This was written before the increase from 16 to 17 games.

I was talking with Rocky the other day, and we discussed, among other things, the prospect of the NFL going to an 18 game schedule.  I had seen some references to it, but, I hadn’t realized how close to reality this prospect has become.

I am unequivocally opposed to this change.  I have been saying for years that they should go back to a 14 game schedule.  If the league is serious about player safety, and they keep saying they are, then they should address the number one issue – they play too many games.

In an article I read this morning, by Matt Williamson, on Big Blue View, the author advocates strongly for the change to 18 games, with some of the most absurd logic I have ever seen.  Here is one quote from his article:

 “ Also, 16 games is an extremely small sample size when determining which teams should go to the postseason. Over the past few years, we have seen a few suspect squads get into the playoffs. While it is only two more games, it would still undoubtedly give us a better barometer for the cream truly rising to the top during the regular season and you would think that it would be extremely rare for a team with single digit victories to reach the playoffs in this new format.”

What?  What?  For decades, the NFL played a 14 game schedule.  Does anybody think those Packers/Colts/Browns/Giants championship teams of the 50s and 60s were any less dominant, or their titles less valid, because they only played 14 regular season games?  Of course they don’t!

Look at college football.  Do they need 18 regular season games to determine champions?

Look at High School football.  Do they play 18 games?  (well, maybe in Texas)

Why don’t they play that many games?  Because a sixty-minute tackle football game is the most brutal assault on the human body in all of sports!  It’s too many fucking games!!

The most telling line in the article is this:

“Player safety is the obvious downside to this entire situation, but …”

But?  But?  How can there be a “but” when it comes to player safety?

The writer makes some valid points when it comes to pre-season games, and one very good suggestion for the regular season.  If there were an 18 game schedule, they could give every team two byes, and guarantee that every team that has to play one of those fucking absurd Thursday games has a bye the week before.  That would be great, and players and coaches would love it, but the same thing could be accomplished in a 16 game schedule simply by stretching the season from 17 to 18 weeks (with another week of TV revenue!)

Of course the fans hate the pre-season games, especially the season-ticket holders who are forced to pay full price for two pre-season home games they have no interest in.  But the players need those games, especially the marginal players trying to make the team, and the coaches need them, to evaluate the marginal players on their own, as well as all the other teams.

Here’s my suggestion.  Why not replace the last pre-season game with a controlled scrimmage?  For example, the Giants and Patriots, who always play their fourth pre-season game against each other, would play an afternoon-long scrimmage, with officials, and with plenty of breaks.  The coaching staffs could pre-determine the game situations they want to practice, and each staff obviously knows which players they need to evaluate.  To make it fair, these scrimmages would be open to scouts from all the other teams, so that every team could still do the evaluation of other teams’ potential cuts that they do now.

I abhor the hypocrisy of emphasizing the high-profile issues like concussions and late hits on the quarterback while ignoring the most basic issue of player safety.  I hope the Players Association fights like hell against this.