18 Game Schedule.. Good or Bad?

I'm going to say NO, plus adding that we should reduce the preseason to 3 games while keeping the 16 game schedule.

A 2-game preseason would not be enough for evaluation purposes for roster battles, which I think is the main purpose for the exhibition games.

However, I think 18 games, unless they build in 2 bye weeks per team and expanded rosters to say, 57 or 58 players, is too much of a physical toll on the players, especially teams in the playoffs.

We don't want to be watching 3rd-string players in the playoffs and late battles for postseason berths.

Also, we don't want to end up shortening players' careers, especially RBs, by a year or two just to have a longer season.

I fully support eliminating two preseason games. Presently, a full 20% of the NFL's 20-game schedule is devoted meaningless games - its retarded. The players don't like it. The coaches don't really need it. The owners and fans hate it. So, its pretty much universally agreed upon that the NFL needs to lose 2 preseason games.

Now, if we get rid of two preseason games, there are really just two choices - 1. Leave the 16 game regular season and cut player salaries to compensate for lost revenue. 2. convert those two meaningless preseason games into two regular season games. Starters generally play about 6 quarters of football in the preseason anyways, so its not like they'll really be playing that much more.

Scenario 2 makes the most sense. Now, there are things to do to make the longer regular season less grinding on the players:

1. Every team gets two bye weeks. As a consequence of this, we'll now have 20 weeks of regular season football to watch instead of just 17. Football season is my favorite time of the year, so i'm all about adding a few weeks.

2. Increase roster sizes and/or allow the full roster to be eligible to play on gamedays.

3. Change IR rules to allow players to come back from IR during the regular season.

4. Provide some kind of incentive for playoff-bound teams to play starters during the final weeks of the regular season. My suggestion - have the last 4 weeks of a teams schedule be divisional games.

5. On the flip side of the previous suggestion, have the first few games of the regular season be non-conference games for every team. these games are less important from a tie-breaking standpoint, and should be played near the beginning of the season to allow teams to "Gear up" more for the "more important" regular season games to be played later in the year.

Rather than IR, change to a MLB-like Disabled List...with 4 and 8-week options where the roster spot can be filled with an active player? If someone is hobbled by a 2 or 3-week injury, they'll just be taking up an unused roster spot like right now. The IR could be retained for players who DEFINITELY aren't returning this season.

4. Provide some kind of incentive for playoff-bound teams to play starters during the final weeks of the regular season. My suggestion - have the last 4 weeks of a teams schedule be divisional games.

I like this idea.

Also, keep in mind Ease of Schedule could be made much more equitable with 2 more games.

The way the schedule is currently set up is that you have 6 rivalry games and then you play 2 other divisions of 8 games.
That is 14 games right there out of 16...the other 2 games are typically ones that help a little with ease of schedule issues depending on prior year team results. That usually doesn't make things equitable.

This system does not currently work well....with 2 more games, ease of schedule would be a better fit.

(I know...you guys may say a last placed team in one division plays last in another...but that doesn't mean that team sucks....sometimes they are 8-8...otherwise explain why our 4-12 team has such a hard schedule!)

I am completely against it. I think 16 games is enough and I think as Carson Palmer pointed out additional games dilute the meaning of each game played. One thing about football that doesn’t really translate to any other team sport is the importance each game holds. People bitch and complain when teams rest their starters for the last game of the season after they have locked up a playoff spot. I think that practice will increase.

I get the argument from a season ticket holders persepective, but honestly 16 games is enough. I mean Goodwell is already making the game less physical, if 18 games comes about Im sure its going to get even worse.

unless youre one of those fans that ignore the preseason altogether and pretend it doesnt exist, nothing is being diluted. we're not adding any games. were taking two completely meaningless preseason games and moving them to a meaningful regular season.

as far as the regular season itself goes, adding two games won't dilute the meaning of each game appreciably. its not like were talking about turning into football, baseball or hockey, and playing 4 games a week for six months. we're just shifting two games around in the existing schedule.

Having an 18 game season would make a developmental league even more important. Eliminating or reducing training camp and reducing preseason would hamper the shot of undrafted rookies and other longshots. This should further increase team revenue. My idea of this is each team in the developmental league has players allocated by NFL teams and play on Saturdays. Ex. Skins and Ravens each allocate 20 players to a team that plays on Saturdays in the Fall after the NFL season starts for 10 weeks. Thus, each team can have 73 players (allow 50 to dress on Sundays) while the other 20 can be brought to the active roster after the developmental league season is over. If a team wants to sign one of the Skins allocated players to their current roster the Skins have the right to either put him on their roster or let him go to the new team.

I think that this whole issue will make negotiations for a new CBA very difficult. The owners are planting the seeds for player dissatisfaction and resistance.

Having an 18 game season would make a developmental league even more important. Eliminating or reducing training camp and reducing preseason would hamper the shot of undrafted rookies and other longshots. This should further increase team revenue. My idea of this is each team in the developmental league has players allocated by NFL teams and play on Saturdays. Ex. Skins and Ravens each allocate 20 players to a team that plays on Saturdays in the Fall after the NFL season starts for 10 weeks. Thus, each team can have 73 players (allow 50 to dress on Sundays) while the other 20 can be brought to the active roster after the developmental league season is over. If a team wants to sign one of the Skins allocated players to their current roster the Skins have the right to either put him on their roster or let him go to the new team.

Play on Saturdays in the fall, that's when colleges play and there is no way tv will cover these teams over college football. Plus the added cost of operating these teams is something the owners will never go for. The NFL already has a developmental league called college football. It provides a steady stream of players at zero cost to the NFL. Its the perfect setup for the NFL and will not change anytime soon.

Having an 18 game season would make a developmental league even more important. Eliminating or reducing training camp and reducing preseason would hamper the shot of undrafted rookies and other longshots. This should further increase team revenue. My idea of this is each team in the developmental league has players allocated by NFL teams and play on Saturdays. Ex. Skins and Ravens each allocate 20 players to a team that plays on Saturdays in the Fall after the NFL season starts for 10 weeks. Thus, each team can have 73 players (allow 50 to dress on Sundays) while the other 20 can be brought to the active roster after the developmental league season is over. If a team wants to sign one of the Skins allocated players to their current roster the Skins have the right to either put him on their roster or let him go to the new team.

The NFL definitely needs a developmental league. I think an 8 team league where each NFL division can pool players from a developmental would be an interesting league.

For some teams it'll be like making it to the divisional round of the playoffs every year. I mean sure they can expand the roster, but you're always going to have that one coach that's going to ride that one player a little to hard. And with McNabb already being injury prone it's certainly not going to help us.

Maybe some sort of compromise with 1 less week of practice, and no two a days full contact. You get one practice to hit and another to do walk throughs. Kind of like an OTA. Still you can't make up for playing two extra games every year.

Could we see the end of training camp as we know it? With all the offseason work I don't think a full camp is even necessary anymore. At the least I think two a days will be out the window.

Someone, I can't remember who now, was just saying the other day that Shanahan is probably ahead of the game with cutting back on two a days during training camp.

Training camp, if anything, will become more important. And more and more teams will hold joint-training camp sessions. Believe the Bucs and Jags did that this summer. Because with only two preseason games, teams will mostly want to give their starters significant playing time to get ready for the regular season. So one of the only way teams can evaluate the Brian Mitchells of the world is through training camp and inter-squad scrimmages