10-11-2019, 02:15 PM
The title is pretty self explanatory; I'm losing interest in the NFL. This is as a whole, and has little to nothing to do with the Bengals' current woes. The product, to me, has drastically worsened and has become stale.
I'm really curious to hear from you guys if you feel the same, and if your reasoning mirrors mine. Fwiw, here's a list of reasons and a synopsis explaining my issues.
1.) The rules and officiating. (Big surprise, huh?)
It's just awful. The game has become almost unwatchable. I'm almost surprised when I don't see a flag on any play that is even remotely exciting. I'm left waiting for the flag on every run over 10 yards, every long return, every quarterback hit, etc. The new rules contribute most to my frustration.
I understand they need to keep players safe. I don't understand flagging a defensive player for "driving a QB into the ground" on a clean sack (AKA falling on them). I'm not sure how a player is supposed tobmake these plays, short of hitting the QB and then magically levitating off of him.
I understand not cheap shotting the kicker or punting. I don't understand a guy trying to make a play on a block and barely rolling into the punters foot being flagged. This type of play, along with the previously mentioned, and many others should be based on intent IMHO. Was it malicious, did the guy go out of his way to commit a foul? In many of these cases it seems there's nothing else, short of not making the play, the defender can do.
I understand wanting to get calls right. I don't understand delaying the game for minutes at a time for reviews that should take 30 seconds. It's just too much, and worse is the fact they still don't get it right all the time.
It's 2019. Why do we have an official walking over to a 8in monitor and reviewing it for 5 minutes when you could have a crew upstairs reviewing on 60in screens, with multiple angles? The time it takes the ref to even walk to the monitor and back is too long. If you can't make a decision in under 1min then the play should stand as called. Period.
I'm rambling, moving on...
2.) The players.
A lot of them just aren't that likeable. Take your pick: Antonio Brown, Tyreke Hill, Ritchie Incognito, Richard Sherman, Baker Mayfield....
And maybe this just me aging, and pulling an Abe Simpson and yelling at a cloud, but a lot of these guys just suck as people. And I know the league has always had its share characters but this most recent era just seems so much worse. It's a combination of bad character and obnoxiousness.
Yeah, Michael Irvin and the Cowboys (They even wrote a book about it) weren't saints but they didn't strike me as unlikeable as a lot of what I'm seeing now.
OBJ wearing a 300k watch during a game and then complaining about it... Sherman making up stories about Mayfield... Mayfield in general... Jalen Ramsey missing practice because he's sick, then he's got a bad back... Antonio Brown trying to fight his GM... guys demaning trades... guys dancing on EVERY play. A routine tackle, down 20 points, let's do a little jig.
Maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time rooting for a lot of these guys. They're turds. And the worst part is, the turds get all the coverage. AJ Green and Julio Jones get little coverage on the various shows, yet I get bombarded with Antonio Brown and OBJ discussion.
Want to watch a primetime game? Guess what? Its the Browns and you'll "OBJ" about 75 times. isn't that so cool? Its his initials and he wears Lamborginisvon his wrist, lets say "OBJ" 75 times. Who cares if he's never won squat, is/was a team cancer, his team sucks, and he has the emotional and intitectual maturity of a 10 year old? Yeah, he's a garbage human being but he makes cool one handed catches and has a 3 letter nickname! Let's cover him to death!!!
The Coverage.
This issue is probably more about modern technology (internet, podcasts, programming) and it is self inflicted.
By the time the games finally roll around I'm already almost burnt out. I'm a sports nut so I watch a lot of ESPN and NFL Network. Toss in some youtube vids, a podcast or two, local talk radio, the newspaper, etc... I'm overloaded before the pre-game starts. And don't even get me started on those. I used tonlove the pre-game but now I can't wait to get stale arse Terry Bradshaw , Howie Long and Jimmie Johnson off my screen. "Enough fluff, start the game!"
Again, this is mostly self inflicted but I do think the league is over-covered and has become more entertainment than sport. It seems like overkill to me.
The Patriots
It's been 20 years, guys. Can someone figure out how to stop these guys. Players have come and gone, coaches have come and gone, position groups have gone from elite to below average and eveything in between, Tom Brady is 42. What gives? Can someone figure how to outcoach Belichick?
I'm getting real tired of these ***** being good.
The Champ is Here commercial
You know the one, they just repeat "the champ is here" about a dozen times before some stupid little rap. It airs about 30 times a game. I HATE it. I HATE so, so, much.
So, how about you? Are you losing interest in the product? Why or why not?
I'm really curious to hear from you guys if you feel the same, and if your reasoning mirrors mine. Fwiw, here's a list of reasons and a synopsis explaining my issues.
1.) The rules and officiating. (Big surprise, huh?)
It's just awful. The game has become almost unwatchable. I'm almost surprised when I don't see a flag on any play that is even remotely exciting. I'm left waiting for the flag on every run over 10 yards, every long return, every quarterback hit, etc. The new rules contribute most to my frustration.
I understand they need to keep players safe. I don't understand flagging a defensive player for "driving a QB into the ground" on a clean sack (AKA falling on them). I'm not sure how a player is supposed tobmake these plays, short of hitting the QB and then magically levitating off of him.
I understand not cheap shotting the kicker or punting. I don't understand a guy trying to make a play on a block and barely rolling into the punters foot being flagged. This type of play, along with the previously mentioned, and many others should be based on intent IMHO. Was it malicious, did the guy go out of his way to commit a foul? In many of these cases it seems there's nothing else, short of not making the play, the defender can do.
I understand wanting to get calls right. I don't understand delaying the game for minutes at a time for reviews that should take 30 seconds. It's just too much, and worse is the fact they still don't get it right all the time.
It's 2019. Why do we have an official walking over to a 8in monitor and reviewing it for 5 minutes when you could have a crew upstairs reviewing on 60in screens, with multiple angles? The time it takes the ref to even walk to the monitor and back is too long. If you can't make a decision in under 1min then the play should stand as called. Period.
I'm rambling, moving on...
2.) The players.
A lot of them just aren't that likeable. Take your pick: Antonio Brown, Tyreke Hill, Ritchie Incognito, Richard Sherman, Baker Mayfield....
And maybe this just me aging, and pulling an Abe Simpson and yelling at a cloud, but a lot of these guys just suck as people. And I know the league has always had its share characters but this most recent era just seems so much worse. It's a combination of bad character and obnoxiousness.
Yeah, Michael Irvin and the Cowboys (They even wrote a book about it) weren't saints but they didn't strike me as unlikeable as a lot of what I'm seeing now.
OBJ wearing a 300k watch during a game and then complaining about it... Sherman making up stories about Mayfield... Mayfield in general... Jalen Ramsey missing practice because he's sick, then he's got a bad back... Antonio Brown trying to fight his GM... guys demaning trades... guys dancing on EVERY play. A routine tackle, down 20 points, let's do a little jig.
Maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time rooting for a lot of these guys. They're turds. And the worst part is, the turds get all the coverage. AJ Green and Julio Jones get little coverage on the various shows, yet I get bombarded with Antonio Brown and OBJ discussion.
Want to watch a primetime game? Guess what? Its the Browns and you'll "OBJ" about 75 times. isn't that so cool? Its his initials and he wears Lamborginisvon his wrist, lets say "OBJ" 75 times. Who cares if he's never won squat, is/was a team cancer, his team sucks, and he has the emotional and intitectual maturity of a 10 year old? Yeah, he's a garbage human being but he makes cool one handed catches and has a 3 letter nickname! Let's cover him to death!!!
The Coverage.
This issue is probably more about modern technology (internet, podcasts, programming) and it is self inflicted.
By the time the games finally roll around I'm already almost burnt out. I'm a sports nut so I watch a lot of ESPN and NFL Network. Toss in some youtube vids, a podcast or two, local talk radio, the newspaper, etc... I'm overloaded before the pre-game starts. And don't even get me started on those. I used tonlove the pre-game but now I can't wait to get stale arse Terry Bradshaw , Howie Long and Jimmie Johnson off my screen. "Enough fluff, start the game!"
Again, this is mostly self inflicted but I do think the league is over-covered and has become more entertainment than sport. It seems like overkill to me.
The Patriots
It's been 20 years, guys. Can someone figure out how to stop these guys. Players have come and gone, coaches have come and gone, position groups have gone from elite to below average and eveything in between, Tom Brady is 42. What gives? Can someone figure how to outcoach Belichick?
I'm getting real tired of these ***** being good.
The Champ is Here commercial
You know the one, they just repeat "the champ is here" about a dozen times before some stupid little rap. It airs about 30 times a game. I HATE it. I HATE so, so, much.
So, how about you? Are you losing interest in the product? Why or why not?
