NFL Will Increase Games, for Better or for Worse

They don’t care. Heck, that’s one of the reasons they have more money than you and I can ever dream about.

The best example of their greed is the fact that they charge season ticket holders full price for preseason games, knowing full well the product on the field isn’t even half the value of that ticket.

And this preseason was the greatest example of that highway robbery the owners continue to dish out to the fans who hand over thousands of dollars for those four meaningless games they probably don’t even attend. 

But how it’s going to be straightened out has been one of the hottest topics of debate heading into the season. Since a bunch of players who weren’t going to sniff the field spent most of the time on the preseason field, we had to find something to talk about, right?

It was quite poetic that the NCAA season opened Thursday night during the final round of NFL preseason games because that’s pretty much what the NFL was that night, a bunch of college kids running around on NFL fields.

Starting QBs rarely play in 2019 preseason

Throughout the preseason, well-established quarterbacks such as Tom Brady (Patriots), Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers), Drew Brees (Saints) and Joe Flacco (Broncos) — all Super Bowl winners — saw extremely limited action.

Young superstar QBs Jared Goff (Rams), Mitchell Trubisky (Bears) and Carson Wentz (Eagles) never threw a pass.

Check out these quarterback pass attempts from this preseason: 

• Matthew Stafford 19
• Patrick Mahomes 19
• Russel Wilson 18
• Lamar Jackson 16
• Joe Flacco 15
• Jacoby Brisset 15
• Dak Prescott 14
• Eli Manning 13
• Ben Roethlisberger 13
• Tom Brady 12
• Nick Foles 10
• Deshaun Watson 7
• Drew Brees 6
• Cam Newton 6
• Derek Carr 2 
• Jared Goff 0
• Mitchell Trubisky 0
• Carson Wentz 0

That’s 18 starting quarterbacks who didn’t throw the ball at least 20 times over the course of the preseason and three of them who threw it zero times. That averages out to more than half the league’s starters throwing the ball only 10.3 times during the preseason over the four games. Break it down further, and that’s 3.4 pass attempts per starting QB per preseason game this year over the four games, though none of those guys actually saw game time in each preseason game. 

Opting for Change

The NFL preseason needs to be changed, and it will be before the 2021 season when the new Collective Bargaining Agreement kicks in. Both sides — players and owners — want something done. 

The owners don’t want to lose revenue from those meaningless preseason games. So they are looking at expanding somehow. Among the ideas being bandied about is a two-game preseason and 18-game regular season. In this subset, is the idea that players will only be permitted to play 16 games. That leaves some sketchy QB play in those other two games for every team.

Another is expanding the playoffs. Please don’t.

One thought is to cut one preseason game and add one playoff team, so only one team gets a playoff bye.

The owners keep trying to convince anyone who will listen that fans are clamouring for two more weeks of the regular season.

But are they? There’s no need for two more games. The 16-game regular season is what makes the NFL so exciting — every game matters. 

Yes, they’ve expanded before, but is there a need to do it again?

Everyone agrees the preseason is way too long. (Didn’t this one feel longer than any other preseason?) 

But players’ bodies already break down during a 16-game schedule. Adding two more games does nothing for them. All of a sudden, in an 18-game season, a team could find itself playing 24 games including preseason if they make it to the Super Bowl. 

Again, do fans really want those extra games? Probably not. Will they watch? Of course. If there’s football on TV, people will tune in. 

Love it or hate it, when the 2021 season rolls around, preseason will be shorter (I like the sound of that), but in some way, the NFL season will be longer (please, no). 

The greatest thing about the NFL right now is that the offseason is so long it keeps us jonesing for the regular season with the unquenchable thirst that only an addict can appreciate.

Yes, it’s probably meaningless to just ask the owners to cut out a couple of preseason games. But a guy can dream, right? Just like a guy can dream of charging full price (and getting away with it) for a product that doesn’t come close to delivering.

See, dreams can come true.

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