The NFL Must Reduce the Number of Games and Camps; Less Is More

This week, the San Diego Chargers’ All-Pro linebacker Shawn Merriman discovered that he has two torn ligaments in his knee that need to be surgically repaired.

Last night in the the first two minutes of its exhibition game with the Arizona Cardinals, the Oakland Raiders lost two starters, Oren O’Neal and Drew Carter. Both will miss the season.

The New York Giants’ All-Pro defensive end Osi Umenyiora was carted off the field with torn knee ligaments in their game with the New York Jets. He’s done for the season.

Jason Taylor, Washington Redsins defensive end, suffered a sprained knee in their loss to the Carolina Panthers.  He will miss a couple games.

This summer more and more players are dropping like flies. Rudi Johnson (hamstring), Peyton Manning (knee), Tom Brady (right foot),Tavaris Jackson (knee), Wes Welker (ribs), Lavernaues Coles (leg), Reggie Brown (hamstring) just to name a few.

And the list goes on and on every week from the opening of training camp in mid-July through the four-game exhibition season and continues right into the lengthy 16-game regular season.

Should the NFL owners consider either shortening the exhibition season or the regular season in order reduce the number of injuries – and not ruin my fantasy football picks?

The answer is a resounding YES.  But as we all know, they won’t. What? Lose all the revenues from ticket sales and TV? It would be easier to wrestle a slab of meat away from a Bengal Tiger than have the owners part with revenue.

In fact, they won’t even let the idea cross their minds unless the NFL Players Association demands it in their next contract negotiation.

But there are some other actions that the owners can take short of reducing the exhibition season and losing revenues.

The first two exhibition games can be limited to rookies, free agents and periphery players. Even though the first unit players see very little action in these two games as it is, a little can be too much when it comes to knees, ankles and hamstrings.

Even practicing for these games can be a detriment to a player’s physical condition and ability to make it through the season. Veteran first unit players should only work in drills with shoulder pads and limited contact for at least the first two weeks.

Or they can eliminate veteran players altogether from the first two weeks of training camp and not require them to report until August. After all, college Fall camps don’t begin until the first week of August, and the teams need to be ready for game action by the end of August.

If they want additional revenues, they can even hold controlled intra-squad scrimmages at their stadiums like some colleges do.

Another thing the owners can do is to require only rookies, free agents and periphery players to attend mini-camps. Veteran attendance should be completely voluntary. This will further cut down on the amount of injuries and save a player for the long grind of the regular season.

A veteran player who keeps himself in shape and works out on his own during the off-season doesn’t need more than two weeks of non-contact drills and two exhibition games to get ready for the regular season. Even less. Look at Michael Strahan and Ladainian Tomlinson last year.

Players also need a little less weightlifting and a litte more stretching. Actually a lot more stretching. I remember watching Jerry Rice workout before a game. That dude did more stretching than either Mr. Iyengar or Mr. Bikram.

A major part of mini-camps and off-season training needs to include stretching or yoga clinics. Weightlifting builds up the muscles but it weakens the ligaments and connective tissue. Balance is the key.

So, let’s hope some good old common sense prevails, especially with players getting bigger, stronger and faster every year.