NFL 2019/2020

[cinnepa]

only 1 team worth anything now in new york....bills.

[ticketchecker]

Josh Allen is the king of New York

[BmillsSkier]

I can never tell if Browns fans are happy. Are Browns fans ever happy?

The game was boring but Baker played well and OBJ lit things up with that catch plus going 6-161yds 1-TD, 36yds and a TD more than all Jets WRs combined.

I’m happy!

[Timberridge]

The Lake Erie rust belt teams are on fire.

[BmillsSkier]

The Lake Erie rust belt teams are on fire.

Like a walleye-phoenix rising from the depths.

[Timberridge]

Is that Baker Mayfield?

[BmillsSkier]

Is that Baker Mayfield?

Needs a bandana.

And a can of beer.

[Timberridge]

The Eli era is over folks...

[BmillsSkier]

Lots of eras starting and stopping in MetLife Stadium in the last 24 hours.

[neufox47]

Alright there captain obvious. I think a few of us have watched football games before and seen their teams lose close ones. The point is no one knows what is what these days. The NFL tries to change the rules because of blown calls, Tuck rule changed what's a pass and what's a fumble, last year PI allowed for challenges this year, but those changes just make the game more confusing when they aren't even enforced correctly. So we've gone down the rabbit hole and there's no turning back. Let's just review and challenge everything. Impossible to play this physical game when it's up to the ref's to decide how to interpret the new changes. Their job sucks even more now and I'm sure they are confused like everyone else, which is obvious when you watch a game. Now a hard hit legal or not is a flag. And yes fans are entitled without fans the league is nothing so don't see your point there.

Moral of the story is the rules and ref have always played a critical role in the NFL, blown calls have always been a part of the game. It's just becoming so unclear what is what... when they are trying so desperately to make it clear... its just not working.

Referees are better than they’ve ever been. But replay now means people stop to look at the call rather than the game just keep going. Even if they did show a replay they often had poor angles and picture quality. Go watch a game from 40 years ago and try to figure out if a falling catch is a catch or not. With replay, fans demand absolute precision on the calls, which results in nuanced interpretations to lightning quick actions. While I support replay, it’s one of those “this is why we can’t have nice things” thing. Access to replay just ramped up expectations for perfection.

[EWG]

Couldn’t agree more. Why hit the guy who’s wide open when you can go for the guy who’s in double-coverage?

Watch the wide angle. OBJ didn't come back to the ball. If he did it's an easy completion.

[EWG]

Is that Baker Mayfield?

You spelled his name wrong. It's spelled BAKER MAYFIELD!!! Just a technical point...

[Timberridge]

[BmillsSkier]

She seems nice.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

yes fans are entitled without fans the league is nothing so don't see your point there.

I guess you could say that my point was... stop whining?

And are the rules really that hard to figure out? Hard to call in real time? Yes. Hard to understand? No.

[CascadeLuke]

Referees are better than they’ve ever been. But replay now means people stop to look at the call rather than the game just keep going. Even if they did show a replay they often had poor angles and picture quality. Go watch a game from 40 years ago and try to figure out if a falling catch is a catch or not. With replay, fans demand absolute precision on the calls, which results in nuanced interpretations to lightning quick actions. While I support replay, it’s one of those “this is why we can’t have nice things” thing. Access to replay just ramped up expectations for perfection.

I’m with ya

[Timberridge]

Who will end up with more wins in Met Life Stadium this season?
1) Jets
2) Giants
3) Bills

[plugboots]

I’m with ya

OK. So is the viewing experience for the fan better or worse now?

[CascadeLuke]

I’d say yes but haven’t thought about it much. There are some heinous calls happening and precision at the same time.
Take the run back by Saints Cameron Jordan or the Bears Broncos game there wasn’t really tape involved. Ref blew calls. In terms of crossing the goal line and catch inbounds - those rulings are generally agreed to with little debate. Where as I think in ‘80s fan bases could feel robbed and debate without clarity of high definition (and software I assume).

I don’t really agree that the refs are better than they have ever been but the digital tools are. Plus I wonder how many added rules since the by gone era? Seems the job for the ref is more difficult to.
Games back in the day flowed better.

[plugboots]

Games back in the day flowed better.

This.

Because if this, the viewing experience was better then, I believe. It’s different, no doubt, but tennis added technology for the line calls, and it didn’t slow the game up as much. Football added all this technology and they still get calls wrong, and you’re not even allowed to cheer for a play till you know what the call will be.
They’re doing the same thing in soccer with VAR and it sucks.

[Conundrum]

The conspiracy theorist in me says that replay tech has been around longer than they have used it. They just need more reasons to give advertisers more air space to make more money. It really has made watching the televised games lame. If companies are going to buy more ad space, at least they could run different commercials instead of me seeing the same f'ing ad 20 times per game, and then those ads the next game, and the next weekend. I get it...repetition is part of the marketing strategy but it turns me off to the products. Not that I'd be buying those products anyway.

[kungpow]

Roughing the passer calls are out of hand. What the fuck is going on? Can we just put a red jersey on the QB and make this a two hand touch sport... these defenders are going out of their way to try to play by the “rules” and still getting flagged. Fuck it let’s review everything to get it perfect. That’s what the fans want because we are all entitled!

[SkiBall]

Is it that fb is just not as exciting as it used to be or is the product itself making it harder to stay focused during a game? I have a fonder memory of watching fb 30 years ago with occasionally crying foul at some points, but being glued to the tv on Sundays. Now it is getting like the NBA where it seems like there is a penalty on a majority of plays. And just like the NBA, they are grown ass men playing a game making a lot of money(sometimes)...let em play. The ticky tack penalties drive me nuts and I start getting interested in doing other things. The abundance of other penalties added in and I it starts becoming white noise.
Maybe it's just the lack of beer and bong loads like 30 years ago.

[kungpow]

There’s too many penalties, no flow and a bunch of whiney little bitches like me and all the tv commentators and players and fans and coaches... its trash. Yes, let them play a little. But now we’ve gone so far down the rabbit hole it’s just become a joke.

[Self Jupiter]

The flow of the game sucks now. I have a hard time paying attention during the regular season (pats fan). But, unlike the MLB, I could see the NFL addressing its pace of game issues, assuming the majority of fans want them to. Right now the league appears ready to add more replay. I can’t stand it.

This season got off to a poor start with two of the best players in the league retiring at a young age. As of week two, from what I can tell, it feels like a top heavy, 3-4 team league with the rest of the league considering tanking. A few QBs down and players are requesting trades left and right. Wonder how the ratings play out.