rolling American football death spiral thread

The product only gets worse from here. The farm league has its own intractable problems on that front. The coaching talent pool is as much a part of the problem as the player pool. Appropriately, at least to me, the Pats' dominance is going to be the hallmark of "when football was great." Let them own that.

Are you saying its going to deteriorate as a sport cos less men are going to want to play it in the years to come?

As long as it pays as well as it does I think the talent will continue to be there. As of yet the players quitting or refusing to play are marginal. It's still a ticket to college and a shot at fame & fortune.

i just don't see how we get from here to there.

I doubt that the injury/concussion/domestic abuse problem will drive away the current fans in appreciable numbers. A few, but not enough to hurt revenues. What might do it would be the dilution of talent on the field combined with a scandal that calls into question the legitimacy of game outcomes, such as a gambling scandal where refs or players were shaving points. A double whammy like that wouldn't force football to disappear, but it could cause a considerable defection among fans and demote it from the top spot among US sports fans.

Less children will be allowed to play. Less adults will know how to play. Less players will learn enough to coach well. The sport has already narrowed itself to where the smart play is almost always to pass and the nickel is the standard D, but marquee QBs are almost nonexistent. It's a mess.

Like boxing, there will be a certain point in the near future when players (and coaches) are obviously getting huge paychecks that have nothing to do with the quality or entertainment value of their performance. And like boxing, that's going to be how you know you're a weirdo for caring if you don't have money on the line.

Do you think Archie Manning's grandchildren will play in the NFL? That's my essay question for you.

Tombot otm. With every Duerson and Seau the player pool will shrink a little more.

they should change the game so everybody has laser tag guns and to tackle someone you gotta shoot em on a laser tag sensor on their vest and then they are down

if a horrific child molestation scandal can't knock the penn state football program into total ruin and drive its fans away let alone keep them from continuing to revere their legendary former coach, i don't think people are going care about CTE in the NFL that much.

Im sure the sport must be rife with steroid abuse. Is this something people dont care/ignore/so common no-one gives a shit?

Nobody gives a fuck about PEDs in football. Baseball crucified itself whenever someone gets popped and nfl fans just shrug and assume it's the cost of doing business to stay on the field.

Painkiller abuse is a more serious concern than steroids/HGH, IMO.

If baseball can fall from its heights during the 20th century, then so can football. What might cause that decline won't be easy or pretty, of course.

baseball is a $10b/yr business, so while it is no longer front and center, it's doing okay. also it's been pretty successful selling the nostalgia/experience of attending a game, which i can't see the nfl ever managing

this isn't really an existential threat to the nfl, but imo before long there's going to be a successful lawsuit against the ncaa and big-money college sports for leeching off amateurs, and it will be interesting to see how things shake out

To the Penn State point - sure, in State College and environs, being a diehard is acceptable. Leave town wearing your fan gear and see how that plays.

Redskins fanship is undergoing a similar issue from where I sit

also more and more players are making the news by retiring early due to CTE concerns

The NFL’s “concussion crisis” has taken its next logical step: the “retirement crisis.” On Friday, New York Jets offensive tackle and former Pro Bowler D’Brickashaw Ferguson announced his decision to retire from the NFL at 32 years old. Unlike some players who are forced to hang up their cleats after clinging to every last bit of turf in the hopes of scoring another contract but eventually retire because of debilitating body injuries, Ferguson — like around a dozen other NFL players over the past two years — has retired early without any outstanding injury or body-related issues.
[...]
San Francisco 49er Chris Borland retired at 24 years old in March 2015, saying that he didn’t want to have “any neurological diseases or die younger.” Buffalo Bills linebacker A.J. Tarpley retired at 23 years old on Wednesday, citing concussions and a desire to “preserve my future health” as his reason. Safety Husain Abdullah, 30, retired last month because he wanted a “sound mind” in the next stage of his life. Below the NFL level, 26 college football players have retired over the past three seasons because of concussions, according to Al Jazeera America.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dbrickashaw-ferguson-nfl-early-retirement-no-surprise_us_5707c4d5e4b0c4e26a2273fa

Guys, Will Leitch is right, Luke Wilson is completely unbelievable as Roger Goodell. The NFL has won.

so cam newton got fuckin rekt last night

http://imgur.com/Mn1z9Ld?r

oof. If I went to work and that happened to me all day, pretty sure I'd quit.

broncos are dirty as fuck they all need to be fined and probably suspended since when is head to head legal? bc the qb runs sometimes so anything goes?

oof. If I went to work and that happened to me all day, pretty sure I'd quit.

No amount of money worth a traumatic brain injury imo, period.

http://verysmartbrothas.com/the-nfl-is-sociopathic-and-racist-trash-but-keep-watching-and-just-know-youre-watching-trash/

It's nice that we want to tell these people what's best for them and in some respects we are right. But the fact that not a single NFL'er has retired over this is telling. These people want to play, and even most former players, those who played under much worse safety rules and were paid much less, still say they'd do it again. The issue of parents not letting their kids play is a real concern though, but I'd reckon we won't see the effects of that for 20 years.

― frogbs, Thursday, November 7, 2013 8:36 AM

Not a call out, just noticed this and wondering if the trickle will be a flood. Linked from Tombot's article is this more insiderish article about how the NFL's players are on a whole the youngest they've been in a decade and I would have to assume ever.

ILX's own also did a piece on it:

http://deadspin.com/if-the-nfl-is-worse-now-the-reason-why-is-obvious-1786338046

there have been a lot of dumb takes on kaepernick -- and i haven't been able to bring myself to read david brooks yet -- but trent dilfer's is incredible

the NFL is absolutely the worst place to have a 'national conversation' on this shit.. its ran by a bunch of authoritarians and yes men.

nah, it's the best place. a backup qb is kneeling instead of standing for a song and it's espn's top story

i don't know that it will actually *accomplish* anything apart from highlighting racists, but still

Actually I think it is ESPN's top story because the games suck.

And the games don't just suck because the players are too inexperienced- they're being coached by the likes of the fucking Ryan twins and Jeff Fisher and and and.

it's espn's top story because espn's visitors, like the rest of the web, care more about ~controversy~ than content

see also megan rapinoe making women's soccer a flashpoint, and omg some nyfg receivers zinged a hatcats cornerback, and tim tebow's very existence

Apparently, Colin is not a great football player anymore. Who knew? In 2013, Colin was representing the Nupes well and competing against the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl. In 2016, Colin is representing the Nupes well and competing with J.Cole for the 47th annual Murray’s Pomade Wokest hair award. Now, I’m sure Colin’s play hasn’t been immaculate but there’s no way a man who did this can be one protest away from irrelevancy. But, I don’t blame Colin. I blame the NFL, because it’s trash too, and if it continues on this path, I may have to take a knee.

i'm sure everyone here would agree that kaepernick's play has been erratic but as a philly fan i'm happy to admit that kelly clearly has some weird race problems

http://deadspin.com/nfl-memo-blames-plummeting-tv-ratings-on-presidential-e-1787539401

told u so

Additionally, we are challenged in comparison to the first few weeks of the 2015 and 2014 seasons, which from a ratings perspective were two of the three best starts we have had in the last 10 years. No two seasons are the same when you consider the different matchups, game windows and other factors.

Deadspin, as usual: Roger Goodell: No, It's The Fans Who Are Idiots

Let’s see: The NFL has eroded public trust by its handling of players accused of violence against women, its treatment of players suffering brain injuries during and after their careers, and treating the healthy players on the field as assholes for celebrating touchdowns. In the meantime, their product is currently terrible and they can’t figure out why ratings are way, way down. But it’s the fans who are misunderstanding things.

The Ringer: Is There Too Much Football?

blah blah blah blah link to a better story about baseball: http://awfulannouncing.com/2016/are-we-gonna-talk-about-how-good-baseballs-postseason-ratings-have-been.html

The NFL has blamed its ratings dip on competition with the presidential election. Well, that Jays-Orioles game, hardly the sexiest matchup you’ll ever see, went up against the VP debate and held its own, outdrawing CNN and MSNBC’s coverage while ranking behind FOX News. If cable news is dooming the NFL, shouldn’t it be affecting MLB even more, given that baseball is on every night, continually up against Megyn Kelly and Anderson Cooper? And yet, here we are, with baseball setting viewership records wherever you look.

But back to the Ringer story, so I can spoil the end for you!

Mulvihill said that in this changing world, he’s found himself wondering what the postelection ratings will look like. “The election is over after Week 9,” he said. “We have a gigantic game on Week 10, Dallas-Pittsburgh. Are we going to see the type of number for Dallas-Pittsburgh that we would have expected if this was a normal year?”

No, you won't. Your product sucks and your league is run by assholes from stem to stern.

I, for one, have invested more time in baseball over the last few years. Time that used to be spent on NFL.

ESPN is bleeding subscribers via lag8n on twitter

We're getting FIOS next month and they have a partial a la carte thing going on, but I don't think opting out of all the ESPNs is an option - yet.

http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/nfl-football-moms-kids/

http://www.gq.com/story/the-concussion-diaries-high-school-football-cte

Well that was a great way to start the morning. "Now what?"

feel a little bad for thinking it, but the dad is a piece of work

holy shit, that was brutal

I would be interested to poll who here would let their kids play high school football. There's no way I would allow it.

we have a nerf football i play soft-toss with, with our five year old. i already told him this is the only football i ever want him to play, though he does enjoy running me down and tackling me.

there is another football tbf

...rugby football! lol!

but seriously, give in usa. give in

gripping article btw

I'll let my kids competitive play flag football and that's it

acknowledgement that being able to choose to not let your kids play football is to some degree a privilege

how so

sports can be a "way out" for people from underprivileged communities when american society keeps them out of other fields