Hey! That looks like me!

 

[black label]

nice OP....yes, football isn't now what it once was

1. Teams cheat to win (see: Patriots) and get a "c'mon guys...."
2. The constant pandering to people that don't even watch football sickens me...STOP TRYING TO GET 100% OF PEOPLE WATCHING - PEOPLE SUCK, WE DON'T NEED THEM
3. Kneeling....do that on your own time...ask Kaepernick, he has plenty of time now, but you don't see him kneeling any more (because he is non-relevant)
4. To enhance my enjoyment I do the following:
a) I play FFL this year (haven't in 10 years, but got asked this year); I work with people remotely so did two on line drafts; but I do miss the actual draft where you had to write down who was taken and then publicly make fun of drunk jimmy when he forgets in the 5th round that Tom Brady was already taken "you guys suck, how did you miss this?....in the fifth round, Jimmy's Jerks select TOM BRADY." a thunderous round of laughter and endless recounts in future weeks/months...."remember when jimmy blurted out 'brady'?...."
b) I dabble in FanDuel
c) I come in to CowboysZone almost daily
5. I fear the gap in time that is coming up when college football ends before the legit bowl games...we will only have the watered down, batass crazy NFL to watch.....go Sixers!

Goodell has ruined the sport with his maniacal, "I am always right and make up my own rules" way of doing things; it is almost at the point where they may not be able to come back from this....I have been involved with football for too long, I have no replacement...need to see a Roger back behind center (we have Dak, so that is good), we need to see rivalries again (Dallas v. Washington was awesome in the 70's/80's....it is no rivalry now except to me...the networks don't even play up that angle any more....

money has ruined the NFL....if they want to make this exciting, the raise the cap by $50M....THEN you will see dominant teams again and perhaps look forward to watching a game between two high-priced teams....w/e, I am going to go look up the sixers on the internet now

If players like Zeek would stop ***** slapping chicks we wouldn't have these problems.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

The Players: Today's players suffer from the same sense of entitled and unchecked ego as their owners, believing somehow that they are "owed" these lavish lives by some form of self-indoctrination. They are largely just simpletons with born physical genetics, and so little more, yet they equate their abilities with an intellectual prowess they simply don't have but for rare exceptions. They are literally pissing on their lottery tickets by pretending to be more than what they are, and soon to be less than most. The regrets of fallen athletes is cliché to the point of boring anymore, yet still a huge percentage of them conduct themselves like predatory ingrates off the field, behaving like they just don't care, which they don't. They are becoming less and less likeable with each passing season.

This is incredibly insulting and reeks of jealousy. So if you hit the genetic lottery physically that means you're a simpleton except for "rare exceptions."

Get over yourself.

Us:

And then there's the United States of America today that is encroaching on everything the game stands for. The masculinity of football is being attacked from all sides. Academia has put its crosshairs firmly on football, not to make it safer, but to eliminate it altogether through predetermined CTE theories that are being "proven" before qualitative data has been established. "Bullying" is now a thing in the locker room. Seriously, bullying. Gay rights for draft picks became a 24-hour debated topic for weeks on end. Pregame anthems have become social battlefields. There's as much NFL on CNN and Fox as there is on ESPN, and you can't tell which channel you're actually watching.

And now you're an academic lobbying accusations of fraud at actual certified intellectual heavyweights?

The rest of this rant RE: Bullying, gay rights, protests....I won't touch but yikes.