2014 NFL Season

[spike]

phil rivers thinks he's peyton manning out there before the snap

[Chris_H_2]

I think Roger Goodell has done more to "tarnish the sheild" than any one player or team has.

[spike]

i really enjoy trent dilfer's commentary.

[red calzolaio]

the fade is my least favorite play in football.

[verb_to_trust]

More realistically, I wouldn't be surprised if Goodell does with Rice what he did with Aaron Hernandez, in if there was a team that wanted to sign him it would have to get preapproval by the league offices. This is where I wish Al Davis could come back from the dead and add Rice to further solidify that roster of washed up RBs that were awesome five years ago.

Yup.

So why is he suspended indefinitely if the new policy is 6 games for first time offenders? Because we have now seen a video of what we all knew happened? Seems to me some team should be able to sign him after 6 weeks.... Rice in the meantime can go through some counseling or something so the Raiders or whoever wants to pick him up can point at it and PR it that he is a changed man.

[spike]

BECAUSE HE'S TARNISHED THE SHIELD

[Fuck You Jobu]

More realistically, I wouldn't be surprised if Goodell does with Rice what he did with Aaron Hernandez, in if there was a team that wanted to sign him it would have to get preapproval by the league offices. This is where I wish Al Davis could come back from the dead and add Rice to further solidify that roster of washed up RBs that were awesome five years ago.

Yup.

So why is he suspended indefinitely if the new policy is 6 games for first time offenders? Because we have now seen a video of what we all knew happened? Seems to me some team should be able to sign him after 6 weeks.... Rice in the meantime can go through some counseling or something so the Raiders or whoever wants to pick him up can point at it and PR it that he is a changed man.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. This makes even less sense...

[Electromatic]

More realistically, I wouldn't be surprised if Goodell does with Rice what he did with Aaron Hernandez, in if there was a team that wanted to sign him it would have to get preapproval by the league offices. This is where I wish Al Davis could come back from the dead and add Rice to further solidify that roster of washed up RBs that were awesome five years ago.

Yup.

So why is he suspended indefinitely if the new policy is 6 games for first time offenders? Because we have now seen a video of what we all knew happened? Seems to me some team should be able to sign him after 6 weeks.... Rice in the meantime can go through some counseling or something so the Raiders or whoever wants to pick him up can point at it and PR it that he is a changed man.

Because they fucked up royally the first time and because the NFL desperately wants women to watch. The policy was bullshit in the first place because it was only an attempt to save face in the aftermath of brutally handling the situation initially. All of this is CYA and plausible deniability. The NFL has an investigation service and boy do they look stupid today.

He's suspended indefinitely now because the public can see the tape, not for any other reason or policy and our culture is completely reactionary. All of this was evident in the first tape but for whatever reason they stuck their heads in the sand. Sad situation all around.

[Simple Torture]

How many months away are we from an NFL player hitting someone (woman, man, child, etc.) and then saying, "I dunno what came over me, musta been all the concussions"?

[Bammer]

At the moment, with the NFL seemingly at the height of its popularity, I can't really think of anything realistic that could happen to "shut down" interest in the league.

The local sports radio cannot stop talking about Ray Rice and about how the NFL has acted so poorly in this situation, and "what's it going to take to get this right" blah blah blah.

I can guarantee you that none of these outspoken people will actually stop watching the games. They are too big of fans. The NFL is too powerful and popular.

I just can't picture anything happening that diminishes fan interest in a significant way. OK fine so people are mad at Ray Rice and they think the league handled the situation poorly...that's not going to stop Pats fans or Broncos fans or anyone else from rooting for their team and it's not going to slow down sales of Russell Wilson or Johnny Manziel jerseys.

Amirite?


WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN TO KILL THE LEAGUE?

[Electromatic]

At the moment, with the NFL seemingly at the height of its popularity, I can't really think of anything realistic that could happen to "shut down" interest in the league.

The local sports radio cannot stop talking about Ray Rice and about how the NFL has acted so poorly in this situation, and "what's it going to take to get this right" blah blah blah.

I can guarantee you that none of these outspoken people will actually stop watching the games. They are too big of fans. The NFL is too powerful and popular.

I just can't picture anything happening that diminishes fan interest in a significant way. OK fine so people are mad at Ray Rice and they think the league handled the situation poorly...that's not going to stop Pats fans or Broncos fans or anyone else from rooting for their team and it's not going to slow down sales of Russell Wilson or Johnny Manziel jerseys.

Amirite?


WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN TO KILL THE LEAGUE?

Nothing except getting boring and not having interesting talent to watch.

[Fuck You Jobu]

At the moment, with the NFL seemingly at the height of its popularity, I can't really think of anything realistic that could happen to "shut down" interest in the league.

The local sports radio cannot stop talking about Ray Rice and about how the NFL has acted so poorly in this situation, and "what's it going to take to get this right" blah blah blah.

I can guarantee you that none of these outspoken people will actually stop watching the games. They are too big of fans. The NFL is too powerful and popular.

I just can't picture anything happening that diminishes fan interest in a significant way. OK fine so people are mad at Ray Rice and they think the league handled the situation poorly...that's not going to stop Pats fans or Broncos fans or anyone else from rooting for their team and it's not going to slow down sales of Russell Wilson or Johnny Manziel jerseys.

Amirite?


WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN TO KILL THE LEAGUE?

Nothing except getting boring and not having interesting talent to watch.

A commercial break between every play?

[Bammer]

Significant rule changes...basically making it two-hand touch...that might do it.

Otherwise I think the game is safe from a fan interest perspective no matter what the players, coaches, or front office people do off the field. SRSLY.

[Simple Torture]

A lockout or an extended strike could "kill" a league, too. The NHL really hasn't been the same since 2004, when it comes to popularity, and you could make the argument that the NFL really started to make the jump past baseball around 1994 (not sure whether that's related to the strike that year or not). But I think the ritualization around football would prevent this from happening, even if an entire season was stopped due to a work stoppage.

[Fuck You Jobu]

A lockout or an extended strike could "kill" a league, too. The NHL really hasn't been the same since 2004, when it comes to popularity, and you could make the argument that the NFL really started to make the jump past baseball around 1994 (not sure whether that's related to the strike that year or not). But I think the ritualization around football would prevent this from happening, even if an entire season was stopped due to a work stoppage.

I'd argue that since the Hawks started the previous season 24 game win streak the NHL has had really good ratings and attendence. Though we should prob do this in the NHL thread

[Fuck You Jobu]

http://www.theonion.com/articles/nfl-an ... tap,36885/

NEW YORK—Following public outcry over his mishandling of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice’s aggravated assault of his then-fiancée, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced Tuesday that the league has adopted a new zero-tolerance policy toward all videotaped domestic abuse. “We hold our players to the highest standards both as professional athletes and as people, so any violence toward women that is recorded, authenticated, and then publicly distributed will be met with an automatic suspension and fine,” said Goodell, adding that the new, stricter guidelines reflect the league’s hard-line stance against any spousal abuse that is clearly and irrefutably captured on film. “I can assure you that any member of this league who strikes a woman in front of a live camera will face swift and heavy consequences. I also want to stress that this utterly reprehensible behavior is something we will in no way tolerate as long as the footage is completely uninterrupted and the entirety of the assault takes place within frame.” Goodell went on to clarify that in such cases, the NFL will cooperate fully with local authorities as soon as the league can no longer prevent incriminating evidence from being leaked to the media.

[RussellManiac12]

Significant rule changes...basically making it two-hand touch...that might do it.

Otherwise I think the game is safe from a fan interest perspective no matter what the players, coaches, or front office people do off the field. SRSLY.

A couple of years ago, the Seahawks lost to the Dolphins on a bullshit roughing the passer call. The Dolphins had the ball inside the Hawks' 10 and Earl Thomas ran full speed at Ryan Tannehill, tried to knock down his pass, and accidentally hit him in the head. The pass was picked off, but of course the interception was nullified because of the penalty. The Dolphins tied the game on the next play and went on to win on a last second FG. After the game I thought if a call like that ever cost the Seahawks another game, I would stop watching.

[4/5]

Significant rule changes...basically making it two-hand touch...that might do it.

Otherwise I think the game is safe from a fan interest perspective no matter what the players, coaches, or front office people do off the field. SRSLY.

A couple of years ago, the Seahawks lost to the Dolphins on a bullshit roughing the passer call. The Dolphins had the ball inside the Hawks' 10 and Earl Thomas ran full speed at Ryan Tannehill, tried to knock down his pass, and accidentally hit him in the head. The pass was picked off, but of course the interception was nullified because of the penalty. The Dolphins tied the game on the next play and went on to win on a last second FG. After the game I thought if a call like that ever cost the Seahawks another game, I would stop watching.

And then the Fail Mary happened.

Edit: that had already happened

[Bammer]

Remember that TD that Vinny Testaverde scored with his helmet?

[AndySlash]

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN TO KILL THE LEAGUE?

Nothing except getting boring and not having interesting talent to watch.

with all of the concussion issues and the increasingly violent nature of the game (players are bigger, stronger, etc.), we're already hearing about parents not letting their kids play football. i could see there being a lot less actual talent on the field in 20-30 years. to me, this is the biggest issue the nfl is facing in the long term.