17th game = Did they just move preseason into January ?

[Shanedorf]

The greedy owners pushed their way into a 17th Reg Season game and are already counting on the 18th being added.

But I wonder if this is just moving the preseason to January...
The teams that are already eliminated are more likely to play guys at the bottom of their roster and practice squad- just like in a preseason game
They'll want to see them in live action to help with their development and to decide about keeping/replacing them in the offseason.

There's another set of teams that will get to the final week and still have some playoff hopes- for them it's a legit chance to earn a playoff bid.

Then we get to the Top teams and with only 1 bye week available among 7 playoff teams- some of those coaches may decide to schedule a week of rest for their stars - since they can't earn a bye no matter what. I'm guessing you'll have 12-16 teams with "nothing" to play for and it will be interesting to see how the various teams handle that final game

Then we get to the players - some of whom made a business decision in skipping their Bowl Game-  to avoid injury and focus on the draft. Will we see players who are approaching FA take a business-like approach to game 17 and opt out with a minor injury ? Just because the owners scheduled the game - doesn't mean teams/players have to play it like a normal regular season game. How many stars opt out of the lame Pro Bowl due to previously unreported "injuries" ?

 

[SkippyX]

The last week of the season is always a hit or miss proposition.

Its why most fantasy football leagues have their SB a week earlier.

There is a pretty good chance that Dallas is locked into the 4th seed so they will rest everyone vs Philly (3rd time this would be a preseason game in 6 years)

Who cares if some Jets, Texans, Giants, and Jags don't take a pain injection to play in week 17?

 

 

The belly aching about a 17th game is beyond pathetic IMO.

• It used to be 10 games.
• Then it went to 12.
• Then it was 14 games.
• They expanded to 16.
• Now its 17 on the way to 18.

Want to guess at which point the players were able to stop taking offseason jobs to pay the bills?

None of this is evil. Its an entertainment industry trying to maximize profits. The players get about half of those profits.

The players have a say in all of this in the CBA.

An 18 game season with 2 byes means 20 weeks of football instead of 17. This is fantastic. The 2extra playoff games are great.

Jerry Jones is the man when it comes to making money for this league and it's players. Keep it up, Jerrah!

[sammymvpknight]

17 games is a lot of football games. Those who have played any level of competitive football (high school, college, whatever)...knows that. You do have to wonder if it is safe. Just because they have slowly increasing the number of games every year doesn't mean that it's safe. Why not increase it to 30 games? Entertainment and paying the bills is all that matters right? Well...not if our favorite players are getting hurt. 

Scoring this year has been down, and it certainly seems like injuries are up. I don't have any readily available stats to back that up, it's just an observation of myself and others who play competitive fantasy sports. The 17 game deal isn't responsible, but the lack of preseason is interesting. Maybe COVID has played a role...who knows. It will be very interesting to track injury over the next few years to see if they go up in the setting of fewer preseason games and an additional real game.

[titanrick]

3 hours ago, sammymvpknight said:

17 games is a lot of football games. Those who have played any level of competitive football (high school, college, whatever)...knows that. You do have to wonder if it is safe. Just because they have slowly increasing the number of games every year doesn't mean that it's safe.

I don't think we have to wonder.  We know the answer.  It's not safe.  It's football.  If the players want to prioritize their own safety then get a 9-5 office job like the rest of us.

I have a hard time seeing how 16 games in 17 weeks was an acceptable level of safety for the players' long-term health but 18 games is 20 weeks is somehow irresponsible.

[biggie.]

22 hours ago, Shanedorf said:

The greedy owners pushed their way into a 17th Reg Season game and are already counting on the 18th being added.

But I wonder if this is just moving the preseason to January...
The teams that are already eliminated are more likely to play guys at the bottom of their roster and practice squad- just like in a preseason game
They'll want to see them in live action to help with their development and to decide about keeping/replacing them in the offseason.

There's another set of teams that will get to the final week and still have some playoff hopes- for them it's a legit chance to earn a playoff bid.

Then we get to the Top teams and with only 1 bye week available among 7 playoff teams- some of those coaches may decide to schedule a week of rest for their stars - since they can't earn a bye no matter what. I'm guessing you'll have 12-16 teams with "nothing" to play for and it will be interesting to see how the various teams handle that final game

Then we get to the players - some of whom made a business decision in skipping their Bowl Game-  to avoid injury and focus on the draft. Will we see players who are approaching FA take a business-like approach to game 17 and opt out with a minor injury ? Just because the owners scheduled the game - doesn't mean teams/players have to play it like a normal regular season game. How many stars opt out of the lame Pro Bowl due to previously unreported "injuries" ?

 

 

[sammymvpknight]

55 minutes ago, titanrick said:

I don't think we have to wonder.  We know the answer.  It's not safe.  It's football.  If the players want to prioritize their own safety then get a 9-5 office job like the rest of us.

I have a hard time seeing how 16 games in 17 weeks was an acceptable level of safety for the players' long-term health but 18 games is 20 weeks is somehow irresponsible.

It’s not likely just that…as I said (and you omitted), it’s likely the lack of preseason preparation as well. The product sucks this year…and the lower scoring and injuries have been reasons. The health of players matters because the quality is the product suffers when they’re not. 

[bucsfan333]

25 minutes ago, sammymvpknight said:

The health of players matters because the quality is the product suffers when they’re not.

Is the quality really that bad when primetime football continues to be the most watched thing in the country every year? And the numbers are going up?

Can't be all that bad or people wouldn't watch.

[sammymvpknight]

1 hour ago, bucsfan333 said:

Is the quality really that bad when primetime football continues to be the most watched thing in the country every year? And the numbers are going up?

Can't be all that bad or people wouldn't watch.

I love football. This has easily been the worst year of football in my memory. Last year was weird…but not as bad

[Wyld Stallyns]

The precursor to adding a 17th game was adding a 7th seed in the playoffs, in each conference. So the answer to your question is no. The same bottom rung teams will be looking at younger players, and the same upper tier teams will be resting starters; but there will still be plenty of teams trying to make that last push to get in the playoffs in the last week of the season. 

[FrantikRam]

5 hours ago, sammymvpknight said:

It’s not likely just that…as I said (and you omitted), it’s likely the lack of preseason preparation as well. The product sucks this year…and the lower scoring and injuries have been reasons. The health of players matters because the quality is the product suffers when they’re not. 

 

 

I could be wrong but aren't you a Saints fan? Not shocking that you would find this season lacking.

Remember all the primetime games that went to overtime early on? This season has been extremely entertaining.

This is the first time we've had every team in a conference with four or more losses this early.

There are like 8 teams who could legitimately win the AFC this year and possibly 5 that could win the NFC.

That's 13 - THIRTEEN - teams who have a legit chance at winning the Super Bowl as of this moment. We're experiencing something that we've never seen before.

[ronjon1990]

On 12/7/2021 at 6:54 PM, Wyld Stallyns said:

The precursor to adding a 17th game was adding a 7th seed in the playoffs, in each conference. So the answer to your question is no. The same bottom rung teams will be looking at younger players, and the same upper tier teams will be resting starters; but there will still be plenty of teams trying to make that last push to get in the playoffs in the last week of the season. 

Exactly this. 

It's week 14 and most of the league is still competing for playoff spots. 

There's what, like 3 or 4 teams out of the race?

The AFC's number 1 seed is currently 9-4, and with the current standings, all but 3 teams could match those 9 wins (won't happen, obviously, but it shows there's really not THAT much room between the 1 seed and the team with the last bit of outside hope right now. 

I think the NFC field is actually a bit more clear, but the 6 and 7 seeds are .500 teams in week 14, and the next 8 teams up are, at worst, 2 games back. 

Obviously that will naturally change by week 18, but I definitely expect most of the league to be competing for WC spots up to the very end. 

[SkippyX]

In theory the players are healthier up until the start of game 17 because they had less preseason games. (less football = less injuries theory)

Are we saying that if a few guys get injured in game 17 then people won't watch the playoffs?

 

Edited December 9, 2021 by SkippyX

[Uncle Buck]

As human beings, we have a natural resistance to change.  I was thinking I would like the change to 17 games and the extra playoff team.  As it turns out, I've enjoyed it because more of the middle tier teams have games that still mean something.

One thing that hasn't changed is that the top teams have already been identified for the most part.  The single team getting a bye makes things a little more interesting for the top teams.  With only one team getting the bye, it means that one or two of the top teams may have to play more of their starters in Weeks 16 and 17.  If they are playing one of the middle tier teams, we could get some competitive games that we otherwise wouldn't get to enjoy.

When the playoffs get here, even though it's a little lame having almost half of the teams in the league making the playoffs, I do think it is an overall positive because you have two more fan bases who can get excited for postseason play.  The 7th seeds will probably be bounced in the first round, but you never know.  "Chip and a chair," as they say in poker.

I didn't want the changes initially, but I have to say that I've enjoyed them so far.

[Malfatron]

Im good with the 7th playoff team

absolutely still hate 17 games

[WheatieMan]

At this point, just get the SB to President’s Day weekend. Do NASCAR/Daytona the week before or after, who cares? 18 games is looking like the model, although I’d have preferred staying at 16. Not sure dead of winter football is ideal but weather hasn’t been a huge factor in January anyhow aside from NE perhaps.