NFL Looks To Extend Season to 18 Games

You've heard about it. It's all around you, loyal NFL fans. The NFL wants to extend the regular season to 18 games. The questions surround this are many, each posing a new side and a new view on the possibility of extending the season. 

1977 marked the last year that a 14-game season was played, so would 2009 mark the last year that a 16-game season was played? The many questions surround this are all making the decision more complicated than it needs to be. 

The NFL proposes to cut two preseason games and, in place, start the season two weeks earlier and make each team play a total of 18 games. That is, each and every member of the starting lineup must be healthy and playing for at least 18 games. 

If playoffs arise and a team just so happens to pull a Giants or Steelers card and play wild card through Super Bowl, they would play 21 games. Twenty-one games in a row.

Besides the fact that the season would be extended, cutting out two of the preseason games would mean that starters would be on the field longer, which then makes questions arise about certain payment methods. Shouldn't the players receive more since they will be starting earlier and playing real games earlier? 

It's a question that many players have become worried about if the season were to be expanded.  

The loss of two weeks during the preseason means that there is a potential that coaches will not get to see their entire team (rookies included) in action before making final cuts. The four-week preseason helps coaches prepare their rosters and minds for the already long 16-game season ahead. 

It's always been speculated that a four-game preseason might be too long, but what about a three-game preseason with a 17-game season? There are so many proposals up in the air, and right now it's unclear whether our favorite teams will be playing 18 games in 2010 or still be on the same page with 16. 

It seems as if the 18-game season may be just a bit too long overall for many players and coaches alike. An extension of two more regular-season games means two more gameplans and two more weeks of preparation while the coaches, players, and fans all standby to see what their team will do in terms of the postseason.

While this proposal has met a great bit of negativity, it has also met its fair share of acceptance. 

A lot of critics believe that the extension will further clarify the playoff picture even more and cut the "boringness" of the preseason in half. It could even potentially gain a stronger audience because of this. 

Yes, they do agree 18 games is long, but in today's game there is so much chaotic play that the addition of two extra games could certainly make it pretty interesting.

So, there you have it. Where do you stand, loyal fans? 

Should the NFL extend the season, or should everything be left the way it is? 

We shall all see come first snap, 2010. The NFL will make the decision and hopefully what they decide will benefit the game and not drag it down a couple rungs. Until then, 12-4 is a great record in my book!

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