How the NFL can address its sluggish pace of play

[CDC84]

In case anyone doesn't know, the NFL's ratings are apparently way down....

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/nfl-tv-ratings-replay-review-pace-of-play-commercial-breaks/1492c01e9dhge1wveonsoda3ps

Putting a time cap on replay reviews is one suggestion. Another....

— Always get on with the show. One of the great beauties of the 1 p.m. NFL kickoff is that the ball actually goes into the air somewhere around 1 p.m. With later afternoon telecasts, or in prime time, the distance between the pregame show and kickoff leads to the belief that the game needs an introduction.

It doesn’t. The announcers have more than three hours — as we've established — to discuss injuries that might affect the outcome, the consequences of the game and other circumstances of the two teams.

When the San Diego Chargers visited the Denver Broncos for an AFC West game in late October, this is how the telecast began: a 22-second animated opening; announcers Bryant Gumbel and Trent Green advancing the game for 1:50; a series of CBS programming promos that last 1 minute; a minute worth of advertising spots; then a 1-minute reset that included a dispatch from a sideline reporter.

More than 5 minutes in, and no one had blocked, tackled, run or pass.

Are you ready for some football?

Yes, may we have some, please?

[willandi]

Why not get professional refs? Sure they only work 23-27 weeks a year, but they can go to training classes, training camps etc. If the refs made the right calls, the game would be more entertaining.

It was a 3 hour game 20 years ago and is a 3 hour game now. Need to shorten it? Cut out the commercial between either scoring and kicking off or kicking off and putting the ball in play. Take a couple of commercials out of the 2 minute warning. When halftime is over, (the time on the clock) the teams should be lined up to play.

The reason the game drags is the commercials, and they could have fewer, charge more and make the same money.

[CDC84]

Why not get professional refs? Sure they only work 23-27 weeks a year, but they can go to training classes, training camps etc. If the refs made the right calls, the game would be more entertaining.

+1

[webspinnre]

Why not get professional refs? Sure they only work 23-27 weeks a year, but they can go to training classes, training camps etc. If the refs made the right calls, the game would be more entertaining.

It was a 3 hour game 20 years ago and is a 3 hour game now. Need to shorten it? Cut out the commercial between either scoring and kicking off or kicking off and putting the ball in play. Take a couple of commercials out of the 2 minute warning. When halftime is over, (the time on the clock) the teams should be lined up to play.

The reason the game drags is the commercials, and they could have fewer, charge more and make the same money.

This seems so obvious to me. For some reason the NFL has been fighting this for years, and I don't understand why. Given the relatively low number of officials, the cost would be low, and the benefits fairly substantial, I'd think. I think there's something a bit over 100 refs? That being said, I just looked it up, and they make something like 150-200k, which means getting them full-time shouldn't take much more either?

[CDC84]

Maybe they fear that if they hire full time refs that they will just keep asking for more and more things, and start making more and more demands? Who knows. It's not a money thing. Despite lower ratings, the NFL remains a money making monster.

I also wonder if the concussion cover up, deflate-gate, domestic violence and other various matters the NFL has had to deal with in recent times have contributed to the ratings drop? It seems as if more and more people are realizing the dangers of the sport and are second guessing their cheers whenever they see a bone crushing hit.

[willandi]

It may also be over-saturation. It used to be the local area game was broadcast (if you were lucky), and maybe another network had a game. Then they added Monday night, then Sun, Thursday. Now, with the college bowl season upon us, some games on Saturday. That's 4 days of the week. The games from London are very early, so Sunday can be 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., or later. It's too much.

[Once and Future Zag]

Maybe they fear that if they hire full time refs that they will just keep asking for more and more things, and start making more and more demands? Who knows. It's not a money thing. Despite lower ratings, the NFL remains a money making monster.

I also wonder if the concussion cover up, deflate-gate, domestic violence and other various matters the NFL has had to deal with in recent times have contributed to the ratings drop? It seems as if more and more people are realizing the dangers of the sport and are second guessing their cheers whenever they see a bone crushing hit.

That really has impacted my enjoyment of the game as I can't - in good conscience - allow my kids to play tackle football, no matter how much they may want to. CTE is something a parent should keep their kids from, not push them towards.

[CDC84]

The Thursday night games are a joke. The players hate them, and the quality of the games almost always suck because everyone is still recovering from Sunday. Coaches don't have any time to come up with super sophisticated game plans. Injured star players can't play who would otherwise be able to play if they had more recovery time. There was a key division game between the Raiders and Chiefs last week on Thursday night. Both teams deserved a full week to prepare for it.

Watching the Frontline special "League of Denial" reduced some of my enthusiasm for the NFL. If you've never seen the documentary, you can view it for free right here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/league-of-denial/

They also have some extended interviews from the special:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/oral-history/league-of-denial/

Jim Otto's interview is particularly hard to sit through. The guy has been through 74 surgeries:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/the-frontline-interview-jim-otto/

[Martin Centre Mad Man]

That really has impacted my enjoyment of the game as I can't - in good conscience - allow my kids to play tackle football, no matter how much they may want to. CTE is something a parent should keep their kids from, not push them towards.

Yup. My oldest son loves playing team sports. He is a big, strong kid whose body would be well suited for football, but he wants to be an engineer. He won't go near a football field for fear of suffering some type of brain injury that may one day inhibit bigger dreams.

That knowledge does tend to put a damper on my ability to enjoy the game.