NFL Changes 2015

[Gothamite]

I suspect the NFL finally had enough and had words with them.

[Old School Fool]

I believe it's called the worst surface in the current NFL.

Did you see the Cardinals game last week? That field was horrible. It looked like a Slimer came in and rolled around all over the field while eating chocolate.

[daniel75]

I miss games played on not so good grass, with the dirt and mud and what not.

[ARTnSocal]

I love grass also but being here in Houston and a Texans fan the last several years have brought out quite a few complaints about the playing surface and the roof constantly being closed even on days like Sunday where it fell in between the open zone and they had it closed. Extra money was spent on the retractable roof so the football games could be played "outdoors" and on grass. The only reason a roof was considered was to get money from the rodeo so the stadium could actually happen. It was originally an all open air stadium. The Texans have failed at both. If they do have grass again I see a renovation to where they can do something like Arizona. There is room outside one of the end zones just not sure the price tag would be too great. I hate going to games during a great day and walk into a dark dome. The astrodome was different but nrg should be open most of the time. The crowd noise is loud almost as loud as Kyle field with the dome open or closed. Rant over and overall I'm glad they did this because the field always looks horrible

.

This is the first I heard of this. This seems to be never-ending.

Baltimore, Cincinnati, New England, and now Houston all have newer 21st Century stadiums which opened with natural grass only to switch to artificial surfaces years later.

Who's gonna be next, Pittsburgh, Philly, or another .... I don't know why it is that Washington and Baltimore, only 30 miles apart and both with open air stadiums yet Baltimore switched to field turf.

All the teams in the English Premier League, along with the lower leagues who aren't particularly wealthy all play on natural grass surfaces, and it rains a ton there which causes wear from the player cleats. Same with the soccer leagues throughout Europe, you don't see them playing on artificial surfaces.

[HailGoldPants]

I love grass also but being here in Houston and a Texans fan the last several years have brought out quite a few complaints about the playing surface and the roof constantly being closed even on days like Sunday where it fell in between the open zone and they had it closed. Extra money was spent on the retractable roof so the football games could be played "outdoors" and on grass. The only reason a roof was considered was to get money from the rodeo so the stadium could actually happen. It was originally an all open air stadium. The Texans have failed at both. If they do have grass again I see a renovation to where they can do something like Arizona. There is room outside one of the end zones just not sure the price tag would be too great. I hate going to games during a great day and walk into a dark dome. The astrodome was different but nrg should be open most of the time. The crowd noise is loud almost as loud as Kyle field with the dome open or closed. Rant over and overall I'm glad they did this because the field always looks horrible

.

This is the first I heard of this. This seems to be never-ending.

Baltimore, Cincinnati, New England, and now Houston all have newer 21st Century stadiums which opened with natural grass only to switch to artificial surfaces years later.

Who's gonna be next, Pittsburgh, Philly, or another .... I don't know why it is that Washington and Baltimore, only 30 miles apart and both with open air stadiums yet Baltimore switched to field turf.

I wish Washington would move to field turf. That playoff game a few years ago against the Seahawks featured two blown out knee courtesy of that crummy field.

[The Golden One]

I love grass also but being here in Houston and a Texans fan the last several years have brought out quite a few complaints about the playing surface and the roof constantly being closed even on days like Sunday where it fell in between the open zone and they had it closed. Extra money was spent on the retractable roof so the football games could be played "outdoors" and on grass. The only reason a roof was considered was to get money from the rodeo so the stadium could actually happen. It was originally an all open air stadium. The Texans have failed at both. If they do have grass again I see a renovation to where they can do something like Arizona. There is room outside one of the end zones just not sure the price tag would be too great. I hate going to games during a great day and walk into a dark dome. The astrodome was different but nrg should be open most of the time. The crowd noise is loud almost as loud as Kyle field with the dome open or closed. Rant over and overall I'm glad they did this because the field always looks horrible

.

This is the first I heard of this. This seems to be never-ending.

Baltimore, Cincinnati, New England, and now Houston all have newer 21st Century stadiums which opened with natural grass only to switch to artificial surfaces years later.

Who's gonna be next, Pittsburgh, Philly, or another .... I don't know why it is that Washington and Baltimore, only 30 miles apart and both with open air stadiums yet Baltimore switched to field turf.

All the teams in the English Premier League, along with the lower leagues who aren't particularly wealthy all play on natural grass surfaces, and it rains a ton there which causes wear from the player cleats. Same with the soccer leagues throughout Europe, you don't see them playing on artificial surfaces.

Niners are already considering it. They put astro turf around the edge of the playing field this year. They promised the NFL the Super Bowl would be on grass so thats's why they didnt decide to do it this season.

[WSU151]

I love grass also but being here in Houston and a Texans fan the last several years have brought out quite a few complaints about the playing surface and the roof constantly being closed even on days like Sunday where it fell in between the open zone and they had it closed. Extra money was spent on the retractable roof so the football games could be played "outdoors" and on grass. The only reason a roof was considered was to get money from the rodeo so the stadium could actually happen. It was originally an all open air stadium. The Texans have failed at both. If they do have grass again I see a renovation to where they can do something like Arizona. There is room outside one of the end zones just not sure the price tag would be too great. I hate going to games during a great day and walk into a dark dome. The astrodome was different but nrg should be open most of the time. The crowd noise is loud almost as loud as Kyle field with the dome open or closed. Rant over and overall I'm glad they did this because the field always looks horrible

.

This is the first I heard of this. This seems to be never-ending.

Baltimore, Cincinnati, New England, and now Houston all have newer 21st Century stadiums which opened with natural grass only to switch to artificial surfaces years later.

Who's gonna be next, Pittsburgh, Philly, or another .... I don't know why it is that Washington and Baltimore, only 30 miles apart and both with open air stadiums yet Baltimore switched to field turf.

I wish Washington would move to field turf. That playoff game a few years ago against the Seahawks featured two blown out knee courtesy of that crummy field.

I'm not sure FieldTurf would have saved RGIII's knee.

[ConcreteCharlie]

I thought fieldturf created more injuries. When the field is a perfect piece of plastic the players move crazy fast and theres high speed collisions.

[BBTV]

maybe perfect grass > field turf, but PGH, Phila, WAS, etc don't have even close to perfect grass. I don't want the Eagles to switch only because after growing up with the Vet I really enjoy watching football on natural grass (and it's not my body at risk) but in reality they should all switch.

[Gothamite]

If they can grow natural grass in Northeastern Wisconsin, there's no excuse for any open-air stadium to give up and settle for turf.

[AnPheitseog]

Im watching Iowa right now, and want to know:

Both Nike made jerseys, how can Iowa have the full striping pattern, but the Steelers seem incapable of doing so.

[colinturner95]

Im watching Iowa right now, and want to know:

Both Nike made jerseys, how can Iowa have the full striping pattern, but the Steelers seem incapable of doing so.

Nike swoosh has to be on the sleeves on the Steelers jersey pre NFL rules. Iowa doesn't have that problem.

[DouglasQuaid]

Iowa looks better than the steelers in every way uniform wise. Normal number font and full stripes look great.

[El Scorcho]

Iowa looks like the Steelers should.

Couldn't the Steelers just put the swoosh in the striping somewhere?

[Old School Fool]

Iowa looks like the Steelers should.

Couldn't the Steelers just put the swoosh in the striping somewhere?

I remember the 49ers Montana Throwback had the Reebok logo in the stripes.

[joshey]

Why couldnt they do gold numbers or god forbid- add a white outline to the red numbers!! I dont get the death of the number outlines, so many jerseys would look better with it. Even my giants

[The_Admiral]

If they can grow natural grass in Northeastern Wisconsin, there's no excuse for any open-air stadium to give up and settle for turf.

But Green Bay has the grass that's reinforced with plastic fiber, right? It seems to suit them well. Maybe every outdoor team should use that system.

[Gothamite]

That's correct - every 35th blade is artificial.

But the rest is real grass, and if Lambeau Field can have one of the best surfaces in the NFL, then other teams can have natural turf as well.

[Hat Boy]

But the rest is real grass, and if Lambeau Field can have one of the best surfaces in the NFL, then other teams can have natural turf as well.

What other events go on at Lambeau? The grass at Gillette Stadium was worn from use by the NFL, MLS and whatever concerts played there during the summer. I like the aesthetic of the NFL on natural grass too, but not if it is patchy by week 2 of the season.

[WavePunter]

I don't think most teams and players consider it "settling" for field turf.. As a player in college, I greatly preferred field turf.. It was infinitely better for us specialists since there aren't any dents/divots/etc, and most everyone else preferred it as well.. Now, being in charge of equipment, it's 100% my preference.. No mud, no grass stains, no dirt, no extra hassle.. I know the old school aesthetic and gritty feeling that comes from watching football on grass is more "pure", but I truly believe the majority of people involved in these decisions see field turf as much more of a solution than a problem