The NFL is losing its mojo

[JW82]

When watching other games the one thing that is painfully obvious is in a league that is geared towards offense, Dallas is stuck in 1970 with its creativity and ability to put a game plan together.

 

[JoeKing]

From the perspective of a Cowboys fan, it's easy to think the NFL as a whole is on the decline but that's just not the case. The NFL has never been more popular. The game isn't the same but is that a bad thing? CTE is a serious issue, the NFL taking it serious required the game to evolve and it's not done yet. Get nostalgic about the game if you must but the NFL continues to improve it's product. The viewer's approval is evident by the NFL's expanding profits and that is the bottom line for a business.

 

[Pessimist_cowboy]

Matt cassel is not average . He may be the worst starting QB ever for the Cowboys and that includes chad Hutchinson .

 

[gimmesix]

I said that in the first paragraph. But the ground is starting to shake.

What evidence is there that it is starting to shake? Your personal view of the league might be shaky, but the popularity of the game shows no evidence of waning.

 

[pancakeman]

Your first argument is the same as it is any other year.
Every year there are 11 to 14 teams with winning records. No big change there.

It's as if for every win a team gets, another has to get a loss!

 

[windward]

I do not speak for everybody, but I enjoyed the heck out of the 2014 season.

 

[coult44]

And the "competition" those 6 good teams have is less than impressive, so it taints that success.

Carolina is not a great team, I'm sorry. But they look like the 90s Cowboys in this cruddy league.

How can Carolina do what they do once every few years, but we can't do it in 20?

 

[JoeKing]

Fantasy football ruins the fan experience. Its all about rooting for the name on the back of the jersey. Game broadcast scrolls twenty minutes of meaningless stats before actually telling us who won the other games. Screw FF.

I've been playing fantasy football since it's inception and I've never shared your views.

 

[windward]

I've been playing fantasy football since it's inception and I've never shared your views.

cosigned. I play every year and if anything it makes me pay more attention to the game.

 

[VACowboy]

Football is a politically incorrect game in an increasingly politically correct world. Players are all about money and Twitter and who is disrespecting them this week. Today's world is a ME place, and the NFL is a microcosm of that. I think selfishness and thin skin is playing a large part in the decline in football quality that we're seeing, along with the CBA and its drastic reduction in practice contact and preparation time, but I also think rules that make an elite QB necessary to compete are to blame. You used to be able to win with a great OL, RB and a good defense, but the rules forbid that now. The powers that be have slowly turned NFL football into a game where a great QB can cover up deficiencies at all other positions. And if you don't have a great QB, you're screwed. That sucks, because I'm not sure that colleges are producing fewer quality QB's than they used to. The NFL has just changed its game so much that only the very best QB's can compete.

 

[greatwallofdallas]

NFL is becoming more and more about marketing. That's why you see close games. They make for good dramatic tv. They probably also favor certain teams to create potential match ups that will generate ratings.. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a rematch super bowl between AZ an Steelers...

 

[Wolfpack]

The NFL is a beast. Far and away the most popular fan sport in America. It destroys anything in its path when it comes to TV ratings and overall attention.

But that is entirely based on what the NFL has been for the past half century. What it was, and what it's becoming, are two different games. And folks are starting to notice.

I watched a lot of football yesterday, as I have for the past few years with the NFL Sunday Ticket. Each week this season, I've been wildly unimpressed with what we're seeing around the league. Sloppy, frustrating football mired with too much inconsistency and mistakes from players, coaches, officials, and just general play.

Some points to that effect:

• Only 11 out of 32 teams have winning records. Most of the league is awful.
• Quarterback play is horrendous. Matt Cassel is actually average.
• College is producing very few quarterbacks capable of the NFL game. When Brady, Brees, Peyton, Romo, Roethlisberger, and a couple others retire, it's going to get uglier.
• Officiating is horrible because of unclear rules that are being interpreted by a league office in disarray.
• Defensive holding/illegal contact is out of control. It's determining game outcomes.
• Pick plays still go rampantly uncalled. Refs call too much of what they shouldn't and not enough of what they should.
• Overblown statistics due to rules.
• Practice is virtually outlawed, so tackling is awful and football conditioning is poor.
• Injuries are out of control partly because the CBA doesn't allow for proper preparation.
• Too many look-at-me bonehead plays and penalties. Players today are just football stupid.
• "Concussion protocol" and the rules surrounding legality of hits will continue to increase.
• Parents in affluent areas are pulling their kids out of football in droves. It'll soon be a "poor" sport like boxing.
• Broadcasting that over-exaggerates performance, statistics, and fantasy football points.
• Way too many commercials.
• Far too much "social awareness" in broadcasting, which is now centered on new and casual fans.

This once great league is being torn apart by (partly legitimate) concern over CTE and the resulting rules ambiguity and CBA restrictions on proper football training. There seems to be political movement to eliminate tackle football as we know it.

Couple that with fans that are losing trust in the integrity of what they are watching, and recognizing that it's starting to look very different than what it once did. The passion for it is steeped in what the NFL used to be, not what it is. Hardcore fan support is slowly starting to wane as we come to grips with where this is headed.

I know it is with me. And this league is slowly losing me. I'm thankful that I got to see it when it was once so great.

Great post. I think the salary cap era moved the NFL into a corporation focused solely on growth for sake of profits. NASCAR did the exact same thing and it suffered for it.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

It will be interesting to see where it all goes from here. The league is trying to go "pop" and appeal to everybody on the planet which may make the game unrecognizable before long. They polled women on what would make the game better and a top answer was "get rid of the cheerleaders".... What?!!! smh... add to that the politicians and activists who have been eyeing the NFL's cash for years and they're starting to find in-roads and angles. For instance, that CTE thing is gaining traction even though they can't prove it exists. Hell, they got movies about it now,,, Seems like that kind of thing is happening to us citizens a lot lately...

 

[Nightman]

The NFL is King and will be for a long time. It has become tribal and people just don't quit their gangs. But a smart guy like Mark Cuban said the NFL is trying to kill the Golden Goose with the rule changes and bad calls.

I don't think the NFL will go away but it will become more like Pro Wrestling. The fans expect controversy and drama but still love the controlled violence and rivalries. The WWE is still going strong after peaking 20 years ago. The NFL will control the TV ratings for a decade or more even if it declines a bit.

The in-game experience is not as good, think beer, fights, signs and yelling but they are teaming with Draftkings for a reason. Fantasy Football is gaining in popularity and live sports is the last route to feeding consumers advertisements. That is why TV rights are so high. 70" inch HDTVs mean the game isn't going away.

 

[MissionCoach]

When watching other games the one thing that is painfully obvious is in a league that is geared towards offense, Dallas is stuck in 1970 with its creativity and ability to put a game plan together.

Couldn't agree more. Dallas legends and innovators like Coach Landry and Tex Schramm must be rolling in their graves watching this inferior slop that Jerry produces every year.

 

[tyke1doe]

The NFL is as strong and popular as its ever been.

^This^

 

[JakeCamp12]

I always thought that 28 teams was the right amount for the NFL. Too many teams cause the product to be watered down.

 

[Nightman]

^This^

There are some large cracks in the foundation though.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Matt cassel is not average . He may be the worst starting QB ever for the Cowboys and that includes chad Hutchinson .

There have been many, many worse then Cassel at times. JMO

 

[MarionBarberThe4th]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/You're_Getting_Old