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The NFL is becoming more disturbing than appealing, and TV viewers are tuning out

PoS said:
3. Referees need to be full time paid employees. The calls are horrible and they need a professional crew that's dedicated in knowing the rules.
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Bingo, that's a huge problem. There's more and more rules every year. More and more judgement calls, what's a catch, what's not a catch? Whats a fumble? These guys need to be sitting somewhere all week studying films. And learning the rules.

But they're not. They have other jobs? Ridiculous.
 
PoS said:
I think the game is boring precisely because of a lack of precision. QBs and WRs arent on the same page, O-lines havent gelled, so the OCs use simplified vanilla offenses. If the players had more padded practices they can actually run their game plans close to actual conditions and defenders would learn how to tackle properly- you cant figure that stuff out during a walkthrough. Right now its more of a college level of quality when you have those breakdowns in the defense.
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If you ask people around the league why the quality of play has dropped so far, you’ll get enough answers to fill a playbook. One theory: the league is struggling to come to terms with a blitz of rapid rules changes. Laws to protect player safety have made building a team with “smash-mouth” tendencies harder than ever. This has created problems for hard-nosed coaches, whose physical approach no longer fits in an era where referees police illegal hits closer than ever.

What’s clear is that no one has a single explanation for all the bad football on our screens. But one thing is certain: As Cassel prepares to lead the Cowboys into a long-odds matchup against the resurgent Seattle Seahawks this weekend, it doesn’t really matter. Everyone will still be watching anyway.
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NFL?s Quality of Play Hits Rock Bottom, No One Cares - WSJ

THat was written one year ago. I dont know that much about Football and other than watching the Seahawks now and then I dont watch football so I would not know that the play sucks. But how can it be that we get thousands of words written about why the ratings suck so bad this year, hell it is really many tens of thousands of words, and almost no one says that these guys often cant play the game very well anymore? Do we need to put this topic in the conspiracy theory forum because the NFL and all their partners have silenced everybody on this? It is bizarre.
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
Yep, nowadays the QB's in college are only taught a 3 step drop, look for the 1st receiver, and if he's not open to then run. They're not taught to read defenses, they're not taught to drop 5 steps and look to the 2nd-3rd receivers if the 1st receiver is covered.

In short they are NOT taught the pro-passing game in college. And neither are the offensive linemen. Very few colleges run pro-offensives anymore. So they get to the pros, and that college passing game just doesn't work for very long. The pro defenses are too good and fast.

And we can see the QB play isn't the same with the younger QB's now.
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most of the good younger QBs are running QBs and that works for about a season or 2 and then everyone figures out their tendencies and they get hit and injured. Even the best runners like Cam are now seeing it happen. If Cam wants to stop being treated like a runner he needs to stop running the ball and learn how to pass. Of course it was pretty obvious that he would end up as just a running QB and not a QB who can run, when Jon Gruden asked him to name a play from his college offense he couldnt even do it.
 
Crovax said:
most of the good younger QBs are running QBs and that works for about a season or 2 and then everyone figures out their tendencies and they get hit and injured. Even the best runners like Cam are now seeing it happen. If Cam wants to stop being treated like a runner he needs to stop running the ball and learn how to pass. Of course it was pretty obvious that he would end up as just a running QB and not a QB who can run, when Jon Gruden asked him to name a play from his college offense he couldnt even do it.
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Yep. Over the past 20 years with rule changes the NFL has done everything to add offense to the game, and to protect the QB IN THE POCKET, and to make the game into a 5 step pocket passing game. And it worked for years, but now these kids coming out of college aren't pocket passers. They can't read defenses. They can't pocket pass. And again, the offensive linemen aren't as good at protecting the QB's when they are in the pocket. They run more, they get hurt more, and the passing game has suffered.

The colleges aren't using pro-offenses anymore.
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
The colleges aren't using pro-offenses anymore.
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This is a big issue. There's very few NFL ready QBs because college coaches run spread options that are effective against college level defenses but next to useless in the NFL.

Oh and another issue: stop doing the color rush and throwback uniforms! Theyre awful. It's hard to watch games with terrible unis like that.
 
I wonder how much of the decline is due to more and more people becoming cable cutters. Obviously avid football watchers will find a way to do so but I also think there are lots of people like me. I used to watch the occasional game when I stumbled across it. But since getting rid of cable and using things like Netflix and Amazon I watch no football.
 
Well, you have a lot more penalties, for dumb things. You have scandals, some valid like the Saints? taping people and paying bounties, and some not valid like deflategate. You have horrible choices for Superbowl entertainment (nothing says football like lady gaga). You have a bunch of whiny players who care more about themselves than the fans.

And of course you have them dumbing down the action in the name of safety, which is maybe unavoidable. Lets not forget too many commercials. Expensive tickets monopolized by season ticket holders who dont even show up resulting in empty stands and fans standing outside.
 
BrewerBob said:
I wonder how much of the decline is due to more and more people becoming cable cutters. Obviously avid football watchers will find a way to do so but I also think there are lots of people like me. I used to watch the occasional game when I stumbled across it. But since getting rid of cable and using things like Netflix and Amazon I watch no football.
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i began watching football in the late 60's with one of my favorite quarterbacks Joe Kapp, and loved the game until i stopped watching in the early 1990's.

i could no longer stand, the analyzing of every play, more teams, longer season, today adding in the political correctness, its sicking to me.

i have to return to games of the past the old AFL /NFL DAYS, highlights days long gone which are still special to me.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVlcjWBj00


View attachment 67209435

View attachment 67209436

View attachment 67209437

yes i have his Rookie card.
 
BrewerBob said:
I wonder how much of the decline is due to more and more people becoming cable cutters. Obviously avid football watchers will find a way to do so but I also think there are lots of people like me. I used to watch the occasional game when I stumbled across it. But since getting rid of cable and using things like Netflix and Amazon I watch no football.
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That would not explain the sudden drop, though I am sure that long term the NFL is not going to get the current $7 billion a year in tv rights much less the double that which they are driving for because so many financially stressed families have decided that $150 a month for cable is not worth it. Everywhere we look we see Americans paying way too much usually for crap. Cable and internet are at the top of the list for places we get price gouged, and Americans clearly dont have the income to keep up anymore....stuff has got to go.

The NFL plan to double income by I think it is 2025 is pure delusion.
 
Richard Sherman:

— On why TV ratings are down: “Because the league isn’t fun anymore. Every other league, you see the players have a good time. It’s a game. This isn’t politics. This isn’t justice. This is entertainment. And they’re no longer allowing the players to entertain. They’re no longer allowing the players to show any kind of personality, any kind of uniqueness, any individuality. Because they want to control the product. They want to control the messaging, etc., etc. … They say we’re trying to influence kids, and that’s their biggest thing. That’s their biggest ploy is you don’t want to be a bad influence to kids. You don’t want to be a bad role model. And I can agree with that. But in the same breath, you can’t say Budweiser is the official sponsor of the NFL, and we’re trying to influence kids. So there’s a ton of hypocrisy, but it doesn’t matter because we don’t control it.”
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Seahawk Richard Sherman rips Roger Goodell, officiating, says NFL ‘isn’t fun anymore’ — and more | The Seattle Times

Compare what we see with the NFL to what we saw in the World Series....the man has a point.
 
Like everything else there's problay many reasons:

Cable cutters.
Over-saturation, Thursday night football should be dropped.
The TV rating might have just peeked, and now they will level off and/or dip
The election

Add in the overall quality of play has been very hit and miss this year especially, mostly miss.
Too many penalties.
Too many celebrations, it makes the players look selfish.

I'm sure I missed a few.
 
Hawkeye10 said:
By Sally Jenkins



https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...-top-table-main_jenkins-0605pm:homepage/story

Now maybe she is wrong, maybe ratings come back after the election, but I think the over all point is right on.....the game is simply not as enjoyable to watch at home as it used to be. Part of it is all the politics that have been allowed (often encouraged by the NFL) to enter the game (concussions, domestic violence, BLM protests etcetera), and part of it is how the NFL has ruined the game in search of financial profits and turning the screws to labor (DO NOT SHOW ANY JOY AFTER A TD!). The argument that the huge push towards mediocrity (team parity the NFL calls it) takes enjoyment out so we dont tune in I am still on the fence about , but we do watch NASCAR mostly for the wrecks so maybe. These people need to learn that the customers pay the bills, the customers allow for the multi million dollar salaries to play a sport, ignore the best interests of the customer at your(F) peril.
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He's right on. Pro Football sucks right now. College is where it's at. And, that is even though college has far fewer competitive games than the NFL.

Ironic is when fans prefer seeing a Number 4 NCAA team destroy an unranked opponent instead of watching two evenly matched NFL teams playing mid-season, wasting about 3-1/2 hours of a Sunday afternoon for 20 minutes of good action. THe college game is faster paced, more entertaining and the joy is everywhere to be seen and it is sold, from the cheerleaders to the celebrations to the fans in the stands.
 
calamity said:
He's right on. Pro Football sucks right now. College is where it's at. And, that is even though college has far fewer competitive games than the NFL.

Ironic is when fans prefer seeing a Number 4 NCAA team destroy an unranked opponent instead of watching two evenly matched NFL teams playing mid-season, wasting about 3-1/2 hours of a Sunday afternoon for 20 minutes of good action. THe college game is faster paced, more entertaining and the joy is everywhere to be seen and it is sold, from the cheerleaders to the celebrations to the fans in the stands.
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Mismatches like 50 to nothing scores are precisely why I dont watch much college games anymore except maybe the bowl games. Its like seeing an adult beating up a 5 year old.
 
Master PO said:
i began watching football in the late 60's with one of my favorite quarterbacks Joe Kapp, and loved the game until i stopped watching in the early 1990's.

i could no longer stand, the analyzing of every play, more teams, longer season, today adding in the political correctness, its sicking to me.

i have to return to games of the past the old AFL /NFL DAYS, highlights days long gone which are still special to me.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVlcjWBj00


View attachment 67209435

View attachment 67209436

View attachment 67209437

yes i have his Rookie card.
Click to expand...

A while ago I was mobbed by what we call liberals for saying the NFL was PC. I see that I was right and it turns viewers away in droves.
 
PoS said:
Mismatches like 50 to nothing scores are precisely why I dont watch much college games anymore except maybe the bowl games. Its like seeing an adult beating up a 5 year old.
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That is for sure the main gripe I have against the NCAA.
 
calamity said:
That is for sure the main gripe I have against the NCAA.
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I lost interest in College ball about 15 years ago or so. The game after game of 55-0 scores got boring. And even with good teams it got to the point the offenses were limited. I see some of that limited offense with the NFL now.

I think that's why I have enjoyed watching the Falcons so much this year. Every one of their games it's wide open, short passing, long passing, screens, good running game. Everything. Matt Ryan has been a blast to watch this year.

Many of the younger QB's just don't have the accuracy, they can't throw long. The offenses they are running are limited, they are very cautious. The wide open anything can happen part of the game is missing with a lot of teams now.
 
Cable cutting is in its early stages but it's going to grow. The fact is that between Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, there's much better programming online for a lot less. For all three of those services I pay less than $40 a month. My bill with DirectTV, after AT&T bought them, became $186, so I got rid of them.

Second, the monopoly that DirectTV has with NFL Sunday Ticket has run its course. If you have regular cable, your choices for watching games is no different than it was in 1975. That is, you have a total choice of three games you can watch.

That said, you can instead watch online via European feeds for free. It has its disadvantages, but it's more appealing than having to buy DirectTV and the extra cost of Sunday Ticket. In other words, watch any game for free or spend around $1500 to watch the NFL for five months out of the year.

There is no good reason the NFL can't do pay per view like soccer leagues around the world do. If you live in Germany, you can pay a fee to watch your favorite team either on TV or on your computer. And what that does is get rid of what has been the NFL's worst problem for decades: commercials.

The amount of ads we have to sit through is absurd. Commercial breaks should come during timeouts, injuries, quarter breaks, and halftime. There should never be a commercial break on change of possession. For example, following a score, the ball should be kicked off within 60 seconds, and play should commence from there without having to sit through the same Budweiser or Ford commercial for the 8th time in 45 minutes. The goal should be to get games down to around 2 hours. These three and a half hour advertisements with a game thrown in have become intolerable.
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
I lost interest in College ball about 15 years ago or so. The game after game of 55-0 scores got boring. And even with good teams it got to the point the offenses were limited. I see some of that limited offense with the NFL now.

I think that's why I have enjoyed watching the Falcons so much this year. Every one of their games it's wide open, short passing, long passing, screens, good running game. Everything. Matt Ryan has been a blast to watch this year.

Many of the younger QB's just don't have the accuracy, they can't throw long. The offenses they are running are limited, they are very cautious. The wide open anything can happen part of the game is missing with a lot of teams now.
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But, at least once a week, we get games like the Bama-LSU match up. Tied at zero at the half.
 
Opopanax said:
Cable cutting is in its early stages but it's going to grow. The fact is that between Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, there's much better programming online for a lot less. For all three of those services I pay less than $40 a month. My bill with DirectTV, after AT&T bought them, became $186, so I got rid of them.

Second, the monopoly that DirectTV has with NFL Sunday Ticket has run its course. If you have regular cable, your choices for watching games is no different than it was in 1975. That is, you have a total choice of three games you can watch.

That said, you can instead watch online via European feeds for free. It has its disadvantages, but it's more appealing than having to buy DirectTV and the extra cost of Sunday Ticket. In other words, watch any game for free or spend around $1500 to watch the NFL for five months out of the year.

There is no good reason the NFL can't do pay per view like soccer leagues around the world do. If you live in Germany, you can pay a fee to watch your favorite team either on TV or on your computer. And what that does is get rid of what has been the NFL's worst problem for decades: commercials.

The amount of ads we have to sit through is absurd. Commercial breaks should come during timeouts, injuries, quarter breaks, and halftime. There should never be a commercial break on change of possession. For example, following a score, the ball should be kicked off within 60 seconds, and play should commence from there without having to sit through the same Budweiser or Ford commercial for the 8th time in 45 minutes. The goal should be to get games down to around 2 hours. These three and a half hour advertisements with a game thrown in have become intolerable.
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I cut the chord back in 2008. I haven't needed TV since. I get everything on want online. I just wish I could get it without commercials.
 
Rumors of the death of the NFL maybe greatly exaggerated..

Seahawks-Patriots, Cowboys-Steelers fueled an NFL TV ratings surge in Week 10


A couple of huge games launched the NFL’s TV ratings back to the stratosphere.

by Adam Stites Nov 14, 2016, 11:55am EST

The decline of TV viewership for the NFL has been a common talking point during the 2016 season, but thrilling games between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys, and the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks proved that there is still an audience for some good football.

The Cowboys and Steelers dueled in a 4:25 p.m. ET game that featured three lead changes in the final two minutes. It was the NFL’s dream come true. Two of the most popular teams with the biggest fanbases battling on a broadcast carried in every market except a few areas on the West Coast, and living up to the hype with arguably the most entertaining game of the year.

According to Steelers director of communications Burt Lauten, the game drew a 17.8 household rating — making it the highest rated NFL telecast of the 2016 season.

It was followed by a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX between the Seahawks and Patriots on Sunday Night Football that was also as thrilling as anyone could’ve hoped with seven lead changes and some poetic justice in a down-to-the-wire finish.

That game earned a 14.3 rating, making it the highest-rated Week 10 SNF game in five years and 13 percent higher than the Week 10 SNF game in 2015.

There are plenty of reasons why the ratings have been poor in 2016 and there are long-term concerns that weren’t fixed Sunday. But the brief surge is a reminder that if there’s good football on TV, there is still an audience there to soak it in.

Seahawks-Patriots, Cowboys-Steelers fueled an NFL TV ratings surge in Week 10 - SBNation.com
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
Rumors of the death of the NFL maybe greatly exaggerated..

Seahawks-Patriots, Cowboys-Steelers fueled an NFL TV ratings surge in Week 10


A couple of huge games launched the NFL’s TV ratings back to the stratosphere.

by Adam Stites Nov 14, 2016, 11:55am EST

The decline of TV viewership for the NFL has been a common talking point during the 2016 season, but thrilling games between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys, and the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks proved that there is still an audience for some good football.

The Cowboys and Steelers dueled in a 4:25 p.m. ET game that featured three lead changes in the final two minutes. It was the NFL’s dream come true. Two of the most popular teams with the biggest fanbases battling on a broadcast carried in every market except a few areas on the West Coast, and living up to the hype with arguably the most entertaining game of the year.

According to Steelers director of communications Burt Lauten, the game drew a 17.8 household rating — making it the highest rated NFL telecast of the 2016 season.

It was followed by a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX between the Seahawks and Patriots on Sunday Night Football that was also as thrilling as anyone could’ve hoped with seven lead changes and some poetic justice in a down-to-the-wire finish.

That game earned a 14.3 rating, making it the highest-rated Week 10 SNF game in five years and 13 percent higher than the Week 10 SNF game in 2015.

There are plenty of reasons why the ratings have been poor in 2016 and there are long-term concerns that weren’t fixed Sunday. But the brief surge is a reminder that if there’s good football on TV, there is still an audience there to soak it in.

Seahawks-Patriots, Cowboys-Steelers fueled an NFL TV ratings surge in Week 10 - SBNation.com
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So it could be the election, though it must be noted that the NFL the last two weeks has been fudging the product, changing the commercial placements and such, trying to make it more appealing. Simply the act of the NFL acting like they care might have moved the ball.
 
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