Is it just me, or is the league getting a bit stale?

[gtb1943]

It’s a different league, with the salary cap. The games are closer.
Just not enough superstars to go around. You would think with all the people in the world that there would be, but there isn’t.
There are some great games. But you don’t have your dynasties.
Stale, not sure the right word
The Buffalo Kansas City game, was great. Almost a playoff the atmosphere.
I think the closer we get to December you’ll realize that it’s not stale and the games will be better and closer

no the games are not closer as regards being good games
The Buffalo KC game was the only one of the entire weekend that was truly great.

 

[morat1959]

Stale isn’t the word I’d use. I call it the dumbing down of the nfl and it’s been a process over several years now. Just look at the overall QB position across the league.

 

[gtb1943]

Ratings are all-time high. Some people, like you may think the game is 'stale' but broadly it isn't losing viewership despite threads in here every year saying the game is getting 'stale' and claiming ratings/interest is going down.

Got news for you. The actual number of people watching games is down
and as a percentage of the population way down

The Super Bowl has been pretty stagnant for many years as regards number of people watching while the population keeps going up

Check the number of people watching back in the 80's and 90's versus now

as someone who was watching the NFL since the early seventies, I know for a fact that its stale.

 

[maryquality]

Hey, the next new rule. If inside the opponents 50, anything less than 4th and 3, they must go for it. Unless in FG range.
It will eliminate punting and pinning them inside the 10. But it creates more scoring opportunities.

But who decides they're in FG range? Piece of cake for Aubrey, but what about other kickers?

 

[CowboysRule]

Not to mention they've basically ruled out some things that make football football. The lack of contact in training camp, the lack of hitting, the fact that the kickoff rule basically eliminated the surprise onside kick, and other things. It just seems as manufactured as processed cheese.

Yeah, I really didn't understand the need to completely change the kickoff to encourage returns. You could've just moved the kicker back 10 yards to where they were in the past. But I guess that would cause people to run into each other and possibly get hurt...And removing the onside kick (except for certain situations) makes no sense unless due to the setup there is a way to make it almost a sure thing if the other team doesn't know it's coming.

 

[gtb1943]

the rule changes are just plain stupid

no onside kicks before the fourth quarter and you cannot do two in a row

the rules for kickoffs are lousy

on and on

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

Eli was Top 10, when? He was Mr average although yes he did go on two SB runs. Other than that nothing special.

Fair, but his average was still better than the average now I think.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

I think it's been stale for a while. But I contribute that to me getting older and truly understanding what pro sports is about. All that matters in pro sports is money. Fans like to think winning matters. Pro sports leagues have fans hooked especially the NFL.

That's true.

 

[morat1959]

Got news for you. The actual number of people watching games is down
and as a percentage of the population way down

The Super Bowl has been pretty stagnant for many years as regards number of people watching while the population keeps going up

Check the number of people watching back in the 80's and 90's versus now

as someone who was watching the NFL since the early seventies, I know for a fact that its stale.

Well said. Facts confuse those who believe what they hear not what they see.

 

[jazzcat22]

But who decides they're in FG range? Piece of cake for Aubrey, but what about other kickers?

Yeah, other teams will say Dallas has an unfair advantage, so not fair to their K's. Good point.

However, I have confidence the NFL would screw it up somehow for Dallas. Called the ...Aubrey Rule....Sub section 5.2.45 in the rule book.
You know the section especially written obscurely to work against Dallas. Like Dez's catch.

 

[maryquality]

Yeah, other teams will say Dallas has an unfair advantage, so not fair to their K's. Good point.

However, I have confidence the NFL would screw it up somehow for Dallas. Called the ...Aubrey Rule....Sub section 5.2.45 in the rule book.
You know the section especially written obscurely to work against Dallas. Like Dez's catch.

Without a doubt!!

 

[gtb1943]

Fair, but his average was still better than the average now I think.

really despised stupid face but that is true that he was certainly better than most now; top ten actually.

 

[kskboys]

Is it just me, or is the league getting a bit stale? The overanalysis of whether to go for it or not. The over officiating to where you can barely go a drive without 3-4 penalties. The seemingly worse play on the field than years past. I get that players are getting bigger and faster, but the football intelligence seems to be reducing.

I'm just curious why it seems like the league just doesn't seem quite as good as it used to be? Is it just because the Cowboys aren't good this year that I'm noticing this? Either way, as far as I can tell, the NFL product this season seems worse than I can remember.

Yup.

Not to mention that all these high flying passing attacks are being shut down at an alarming rate. All D's have to do is rush the QB relentlessly. And that's what's happening.

 

[beware_d-ware]

The penalties are annoying, but going for it on 4th down is just smart and makes for better football. Would you rather watch a 4th and 2 attempt at midfield or a 40 yard punt play?

 

[goshann]

Got news for you. The actual number of people watching games is down
and as a percentage of the population way down

The Super Bowl has been pretty stagnant for many years as regards number of people watching while the population keeps going up

Check the number of people watching back in the 80's and 90's versus now

as someone who was watching the NFL since the early seventies, I know for a fact that its stale.

Lol you have some fake news for me. not true at all. Most data points say the number of people watching overall is up and the percentage is at or above levels in the 80s/90s.
I'll post the numbers later or go do some Googling.

Here is an example data point: Superbowl ratings.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_television_ratings

 

[fivetwos]

@RustyBourneHorse

Thought on this one for a while and it’s probably around 85% the state of the Jerry ego trip.

Yes, the NFL product is terrible, getting worse in fact, and you’re a good enough fan where you would have loved the style of play you never saw. Change happens (largely due to greed in this case) and people don’t like change to things they like.

Think back one year ago….maybe you felt the same way about the game/product, but it didn’t bother you enough to mention it….hence, 85% Cowboys related.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

Exactly. A decade ago, the top 10 QBs (in no particular order) were Brady, Manning, Rothelisberger, Romo, a younger Rodgers, Wilson (who's still solid), Eli, Flacco, Philip Rivers, and Luck. That was a solid top 10 QBs. Now, you have Mahomes (who's not been good this year), Allen, Lamar (who chokes in big moments), maybe Russell Wilson, Goff, maybe Burrow, and maybe Herbert now. Following that, there's basically everyone else. The QB play is no where near where it was a decade ago.

I just realised that I forgot to include Brees in the top 10 from a decade ago. So, it would probably be something like this in 2014:

1. Brady
2. Manning
3. Rodgers
4. Rothelisberger
5. Brees
6. Romo
7. Rivers
8. Luck
9. Flacco
10. Wilson

The fact that's a top 10 and I could arguably put 3-5 more people in that shows the difference between then and now at QB.

 

[bigdnlaca]

The league gets stale when your favorite isn’t winning.

From there, you realize that you are watching a sport where men make business decisions and that you could be better entertained watching high school football.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

@RustyBourneHorse

Thought on this one for a while and it’s probably around 85% the state of the Jerry ego trip.

Yes, the NFL product is terrible, getting worse in fact, and you’re a good enough fan where you would have loved the style of play never saw. Change happens (largely due to greed in this case) and people don’t like change to things they like.

Think back one year ago….maybe you felt the same way about the game/product, but it didn’t bother you enough to mention it….hence, 85% Cowboys related.

I mean, I started around 1999/2000. I remember watching Peyton in his younger years. I remember watching the likes of Emmitt later in his career, AP, and Cedric Benson. A wide receiver group back then of Chad Ochocinco, T.O., Keyshawn Johnson, and such. Ray Lewis, Bryan Dawkins, and Roy (31) Williams who could absolutely knock out a WR. Think Mahomes could survive a 2005 season? I don't. There's a reason for that lol.

 

[fivetwos]

I mean, I started around 1999/2000. I remember watching Peyton in his younger years. I remember watching the likes of Emmitt later in his career, AP, and Cedric Benson. A wide receiver group back then of Chad Ochocinco, T.O., Keyshawn Johnson, and such. Ray Lewis, Bryan Dawkins, and Roy (31) Williams who could absolutely knock out a WR. Think Mahomes could survive a 2005 season? I don't. There's a reason for that lol.

The style of play changed over the decades several times, similar to fad fashion and music.

It became more of a passing league with rule changes in the late 70s, and had its progressive moments in years thereafter but nothing wildly impactful, until IMO….

-They wanted people that barely cared about football to have a fantasy team, so they needed more scoring.

-The league was sued over safety issues. The latest rule changes are all about creating the illusion that player safety is a priority.

The excessive flags are probably at least a good amount attributable to the shorter practice time….which is simply an extension of the player safety illusion, in order to justify continuing to add more games.

Throw in that Goodell is paid around 50m a year and has basically one job….grow the pot EVERY year. Expect to continue to get even more gimmicky than it is.