They changed the rules of the game to attract non / fringe football fans watering down the quality of the product in the process....those fringe "fans" are getting over playing "fantasy" football and you can only sell so much pink logo gear, all th while they're turning off their core fan base. but yeah, fuck Don Shula too
One thing this thread has overlooked thus far: Too much replay. This idea that every scoring play and every turnover needs to be reviewed automatically make the game drag and drag and drag.... Add to that the complete abandonment of the whole concept that "Irrefutable Evidence" is required to overturn a call--there were what 5 or 7 plays this year where the correct call was made on the field and they got overturned anyway. The other reasons I'll echo include the sloppy play that comes from the lack of contact practices, the rules that make it impossible to play the safety position, and the GUARANTEE that the bigger name QB gets all the flags in his favor in the 4th quarter, especially in prime time. Hell, biggest play of every game anymore is always a long pass interference call.
Yes there's too much replay, yes there's bad rules and ref calls, but IMO those have ZERO to do with rating declines I don't think anybody has stopped watching or is watching less because of it. It's annoying but at the end of the day has no impact. The actual decline, first has to be determined because people streaming legally and illegally aren't being counted. But with those added in, there is a decline and the reasons in general are over-exposure (too many games and sports radio/news coverage) and this year because of the anti-United States protests. I think that the Kaepernick fiasco definitely cost a lot of betrayed viewers who if they didn't tune out completely, instead are watching much less because of how offensive the whole thing was and the league wouldn't defend against it
I can't agree. I still watch all my Jets games, and channel flip through one or two others, but I don't watch 6 or 8 games ever week like I used to, because I all the replay breaks the action up so much I continuously just got up from the couch and found something else to do. I don't personally know anyone who watches football who gives any shits about Kaepernick or the protests one way or another enough to change their viewing habits. Not to say they're not out there, just that I don't know these people. I'm sure it's not ZERO. I do know why I, and my friends and family, are watching less. REPLAY. Stupid Rules. Bad Officiating. So it's not ZERO.
At this point I'd be happy with just ONE super bowl victory over the next 10-15 years. I certainly wouldn't oppose having a team that great, but it just shows how we've all be suffering for so long.
It's the perfect storm really. People are turning off for a number of reasons that are all hitting at the same time allowing for people to blame it on whichever best fits their narrative and the league has plenty of room to spin it publicly while they likely are losing their minds behind the scenes. below I list in particular order ALL the reasons for the decline and suggestions on a quick fix. keep in mind these are not in any particular order. Replays: limit the time of a replay review. If you don't see anything in 2 minutes under the hood then call stands. No more seven minutes to determine ASJ double pumped his fumble going into the end-zone. It also lengthens the game which will be addressed in a later comment. Over complicated rule-book: They need to trim the fat. it's gotten so goddamn particular that even hardcore fans have no idea whats happening half the time when a flag is thrown. Poor/biased officiating: I believe the above two reasons and rule changes fix a majority of the issue with the refs. As for the perceived bias the refs need a league mandated poker face. Some of the actions towards the pats on Sunday do nothing but create the impression the league is fixed. Lack of Parity: Blame for this one falls on the teams themselves and the league. it's the teams job to put a winning product on the field and that blame is squarely on them. The league changing the rules and above mentioned ref bias just make the rich richer. Protecting players like Brady and Manning while making it easier on passing offences has just created a bigger divide. Protests: There are certainly people who have turned off the TV in protest. Some to counter protest Kap and others to protest the behavior of some owners (Jerry Richardson). Of course turning off the tv for most of the reasons on this list is in itself an act of protest against the league. Thursday football/over saturation: Thursday games are horrible and dangerous. The increased number of prime time games, the 9 am London games, spreading out the game times on Sunday so there is literally no break in the action as well as the spread out offseason so it never ends. Eliminate Thursdays and London games. Move the draft to the beginning of April again so fans can have an actual off season, we can't miss you if you never go away. Start times of 1, 4:10 and 8:30 on Sundays and make efforts to quicken game times. give us a slight break between the 1 and 4 oclock games and an actual break to catch our breath before the 8:30 like it used to be only a few years ago. Behavior/discipline: The Ray Rice incident and the way it was handled was a huge mark against the league. 1) come down harder on players 2) streamline your discipline process. Cable cutting: Sunday ticket is expensive and out of market games are rarely on. Give me a reasonably priced package to watch the Jets every week and i'll buy it but until then i'll do what i must and many others are doing the same. Violence: The threat of CTE is no longer a secret, some people won't watch the game for it's brutality and others won't watch because the attempts to eliminate this issue have fundamentally changed the game. They need to think outside the box on this one. Personally i say Nerf the equipment. Instead of turning guys into robocop with bigger and bigger pads look to rugby and make the pads less protective. If players don't feel invincible they might tackle properly and not go for the knock out blow every time.
The officiating isn't any worse than it used to be. But before Hi-Def instant replays fans couldn't see all the missed calls.
