But I can't help it anymore. I'm upset with the NFL.
The product has not been good this year and Thursday Night's Game was a perfect example of that.
Admit it, if you weren't playing fantasy football would you have spent 10 minutes watching that game last night? Or most Thursday Night Games?
Thursday Night is just one of several issues the NFL is going to have to deal with in the future to keep the sport moving forward. Face it, these are bad games. Very bad games. Most of the matchups have been unexciting and most of these games are low scoring as offenses just don't have enough time to put everything in. Players don't like them and they play like they don't like them. It's also overexposing the NFL as we're now supposed to have big games on Thursday, Sunday and Monday. I love football, but if the matchups are bad something has to give.
You can also see how bad football can be when the quarterback play is bad. It's amazing that Jared Goff was the No. 1 overall pick because he had trouble throwing a spiral last night. He looked so much better at Cal, but I swear last night some of those passes were end over end. His failure to hit a wide open receiver in the end zone during the first quarter was juvenile at best. Anyone could have completed that pass. Bad quarterback play is killing this team and eliminating one of the best players in football, Todd Gurley.
Officiating is also killing any rhythm to the games. Big plays are consistently being wiped out by penalties and too many games are being decided by the officials. Last night's game had a big pass interference call in the first quarter against the Rams that led to a touchdown and that interception in the third quarter that was not upheld basically ended that game as Seattle went up 17-3 after that. We also had three challenges in the first quarter, which resulted in 2 1/2 minutes of ads as the NFL loves to monetize those challenges. It kills the flow of the game and allows people to flip to other channels at that time. The NFL MUST process those challenges quicker and with someone in New York determining the call within seconds. The current review process is a joke.
It's also time to stop advertising after every kickoff. Think about it, once there's a score, you get the extra point and then 2 1/2 minutes of commercials. Then there's the kickoff out of the end zone and 2 1/2 more minutes of commercials. How many people just leave the games for 5 minutes or flip to other TV shows? We all know that nothing is happening for 5 minutes, so why stick around? It's time to eliminate kickoffs or eliminate the break after the kickoff to keep fans tuned into this part of the game. It's 5 minutes of wasted time now.
I want to see the NFL succeed, but it's time for a few simple changes:
1. Add one week to the NFL season to allow teams two byes per year. Then each team that plays on Thursday Night comes off a bye, giving each team 10+ days to prepare for that game. That would make the Thursday Night Games much better.
2. Have an off-site official handle all review plays and process the results much more quickly. Challenges and reviews are bogging down the game and wasting a bunch of time.
3. Cut down on penalties. Maybe it's time to let the big boys play. Too many big plays are being overturned by holding and other calls. You just don't see that in the college game. It's time to look at officiating and if all of these calls are warranted. We now just expect to see a flag on every play; certainly on every big play that may be wiped out by a penalty.
4. Eliminate the color rush uniforms on Thursday Night. The Seahawks' uniforms last night made it look like I was watching an XFL game from the 1990s. It looked cheap and gimmicky. It looked like it was a desperate league. NFL fans want tradition, like the old Rams' helmets last night, not lime green jerseys. It's time to get rid of the color rush uniforms and go old school instead. Bring back throwback jerseys if you want to do something special on Thursdays; not this.
There's not much you can do about bad play, but damn there are some bad offenses this year. Cleveland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, the Jets and several other teams are just tough to watch offensively. Bad quarterback play is at the heart of this, but some offenses are just plain boring. It's tough to watch some of these teams and putting them on national TV is a total waste.
I hope things improve for the NFL. Nobody is a bigger football fan than me and I still love going to the games in Green Bay. But the long delays, the reviews and all of the dead time seems to be making each game longer and longer and it's really noticeable when you're sitting there in the cold waiting for Ed Hochuli to finally make the call. Boring and cold.
When there are good NFL games on TV, Americans watch from start to finish. The Cowboys are certainly bringing out new viewers and setting records with each national game. I expect these last few regular season weeks to be very entertaining and the playoffs are going to be wild. It's wide open this season and anyone can win the Super Bowl. Can't wait for the playoffs.
But these bad teams are really killing the mojo this year. The NFL should thank their lucky stars that fantasy football is around or their ratings would be at NHL levels.
Seriously. Fantasy football is saving those crappy Thursday and Monday night games. It really is. Anyway, after last night's game I couldn't take it anymore. I had to vent. Maybe I'm alone with my thoughts, but I think others feel the same way. Bad football. Bad uniforms. Bad officiating. Too many delays. Bad QB play.
Let's hope for better this weekend, but if I'm the NFL I'm looking at all of these issues and finding solutions IMMEDIATELY. The product is suffering and nobody seems to be addressing it. Hopefully things change soon.