Now in week 11 of the NFL schedule would not be a good time to poll league players about expanding the regular season. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and others have approached the subject of increasing the 16 game schedule but nothing has been finalized so far.
The subject came up last week at Winter Park when former Vikings coach Bud Grant told Sports Headliners that the need for more games is being dictated by the league’s popularity. He said preseason games are a “farce” because coaches don’t use their starters and often are evaluating lesser players. He favors an 18 game schedule and reducing the number of preseason games from four to two. Grant said not to expect changes soon, though, comparing the NFL to the government in being slow to “move.”
The overwhelming popularity of the NFL as America’s favorite sport and the potential for increased revenues is increasing momentum to seriously consider a 17 or 18 game regular season with two or three preseason games. It’s a good bet, though, that your average NFL player is dramatically less enthusiastic about the prospect than fans who already enjoy a long season, plus playoffs, with games on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Ryan Longwell, a Viking captain and 12-year NFL veteran, has a balanced perspective. “Well, I definitely see both sides of the equation, good and bad,” he said. “I think from a marketing standpoint, two extra games would be great for the league and give people more of a product that they love. But having been around this game for so long and seeing the beating that these guys take over a 16 game schedule (raises concerns).
“Most of the guys that are playing all 16 games don’t play in those preseasons, so taking two games away is not going to freshen them up any. …I just can’t imagine stretching that out (the season) for two more meaningful games. …”
Longwell mentioned Chad Greenway and Heath Farwell, two Vikings who were hurt in early pre-season games and lost for the season. He described those games as “meaningless” but losing valuable players like Greenway, a linebacker injured in his rookie year, or Farwell, a special teams star, was not a good development for the players or team.
”I am all for shortening for the preseason, but I just know when you get to December and you look at these guys on a Wednesday and a Thursday morning they are really fighting to get to Sunday healthy again, and (then) you add two more games to that. It’s tough physically. It’s tough mentally. …A really, really long season of constant beating.”
Longwell likes the idea of a 16 game schedule and reducing the pre-season games to three per team. The fourth game has become notorious throughout the country for starters being on the bench and no-name players on the field. Longwell said it’s “tough” to sell tickets and the games are a “marketing juggling act.”
For the players there’s not only the concern of physical health, but also compensation if the league schedule is expanded. Longwell said players will want to be paid for one or more regular season games. They won’t want the same compensation spread over additional games.