NFL is bad right now

[dll2000]

I have gamepass and I watch a lot of games throughout week.

The NFL is putting out a bad product of late.   I know we have Covid, but still.    

The execution is just poor on both sides of ball.  The officiating is horrendous and changing games and it isn't just officials the rules themselves are stupid or how they want officials to 'emphasize' them.   

Holding is not being call on OL and OL play is still worse than its ever been.   OL are not being developed and there is too much scarcity at position.

   Defensive holding in secondary is called too much when it isn't and then ignored when it is.   Same with downfield contact.    PI is different in game.  Roughing is a joke and completely inconsistent.   Intentional grounding same.   Roughing on receivers is also completely inconsistent and basically should just be called "hit was too hard so we are throwing a flag for reasons."  It often has nothing to do with helmet to helmet.   Even helmet to helmet isn't called correctly because 80% of helmet to helmet collisions are caused by offensive player illegally lowering his helmet.   Defensive players and DCs have no idea how to play the game as a result.   

When they make bad calls it seems it is way too often after a key 3rd down stop or conversely a TD is called back.   Or on a 4th down.   The calls are wildly swinging momentum of games.  It makes a conspiracy theorist think gambling is motivating some shady outcomes.   Too many coincidences makes me suspicious.  

Why aren't we seeing replays of some controversial plays and others we see immediately?   We go back on All-22 to parse some things out, but it way to late for a challenge flag watching broadcast in booth.   

There is no crowd noise or excitement.  The canned crowd noise is annoying.  That isn't their fault, but it still makes for bad product. 

Its just not fun to watch this year.  If you like scoring in a vacuum or just watch Red Zone maybe you like it.   But it lacks nuance and strategy and good play.    

 

 

 

 

[41st ward Chicagoian]

I am not going to blame COVID.  It the league, Roger Goodell, and rules changes.  They have all but eliminated full contact practice.  Training camp is soft now.  No more two a days in 90 degree hit beating the crap out of each other running the Oklahoma drill.  The NFL will eliminated preseason football in favor of 18 an game season.  As a result the play is bad and will continue to be bad.  I am big proponent of a 4 game preseason and a spring developmental league.    

[Sugashane]

On 10/30/2020 at 6:40 PM, 41st ward Chicagoian said:

I am not going to blame COVID.  It the league, Roger Goodell, and rules changes.  They have all but eliminated full contact practice.  Training camp is soft now.  No more two a days in 90 degree hit beating the crap out of each other running the Oklahoma drill.  The NFL will eliminated preseason football in favor of 18 an game season.  As a result the play is bad and will continue to be bad.  I am big proponent of a 4 game preseason and a spring developmental league.    

 

I would love this, even if there was a partnership between XFL and NFL so fringe players could be called up or down like in baseball. There aren't 32 teams but it wouldn't be too hard to have each team sponsored by a whole division or something and the coaches are 100% independent of these teams. I actually miss NFL Europe even.

 

On 10/27/2020 at 12:26 PM, dll2000 said:

There is no crowd noise or excitement.  The canned crowd noise is annoying.  That isn't their fault, but it still makes for bad product.

Agree on all points but this is a huge one. Football is an emotional sport and it is really hard to explain how momentum is effected with the crowd unless you've played it. I've played in summer league baseball teams with big and nearly empty crowds and basketball camps that were empty and in packed college courts (small but still). But football in silence just seems bizarre. The small bits of time between plays you really register the noise and cheers, it's hard to imagine not having that.

[41st ward Chicagoian]

14 hours ago, Sugashane said:

 

I would love this, even if there was a partnership between XFL and NFL so fringe players could be called up or down like in baseball. There aren't 32 teams but it wouldn't be too hard to have each team sponsored by a whole division or something and the coaches are 100% independent of these teams. I actually miss NFL Europe even.

In 2018  i watched AAF until it went under.  I was super excited about XFL and hope it relaunches again. XFL had some good talent and i liked the rules they had in place. If the nfl doesn’t want to do a whole league they should consider spring football exactly the way colleges do it.  

[Heinz D.]

On 10/27/2020 at 12:26 PM, dll2000 said:

When they make bad calls it seems it is way too often after a key 3rd down stop or conversely a TD is called back.   Or on a 4th down.   The calls are wildly swinging momentum of games.  It makes a conspiracy theorist think gambling is motivating some shady outcomes.   Too many coincidences makes me suspicious.  

I wonder if the lack of a real crowd hurts the officiating. They're getting too much wrong for that to be the ONLY reason the officiating sucks, but you have to wonder if it's a factor...

[dll2000]

16 hours ago, Heinz D. said:

I wonder if the lack of a real crowd hurts the officiating. They're getting too much wrong for that to be the ONLY reason the officiating sucks, but you have to wonder if it's a factor...

I think a lot (most) of it is goofy directives from on high.  Trying to appease bosses in NY.  Emphasize this, don’t emphasize that. 

Stuff that doesn’t go public always.

Some of it is just bad rules.

Some of it is just bad officiating.

I think it is a small percentage, but I think it would be naive to believe with explosion of legalized gambling that there has been zero corrupting influences on officiating either for monetary gain or by threats or blackmail or a combination.

 

[JAF-N72EX]

Lack of a crowd has nothing to do with the player performance or the games. These guys practice 8~ months out of the year on a regular basis without a crowd. It all comes down to game planning and execution. 

The overall OL play has been going down for years now.  DL/OL are most injured group on the field so you need to have a strong depth at those positions but because of the lack of reliable skill it's hard to fill those positions. 

The refs and the constant (and inconsistent) rule changes haven't helped either. 

 

[dll2000]

6 hours ago, JAF-N72EX said:

Lack of a crowd has nothing to do with the player performance or the games. These guys practice 8~ months out of the year on a regular basis without a crowd. It all comes down to game planning and execution. 

The overall OL play has been going down for years now.  DL/OL are most injured group on the field so you need to have a strong depth at those positions but because of the lack of reliable skill it's hard to fill those positions. 

The refs and the constant (and inconsistent) rule changes haven't helped either. 

 

Almost all college O linemen wear leg braces on both legs and are injured far less as a result.  NFL players disdain it for extra speed, but loss of speed with repeated knee surgeries would seem to me to be greater. 

[JAF-N72EX]

18 hours ago, dll2000 said:

Almost all college O linemen wear leg braces on both legs and are injured far less as a result.  NFL players disdain it for extra speed, but loss of speed with repeated knee surgeries would seem to me to be greater. 

College is not as physically brutal as the NFL so I'm not sure the braces are the answer but it might be a good start. 

It's something atleast because what their doing now is clearly not working to alleviate injuries, 

Edited November 4, 2020 by JAF-N72EX

[Heinz D.]

On 11/2/2020 at 11:59 PM, JAF-N72EX said:

Lack of a crowd has nothing to do with the player performance or the games. These guys practice 8~ months out of the year on a regular basis without a crowd. It all comes down to game planning and execution. 

Well...it does probably factor into it, but I was talking specifically about the referees. I think it does have an influence on them. 

[Heinz D.]

On 10/30/2020 at 6:40 PM, 41st ward Chicagoian said:

I am not going to blame COVID.  It the league, Roger Goodell, and rules changes.  They have all but eliminated full contact practice.  Training camp is soft now.  No more two a days in 90 degree hit beating the crap out of each other running the Oklahoma drill.  The NFL will eliminated preseason football in favor of 18 an game season.  As a result the play is bad and will continue to be bad.  I am big proponent of a 4 game preseason and a spring developmental league.    

Covid-19, for what is going on right now, is pretty much the primary culprit. All this stuff wasn't going on last year. At least, to this degree.

However, as to what I bolded there, I pretty much totally agree with you. Why the league hasn't seen the wisdom in re-creating a developmental league is stunning to me. And to all those who will snidely say the NCAA is their developmental league (and the NFL gets it for, basically, free)--SAVE IT. That simply isn't true and it just isn't the same. 

[JAF-N72EX]

6 hours ago, Heinz D. said:

Well...it does probably factor into it, but I was talking specifically about the referees. I think it does have an influence on them. 

I don't see any correlation. A crowd has nothing to do with poor officiating. It never has. This has been going on way before the pandemic and with crowds. Goodell and staff are to blame for this crap. 

6 hours ago, Heinz D. said:

Covid-19, for what is going on right now, is pretty much the primary culprit. All this stuff wasn't going on last year. At least, to this degree.

Oh yes it was. It happens at the start of every season. Every year it's either there are alot of bad calls to start the season and then it suddenly dies out a bit by mid-season. Or there are alot of erogenous plays that DON"T get called to start the season and then it starts to even out mid season.

Last year it was holding and PI that were being called at high rate. This this year was the exact opposite. No holding calls to start the season but now(mid-season) everyone is getting called for everything.

Inconsistent officiating is the problem. Not covid or the fans. It's Goodell and his staff.  It has been for years. 

For years they have been trying to put patches over a flawed rule book instead of fixing it to work with the modern times while articulating it in a way that it's easier for the refs to understand. And hell, for ANYONE to understand at this point. Can someone tell me what a catch is anymore????

Edited November 5, 2020 by JAF-N72EX

[dll2000]

On 11/5/2020 at 1:40 AM, JAF-N72EX said:

I don't see any correlation. A crowd has nothing to do with poor officiating. It never has. This has been going on way before the pandemic and with crowds. Goodell and staff are to blame for this crap. 

Oh yes it was. It happens at the start of every season. Every year it's either there are alot of bad calls to start the season and then it suddenly dies out a bit by mid-season. Or there are alot of erogenous plays that DON"T get called to start the season and then it starts to even out mid season.

Last year it was holding and PI that were being called at high rate. This this year was the exact opposite. No holding calls to start the season but now(mid-season) everyone is getting called for everything.

Inconsistent officiating is the problem. Not covid or the fans. It's Goodell and his staff.  It has been for years. 

For years they have been trying to put patches over a flawed rule book instead of fixing it to work with the modern times while articulating it in a way that it's easier for the refs to understand. And hell, for ANYONE to understand at this point. Can someone tell me what a catch is anymore????

I don’t know about ‘poor’ officiating, but crowds tremendously influence officiating especially in football.  There have been many studies on it.   Why homefield advantage is real.

The pressure of the mob can effect human nature and behavior.