10 Reasons Why An 18-Game NFL Season Should Not Happen

Have you seen any recent footage of former NFL juggernaut Earl Campbell?

It's tough to watch.  The man who once dominated NFL defenses with his unrelenting, bruising running style can barely walk.  Campbell took such an incredible beating throughout the duration of his NFL career that his body more or less quit on him.  

The former Heisman Trophy winner, who played a modest eight years in the NFL undergoes intense physical therapy to regain complete control of the extremities that once allowed him to dazzle fans and opposing teams alike.

Yet despite Campbell, and the countless legions of retired NFL players who are suffering the long-term effects of competing in the unforgiving sport of football, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, along with the NFL Owners, have proposed and plan to enact an 18-game regular season schedule.

The 18-game schedule features two more regular season games, replacing two Preseason games.  Roger Goodell calls it the "enhanced season," but there's not a whole lot of enhancement to it. 

Ray Lewis summed this whole ordeal up wisely: "We're not automobiles. We're not machines. We're humans."

Slumping Economy

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

DENVER - AUGUST 21: Fans settle into their seat early as the Denver Broncos host the Detroit Lions during preseason NFL action at INVESCO Field at Mile High on August 21, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Roughly 11.5% of the United States population is unemployed, while the rest of the country is scavenging for stability and financial safety.  Yet, in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the NFL has decided to ask its fans to pay for extra games.

It's a slap in the face to the league's blue-collared fan base.

It's a pretentious move that could have some serious, irreversible backlash.

In 2009, the average NFL ticket cost $75, making the average season ticket plan hover around $600. Add in playoffs and two Preseason games, and a plan could easily eclipse $1,000.  But, most have two seats, putting the price upwards of $2,000 plus wildly overpriced parking and food.  It gets expensive.

Simply put, most fans cannot spare that cash right now.  Adding an extra game might not do that much damage, but it comes off as a disrespectful, snarky move, and kind of a middle finger to the fans.  It just might be the tipping point to those season ticket holders on the brink of giving up their seats.

If this were to happen, the NFL would experience a very similar reaction that many of Major League Baseball's biggest teams have encountered.  Because the die hard, blue collared fan is driven out, corporations will buy up the vacant seats, replacing screaming, face-painted fans with Blackberry-crunching suits.  It's a disturbing situation that we can only hope crumbles away.

Player Opposition

Al Bello/Getty Images

FOXBORO, MA - JANUARY 10: Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots is hit by Ray Lewis #52 of the Baltimore Ravens during the 2010 AFC wild-card playoff game at Gillette Stadium on January 10, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Ravens won 3

This is a no-brainer.  It is literally unfathomable that despite the vehement opposition the players of the NFL have shown to the prospect of an 18-game schedule, Roger Goodell insists it will happen anyway.

Goodell, along with the Owners, are completely ignoring the demands of the men who make their product, and the men who sacrifice their bodies and years of their lives so that the Owners can rake in the cash.  

Just a few players who have come publicly voiced their opposition and doubts about season expansion: Tom Brady, Ray Lewis, Carson Palmer, Steve Hutchinson, Troy Polamalu, Brian Dawkins, Matt Hasselbeck, Demarcus Ware, and Jay Cutler.  These are not no-name players, these are superstars of the NFL, these are the faces of the game of football. 

Yet, the NFL higher-ups are not listening.  Everybody is worried about a possible lockout in 2011, but if the season is expanded, that is when a strike should become a real possibility.

Concussions

Again, like players' opposition, this is an absolute no-brainer.  And the fact that the NFL is trying to add games in the midst of rising paranoia over concussions and head trauma is literally unbelievable. 

It is easy for the Owners, most of whom have never strapped on a helmet in their lives, to sit in their luxury suites and watch as their players lose years off their lives subjecting their bodies to incredible trauma over the course of a regular season.  But an 18-game regular season will increase their revenue, and that appears to be all that they are genuinely concerned about.

Trying to add games at a time when the NFL should actually be considering cutting their season to 14 or 15 games sets a horrible precedent, and makes the league look disgustingly greedy.  

More Games = More Teams Resting Players Early

Elsa/Getty Images

INDIANAPOLIS - JANUARY 24: Quarterback Peyton Manning #18 of the Indianapolis Colts under center during the second half against the New York Jets during the AFC Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium on January 24, 2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Colt

One of Roger Goodell's main goals during his young reign as commissioner of the NFL has been to prevent teams who have secured playoff births from resting their players late in the season.  In order to combat this, Goodell has made all Week 16 and 17 games divisional match-ups.

While that will likely force a handful of teams into playing their starters for the duration of the game, it won't be entirely effective.  Teams like the Colts will still have ample time to secure playoff bids before those final two games.

Anyway, adding an extra two games will almost completely thwart Goodell's effort.  Those extra games will only allow teams to secure playoff spots earlier in the season, which in turn will allow them to rest their players even earlier.

Plus, coaches must look out for their players' safety, endurance, and durability.  On any given Sunday game, we would likely see starters pulled once a relatively safe lead was in place.

Diminished Value of Each Game

Win McNamee/Getty Images

LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 26: DeSean Jackson #10 of the Philadelphia Eagles races past Chris Horton #48 of the Washington Redskins to score his second touchdown at FedEx Field October 26, 2009 in Landover, Maryland. The Eagles won the game 27-17. (Photo b

Ask a college football fan why he loves the game so much, and ask any NBA fan which one thing he would change about the sport.

These are the answers you will receive: The college football fan will likely tell you that the magnitude of each game is unparalleled by any sport.  Meanwhile, the NBA fan will likely tell you that the season is just too long.  Players take nights off, and everyone knows who will make the playoffs within the first few months of the season.

By adding games to their regular season schedule, the NFL is losing the do or die mentality of each game, and heading more towards a dragged out season in which all but a few playoff spots are clinched prior to the end of the season. 

With 18 games, teams could lose up to eight or nine games and still make the playoffs.  Plus, the playoff picture could be crystal clear three or four weeks prior to Week 18.

Statistical Milestones Become Easily Achievable

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 29: Chris Johnson #28 of the Tennessee Titans carries the ball during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at LP Field on November 29, 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans defeated the Cardinals 20-17. (Photo by Streeter Le

While the NFL is not a league driven on statistics like Major League Baseball, numbers still play a monumental role in the league's publicity and excitement.

Arguably 2009's biggest story line? Chris Johnson's march to 2,000 yards.  Remember the hysteria over Tom Brady's pursuit of Peyton Manning's single season passing touchdown record, or Michael Strahan's pursuit of the single season sack record?

These story-lines drive the league, they create buzz, and they draw viewers.

But, an 18-game schedule will bring an end to the importance of statistics in the NFL.  

A 1,000 yard rushing season, which currently stands as a relatively prestigious accomplishment, would require a measly 55 rushing yards per game.  In other words, players like Kevin Smith (missed three games) and Jamal Lewis (played in one of league's most lethargic offenses) could have eclipsed the 1,000 yard rushing mark in an 18-game schedule.

Okay, so 1,500 or 2,000 yards becomes the number to strive for, right? Maybe, but single season and career records are still diminished.  An extra two games will allow players a significant amount of time to chip away at career records, and obviously, single season records would be much more attainable.  In short time, most all-time / career record holders would be dethroned by players playing in the 18-game schedule era.

Shorter Careers

This ties directly into the concussion topic we hit earlier.  Those extra two games exponentially increase the chance of major injury, and open up a much larger window for suffering concussions.  

Needless to say, this will amount to shorter careers.  A player like Brett Favre, able to play for so long without major injury, will likely never appear again.  Running backs, linebackers, and linemen will all lose years off of their careers due to the trauma they encounter on virtually every play.

Once again, Ray Lewis puts it best (via Fanhouse.com): "Eighteen games, you got to ask yourself, how many people are truly healthy for 18 games, so you get your true football, will you get your real football? Yeah, you're going to get the real football for whoever's protected, but I think it's a lot of football and I think if fans understood what we actually go through to play in December and January I think a lot of more people would fight with us that, I don't think its knowledgeable to make us play 18 games. It's rough."

Decline In The Quality of Play

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - JANUARY 31: Long snapper Jon Condo #59 of the AFC's Oakland Raiders waits to snap the ball from the line of scrimmage during the 2010 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl game at Sun Life Stadium on January 31, 2010 in Miami Gardens, Florida. The AFC def

Roger Goodell has continually referred to the 18-game schedule proposal as the "enhanced season." But, there's nothing enhanced about it.  In fact, the "enhanced season" would be detrimental to the game as a whole.

An extra two games would ultimately result in a more tentative, cautious style of play.

Players will be aware of the higher risk of injury, and possibly shy away from taking that extra hit to get a first down or make an extra block.  Reserves would play much bigger roles, therefore hampering fantasy football (arguably the league's most important byproduct) as well as the quality of play.

Fan Opposition

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

SEATTLE - AUGUST 21: A fan of the Green Bay Packers cheers during the preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field on August 21, 2010 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

The NFL's number one priority is to please its fans (and to make money).  Fans are the driving force behind the league, and are the foundation to every cent the league rakes in.

Roger Goodell insists that he has felt "overwhelming support" for the "enhanced season," yet those seem to be completely unfounded comments.

In fact, according to an ESPN Sportsnation poll (I know, it's a Sportsnation poll.  I generally don't ever take their results seriously, and I'm actually a big supporter of subjecting all voters to a Sports IQ test. Anyway, it's a very fair, unbiased source for this subject) fans are split 50/50 in favor and opposition of an 18-game regular season.  

Players are against it, and half of its fan base is against, so why won't Goodell and the Owners listen?

Setting a Bad Precedent

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

NEW YORK - APRIL 22: NFL Commissioner Roer Goodell speaks at the podium during the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 22, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

Roger Goodell has made his fair share of unpopular proposals.  Most prominently, he has threatened to hold a Super Bowl overseas, and of course, proposed an 18-game regular season (both of which continue to suggest that Goodell's main goal is a European-based team.)

Anyway, considering all of the subjects we just touched on: concussions, fan support, player opposition, and an economic downturn, this whole thing is making the NFL look really, really slimy.

There seems to be relatively heavy backlash against the enhanced season, yet Goodell insists support is abundant.  And doesn't all of this really just put more money into the owners' pockets?  From this fan's humble point of view, that is what this whole thing appears to amount to, and quite frankly, it's pretty sickening.