NFL Complaints, Observations, Suggestions

[ericjjyy]

has anyone else besides me given a passing thought to the NFL holding a Super Bowl in a place where fan support is among the strongest, if not the strongest (arguably)--and a place that's a hotbed for football?

I'm talking about Kansas City here.

Well, I'm actually thinking the opposite right now. They should probably have it in a place where football is not very popular. That would help build a fan base in this area possibly and it is not as if there would be a problem selling out the game because people are going to come from all over to get to the game. Being from Detroit, I was excited for the Super Bowl being here a couple of years ago, but what I did not know then was that there are a ton of things for fans to do when the game is in town. I went to several exhibits and spent hours there and I think that the casual fan may enjoy seeing this and become more of a fan of the game.

On a sort of similar note, the Pro Bowl could be in an area where there is no NFL team and no major NCAA team. That way the people that live there could see all of their favorite players when they normally would not. There would be a problem with not having a big enough stadium, and they would probably have to put it somewhere in the south because no NFL player wants to spend an off week freezing his butt off in a small town. However, this would probably have less of a financial impact than not having the game in somewhere that would make the NFL more popular, because honestly who watches the Pro Bowl besides me?

[slapshot]

What I don't like about the NFL...

1. The number of punt and kickoff returns for TDs that are called back because of a penalty. It's so bad that in the rare event of one that might actually stand, the first words out of the announcer's mouths are "no flags on the play!" The number of long plays that are called back because of a penalty. It seems like anything exciting in an NFL game cannot be allowed.

I just noticed this, but figured as a referee I can respond best to this one...

Those penalties do happen, and that's usually the reason a returner can break for the yardage he does. Blockers are very eager to open lanes for the return man, and unlike scrimmage plays where defenders have specific players to cover, everyone on the defense is trying to converge on the return man. Defenders are trying to avoid the blockers, not barrel through them, and when they do, the blockers tend to hold, or hit from behind. These infractions are more likely to happen the more juking the returner has.

It's not just the NFL. I see this in all levels of football I work and watch. The longer a play unfolds, the more likely a hold or block in the back is likely to happen.

[infrared41]

On all the Super Bowl suggestions. I think they should keep the game at warm weather sites. No one wants to got to KC, Minneapolis, or Detroit in February. If you're actually going to drop the extremely large amount of cash it would take to go to a Super Bowl, you should at least get decent weather for your efforts. I really like the idea of simply rotating The Super Bowl through the same 4 or 5 places in the same way they rotate The BCS title game.

Rotate the game among these cities... New Orleans, Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, and Tampa. Maybe toss in Houston, Atlanta, and Dallas. All apologies to my Midwestern brethren but, there is no sane reason to ever hold another Super Bowl anywhere north of Atlanta. We know how much January and February suck. Why on Earth would we want to subject anyone else to it?

[infrared41]

What I don't like about the NFL...

1. The number of punt and kickoff returns for TDs that are called back because of a penalty. It's so bad that in the rare event of one that might actually stand, the first words out of the announcer's mouths are "no flags on the play!" The number of long plays that are called back because of a penalty. It seems like anything exciting in an NFL game cannot be allowed.

I just noticed this, but figured as a referee I can respond best to this one...

Those penalties do happen, and that's usually the reason a returner can break for the yardage he does. Blockers are very eager to open lanes for the return man, and unlike scrimmage plays where defenders have specific players to cover, everyone on the defense is trying to converge on the return man. Defenders are trying to avoid the blockers, not barrel through them, and when they do, the blockers tend to hold, or hit from behind. These infractions are more likely to happen the more juking the returner has.

It's not just the NFL. I see this in all levels of football I work and watch. The longer a play unfolds, the more likely a hold or block in the back is likely to happen.

Sure it happens at all levels. It just happens a whole lot more in The NFL. I'd love to see the percentage of punt and kickoff returns that are called back in the NFL compared to any other level of Football. I'd be willing to bet it's at least 4 to 1.

All I know is that if it happens in a college game, the first words out of the announcer's mouth usually aren't "no flags." In the NFL just about any play over 20 yards will result in an stunned announcer saying "no flags on the play!" NFL officials are flag happy and they have far too much influence over the flow and outcome of a game. That's not a knock against all football officials. It's a knock specifically against NFL officials.

[IceCap]

What I don't like about the NFL...

1. The number of punt and kickoff returns for TDs that are called back because of a penalty. It's so bad that in the rare event of one that might actually stand, the first words out of the announcer's mouths are "no flags on the play!" The number of long plays that are called back because of a penalty. It seems like anything exciting in an NFL game cannot be allowed.

I just noticed this, but figured as a referee I can respond best to this one...

Those penalties do happen, and that's usually the reason a returner can break for the yardage he does. Blockers are very eager to open lanes for the return man, and unlike scrimmage plays where defenders have specific players to cover, everyone on the defense is trying to converge on the return man. Defenders are trying to avoid the blockers, not barrel through them, and when they do, the blockers tend to hold, or hit from behind. These infractions are more likely to happen the more juking the returner has.

It's not just the NFL. I see this in all levels of football I work and watch. The longer a play unfolds, the more likely a hold or block in the back is likely to happen.

I think his point is for the officials to take a more laid back approach to the rule book on kick and punt returns, as long returns simply make for a better game.

[vikmurphy]

i personally think FOX has the most TV timeouts!

[NJTank]

Big Time, Joe Buck is a commercial break every time he speaks Especially when they play the slow downed music when their is an injury.

[rams80]

On all the Super Bowl suggestions. I think they should keep the game at warm weather sites. No one wants to got to KC, Minneapolis, or Detroit in February. If you're actually going to drop the extremely large amount of cash it would take to go to a Super Bowl, you should at least get decent weather for your efforts. I really like the idea of simply rotating The Super Bowl through the same 4 or 5 places in the same way they rotate The BCS title game.

Rotate the game among these cities... New Orleans, Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, and Tampa. Maybe toss in Houston, Atlanta, and Dallas. All apologies to my Midwestern brethren but, there is no sane reason to ever hold another Super Bowl anywhere north of Atlanta. We know how much January and February suck. Why on Earth would we want to subject anyone else to it?

I agree with you, but I still think once a decade the game should be played in a Northern dome or retractable roof stadium. It helps the media build character.

[wdm1219inpenna]

Happy New Year to all and thanks for continuing to reply to this thread.

I love many of the ideas shared here, especially about rotating the Super Bowl in the same 4 or 5 cities. The only reason I hate it when New Orleans hosts it, is because it's an indoor stadium, and it always seems so dark. I also hate when places like Arizona or Houston host it, and close the roof. How hot can it possibly be there in February? If it was raining, I could understand, but heck, they played Super Bowl XLI in the rain. The Super Bowl should ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS be played outdoors.

I saw on NFL network that in 2010, the Pro Bowl will also be played in Miami, and played the week before the Super Bowl. I like it in that there will be some kind of football action, so to speak, the week before the Super Bowl. I dislike it because you have to assume that there will be at least some pro-bowlers from the eventual AFC & NFC Champions named to the game, who will most likely not participate in it, due to fear of injury. That being said, I feel that if the commish wants to make the game more "international", what better venue to do so than the Pro Bowl? Most of the teams would be represented, not just 2, it would be a game that would not affect the regular season at all, it would allow many star players to be featured, and most of the team helmets would be seen too, to help fans overseas learn more about the team names, logos, etc. I felt it was ok to throw that argument in considering this is a sports logos message board.

Overtime: Simply put, while the sudden death element of it has some feel of suspense to it, it stinks that the team who wins the flip and chooses to receive can win while the other team has no chance to touch the ball. The having to score 4 points idea was interesting to me. Ultimately, I'd want it to be fair insofar as both teams being allowed to have the ball at least once on offense each. Consider too, if the first team who has the ball in OT fails to score, and they punt, and the other team fails to score too, then punt back to the first team again, and that team scores, then that team has an unfair advantage again, because they would have had 2 chances to score, while the other team had only 1. I realize this is not baseball, and often both teams do not necessarily have the ball the same number of "turns" throughout a game, so here is my idea for OT in the NFL.

The team that receives first is kicked off to. The clock starts at 00:00 and counts upward until they score. If they score a field goal in 2:43, the other team then must score a field goal within that amount of time to force another overtime period. If the other team fails to score, they'd lose. If the other team scores a touchdown in 2:43 or less, they'd win. This way, the clock still has some effect on the game, and both teams would get to have the ball on offense. Should the first team in ot score a TD on a runback, then the other team would have to do the same, which could make for some thrilling ends to games, endless laterals, etc. It would also require the PAT to be kicked again.

When the 2 point conversion was introduced back in the 1994 season, I loved it. I don't know if it's because many teams I've rooted for got screwed over by it, or because my sister-in-law had a block pool won during Super Bowl XXXIII when Reeves went for 2 instead of the PAT, but I've since come to detest it. To me, the pros should have a different level. If you're down 28-20 late in the 4th quarter, then you need TWO scores to win, not necessarily 1 score to tie. I recognize that I'll be in the vast minority in feeling this way perhaps, but I'd not shed any tears of sorrow if the league did away w/the 2 point conversion.

Also, I miss the old start times the NFL used for playoff games. Didn't they used to play the early games at 12:30pm EST, and the late games at 4:15pm EST? I know this was done more in case the early game went into OT, as no playoff game can end in a tie. I wish they'd keep these start times for the Wild Card weekend, Divisional weekend, and Conference Championship games. And while the Super Bowl starts at about 6:18pm EST, I wish they'd start it at 4pm like they used to, or 1pm if it was in the east. Since I work 6am - 2pm, I cannot get a good night's sleep after the game, and I love to be able to watch post-game talk on ESPN, NFL Network, etc. I miss seeing Super Bowls being played in daylight, it's either already dark when they start, or they play the darn game indoors too much.

Thanks for all your awesome feedback on this post, I enjoy reading what you have to say, and look forward to hearing more from you all, and to see what you think about some of these ideas that I've authored.

Have a safe, happy, healthy 2009 to ALL!!!!!!!

Kindest regards,

Bill