18 Games? Yes Please!

I love football. I miss football. I live on the couch watching football all days on Sunday during the season. If there are plans, my girlfriend knows to not schedule them during Patriots games.

I understand that it's a violent game. People get injured and it's being discovered that there are long term affects from playing the game.

The NFL wants to add 2 more games to the schedule, making it 18 total. As a compromise they'll take away 2 of the preseason games. Right now there are 20 games total and with the new proposal there will still be 20 games total.

Yes, preseason games are not real football games, they're live action try-outs for back-ups, new schemes, new players, etc..

Those opposed to the 18 games keep citing injury and call the NFL hypocrites for on one hand saying they want to promote player safety and on the other hand wanting two more games that would be two more additional times for players to get hurt.

I fail to see where the hypocrisy lies. Why can't the game be made safer and at the same time add a couple more?

Of course it's about money. That's why the owners own the teams and thats why the players play. Money.

The hypocrisy angle makes no sense. If you make the game safer to play, then the risk of injury in the two additional games is lower. There will always be a risk of injury in football, it's a violent game.

That will never change.

But the players CHOOSE to play the game. They understand the risks. They have always understood the risks. But they still choose to play the game. I know what the risk is when I speed or climb up onto the roof and jump into the pool like I did as a kid. But I chose to take those risks, the consequences are on me.

Football players choose to play this very violent game. They know what can happen and they still choose to play. So they know what can happen when they get older. They are choosing to face those risks.

I know what can happen when go on a construction site. I choose to accept those risks.

So I just don't understand the "more injury" angle. So? They take that risk in the 16 games now. Will 2 more really be tempting fate that much? Probably not. Career ending injuries happen off the field all the time (Robert Edwards). I don't see how 2 more games will really cause that many more injuries ESPECIALLY if you end up making the game safer in the first place.

It seems more of a win/win. Players get two additional games of income. Owners get two additional games of income. Fans get two more games to watch.

One of the things that I love about Football over Hockey, Baseball and Basketball is that Football only has the 16 (18) games. Every single game counts. The Red Sox are 1 and 5 right now but it's not panic time just yet, it's a long season. Not in football. In the NFL, 1 and 5 means you're most likely missing the playoffs, your season is essentially over.

Every game counts.

Two more games won't adversely affect that. It would actually make it more interesting, making the middle of the season more intriguing becuase those two extra games means more teams will have a shot at the playoffs for longer.

Players getting worn out? There's a solution for that that would benefit the league and the fans in the long run.

The solution? Add more players.

Have teams make the decision to play their starters for all 18 games or borrow something from baseball and have the back-ups play a couple games mid-season or near the end. Why wouldn't that work?

The benefit? The back-up QB, for example, gets meaningful playing time which lets him develop a bigger body of work and makes him more interesting to team's looking at him as a potential starter. Matt Flynn got a big payday off 2 games performances. What would have happened if he had had more visible playing time?

The players have more players on the field in more meaningful playing time. Now instead of a back-up being a space filler, the back-up would need to play a couple of games and be good enough to really win. That makes them more valuable and means more money for them and the player's union.

This carries over to every position. That means more players in the League.

For the fans? I can't be the only one that isn't a star-watcher. I don't just watch football to see Brady throwing the ball to Welker. I love watching them, but I love watching football more. I'd still watch every game even if it was Ryan Mallett throwing to Donte Stallworth for two or three games.

And from a Fantasy Football standpoint? Things get infinitely more interesting. Now when drafting you have to take into account that players won't play all the games, instead of just byes, and you wouldn't necessarily know when that would be so would have to plan on it. Fantasy just got more interesting and challenging and fun.

I just can't see a negative to going to 18 games.

Fans get more football and more players to watch.
Owners get more football and more income.
Players get more income, more time off (less injury) with others playing meaningful games, and there are more people playing football.

What's the problem?