10 Ways to Improve the NFL

Thanks to a horrible economy and the great technological advances of broadcasting a game, fewer fans are attending NFL games. 

A game between the 4-1 New Orleans Saints and 3-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa had over 10,000 no shows.  Stadiums across the country have empty seats.  In some cases, ticket prices and personal seat licensees (PSL's) are the major reason. 

For example, the New York Jets had a year's long waiting list for season tickets.  However because of their high prices for PSL's, the Jets have seen that waiting list vanish and they now are consistently advertising the fact they have available tickets. 

Other areas, such as Tampa and Jacksonville, can thank the economy for their attendance woes. 

Nevertheless, the NFL and its owners needs to address this problem if they want to see teams sell out stadiums. They must lower ticket prices and/or offer incentives to convince fans to get off the couch and come see the game in person.

While the NFL certainly doesn't have the economic woes seen in other leagues, like the NBA, this is a growing problem with the league.  On one hand, television ratings are at an all time high, but at the same time, it won't look good to see half empty stadiums on a high-definition TV set. 

1) Put Away The Flags

I commend the NFL's efforts in trying to increase player safety.  There were far too many cheap shots going on to the head, such as Brandon Meriweather's launch on former Baltimore Raven Todd Heap last year. 

However, the efforts to make the game safer are going too far and it's taking away from the quality of the game.

Just last week, Clay Matthews Jr. hit Vikings rookie quarterback Christian Ponder just tenths of a second after he threw a pass.  Matthews hit him in the body with his shoulder, yet was flagged for a personal foul. 

On Monday night, Bernard Pollard of the Ravens leveled Jacksonville Jaguars running back Deji Karim with a clean hit, yet was flagged for a personal foul.

These were just two glaring examples of a league that is calling far too many penalties. This is rightfully frustrating a lot of football fans who love to see a good hard tackle, and now, former players such as John Lynch, are going on record saying they couldn't have played in the league today with how strict the officiating is. 

I'm glad the NFL cares about safety, but there has to be a happy medium between what we used to have, and what we have in the league today.  

Speaking about the officials....

2) We Need Younger Officials

I have never understood this about the NFL.  Players come into the league, but after they reach a certain age, or sustain a number of injuries, they eventually retire either by choice or, more often, involuntarily. 

Yet NFL officials come into the league and seemingly remain until they leave at their choosing.  It's almost like they get the kind of tenure you see in the in the educational system.

As NFL players get taller, stronger and faster, NFL officials look the exact same from 30 years ago.  They're taking more hits during the play, and yet they're not properly padded.  Some officials have been in the league for several decades and are literally old enough to be some of the players grandfathers.

Are we to believe that someone in their 60's can keep up with the speed of today's NFL?  While instant replay being brought back to the league a little over a decade ago has helped correct official's mistakes, it should not be used as a crutch.

It's time the league brings in younger officials and, if need be, pay them more money so new officials will be more inclined to get involved. The league can certainly afford it. 

The league then needs to have a much stricter policy in terms of critiquing the performance of officials, and if they can't keep up with the game, then they need to be cut just as any aging player would be. 

3) Lower Ticket Prices

Thanks to a horrible economy and the great technological advances of broadcasting a game, fewer fans are attending NFL games. 

A game between the 4-1 New Orleans Saints and 3-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa had over 10,000 no shows.  Stadiums across the country have empty seats.  In some cases, ticket prices and personal seat licensees (PSL's) are to blame.

For example, the New York Jets had a years long waiting list for season tickets.  However because of their high prices for PSL's, the Jets have seen that waiting list vanish and they now are consistently having to advertise the fact they have available tickets. 

Other areas such as Tampa and Jacksonville can thank the economy for their attendance woes. 

Nevertheless, the NFL and its owners needs to address this problem if they want to see teams sell out stadiums.  Lower ticket prices and/or offer incentives to convince fans to get off the couch and come see the game in person.

While the NFL certainly doesn't have the economic woes seen in other leagues like the NBA, this is a growing problem with the league.  On one hand, television ratings are at an all time high, but at the same time it won't look good to see half empty stadiums on a high definition T.V. set. 

4) Keep The Vikings In Minnesota

Another issue stemming from the bad economy is taking place in Minnesota.  After we watched the collapse of Mall Of America Field last year, it became abundantly clear the Vikings needed a new home.

The fact is, the roof collapse was just the least of the problems.  It's routinely rated as one of, if not the, worst stadiums to play in, and one of the worst for the fans who are attending.

The problem is Minnesota, like so many other states, is billions of dollars in debt, so it's incredibly difficult to convince Minnesotans that the state should spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a football stadium.

With the lease at Mall Of America Field set to expire, there is a fear the Vikings could move, with the most likely destination being Los Angeles.  Seeing the purple people eaters leave Minnesota would be a huge loss for the NFL.

Though they have not won a Super Bowl, the Vikings have been around since 1961, when they were the 14th team to enter the league. 

There is no clear solution right now, but the NFL needs to do everything in its power to ensure we won't see the L.A. Vikings in the near future. 

5) Get a Team in L.A.

While I may not be a fan of placing the Vikings in Los Angeles, it doesn't mean I'm not in favor of putting a team in the city of angels. 

What is amazing is that many younger NFL fans don't even know that there were two teams in Los Angeles, much less one.  It's true that it didn't work out for both the Rams and Raiders, but the fact remains, Los Angeles is the second biggest market in the country, and a team needs to be placed there.

Will it be difficult to maintain success in L.A.?  Perhaps.  However, there are a number of teams in the NFL struggling to attract fans, and it makes sense for one of them to relocate.  The two most likely options right now are Jacksonville and San Diego, the latter of which can't get a new stadium.

Two other options could be the Vikings or even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who, despite having one of the best fan experiences in football, cannot get fans to what Chris Berman calls, "the new sombrero." 

While no stadium has broken ground yet, it's apparent that the NFL is becoming more and more interested in putting a team in L.A.  It's time, though, that the NFL gets more serious and has a team playing there in the next five years. 

6) Expanded Drug Testing

This seems like a simple one. 

The NFL does have a strict penalty for first-time drug offenders, as they miss upwards of a quarter of the season.  The league should be commended for that, as Major League Baseball, for example, didn't even test for steroids before it got so rampant the sport had no other choice but to test for it. 

What I would like to see the NFL do is continue to be a leader in drug testing and do their best to be the first sport to openly test HGH. 

The league is doing its best to make the sport safer by cutting down on dangerous hits.  They would do be smart to make their drug testing even more strict, as that would help on field as well.  Not to mention it's in the best interest to the players health. 

You need not look further than Shawne Merriman, who was once one of the most feared players in the league.  But he was caught using steroids, suspended and, since then, his body has betrayed him, as he's sustained one injury after the next.

Just this week, he was placed on season-ending injury-reserve due to re-injuring his Achilles tendon.

By enforcing a tougher drug policy, the NFL will make the game safer and will be able to boast that they have the best drug testing policy outside of the International Olympic Committee. 

7) Do NOT Play More Games In England

For some reason, NFL commissioner Rodger Goodell seems to have a fascination with bringing the American version of football to England. Despite the fact they couldn't sell out the Buccaneers and Bears game last week, Goodell is making it known he'd support having a second game in London.

There is even talk that he'd consider placing an NFL franchise in England in the future.

All of this is a mistake!

Though I've been told the game of gridiron (what they call football over there) is gaining some popularity, the success of the NFL does not run through London.  The World Football League was a failure in the 90's, and they can't sell out a game featuring the oldest franchise in the NFL.

I understand the game was played on a day when Manchester United and Manchester City played each other, but the fact is, the NFL doesn't need to be playing multiple games in England.  The players don't favor it and it deprives a group of home fans from attending a home game.

If the NFL wants to expand, they should look into other markets. 

8) Play More Games In Mexico and Canada

While the NFL focuses on expanding the game to another continent, they should instead pay more attention to its neighboring countries.

The NFL played a regular season game in Mexico in 2005 between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals in what was the biggest regular season crowd in NFL history.  Up in the great white north, the Buffalo Bills play one preseason game and one regular season game each year in Toronto.

In fact, the Bills will be hosting the Washington Redskins in Canada this coming Sunday.

For whatever reason, the league hasn't gone back to Mexico nor played other games in other Canadian cities such as Montreal or Vancouver. 

These are the areas the NFL should pay more attention to.  Instead of traveling across the Atlantic to play games, bring more popularity to the game in closer markets.  Don't talk about putting a team in England, consider Toronto or Mexico City. 

I firmly believe this would be a much more successful and popular approach by NFL fans and players alike. 

9) Do Full Time Flex Scheduling All Year On Both Sunday AND Monday Nights

The World Series for the first time in years got better ratings last week than both the Sunday night and Monday night NFL games.

Was it because of the great baseball between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers?  Perhaps. 

But the bigger reason was due to the fact Sunday night featured a 62-7 embarrassment between the the New Orleans Saints and winless Indianapolis Colts.  The Monday game featured what could be described as one of the ugliest games in recent NFL memory between the Baltimore Ravens and the then one-win Jacksonville Jaguars, who won 12-7. 

What this proved was the need for the NFL to start flex scheduling much sooner than Week 10, and it should be made available for the Monday night game too.

If the NFL had made this available last week, we could have seen games between the New York Jets and San Diego Chargers as well as the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions.

To avoid disasters like last weekend, the NFL should start flex scheduling as soon as Week 2. 

10) Allow The Fans To Vote On The Flex Game

This one may be the least likely to happen but one I think would be very popular.  The NFL should allow the fans to voice their opinion on what the flex games should be. 

If the league had two weeks in advance to prepare for this game, it could possibly be done. 

The NFL does a good job selecting their flex games, but allowing the fans to get involved will certainly be a popular decision.  They'd get to voice out their opinions on what they feel are the best and most popular teams, as well as the best rivalries.

One reason the NFL is so popular is that it's known for being very fan friendly.  Continue that tradition by letting them select the two best games of the week.