12 replies to this topic

[Wallyhorse]

Since there are those who can't get enough of the NFL season, here are a couple of simple ways it could be extended by two weeks (one in the regular season, one in the postseason):

The first is to simply go back to every team having two "bye" weeks (done only once in 1993), however, since all teams now play at least one Thursday game, it would be set up so one of those weeks occurs prior to the Thursday game for each team, eliminating in most cases the two-games-in-five-days scenario each team currently has at least once during the season.  To avoid having any teams play on three days rest, it could be done where there is no Thursday night game in Week 2.  As part of this, all teams playing on Thanksgiving would not play the week before (unless they are playing in Thursday night NFL Network game that week, with such teams getting their "byes" the week before the NFL Network game).  

Thanksgiving would go from three games to four, with the Lions game moved up to Noon (when it used to kick off years ago), the Cowboys game to 3:45, with there then being two prime-time games, split between NBC and NFL Network. One game would have a 7:35 PM ET kickoff, airing on NBC in the east/NFL Network in the west, the other would kick at 11:05 PM ET and air on NBC in the west/NFL Network in the east.  The Thursday night game the following week would have two teams that played on Thanksgiving, playing that game on normal rest, which would allow for at least one if not two additional weeks of Thursday night football.

The second would borrow a page from soccer and make the conference title a two-game, total aggregate score affair in the following manner:

Game 1 would be played at the site of the lower remaining seeded team.  Regardless of the outcome of this game (even if tied at the end of regulation), there would be no overtime because it would actually be the first half of a two-game playoff and the score would be carried over to the second game.  

Game 2 would be played at the higher remaining seeded team.  The total combined score of this and the first game determines who goes to the Super Bowl.

For example: The Eagles are the lower seed against the Cowboys, and the Eagles are leading after Game 1 of the NFC Championship at the Linc by a score of 31-24. Game 2 would be in Dallas, and the Cowboys would have to win that game by seven points to tie or eight points to win the two-leg championship, as the total combined score of the games would decide who goes to the Super Bowl.

If at the end of game two the total combined score is tied, there would then be a full break similar to halftime followed by a 20-minute, non-sudden death mini-game with two 10-minute halves.  If after the mini-game the score is still tied, the game continues with sudden death rules in play, however, it would be treated the same as the start of a second overtime in the playoffs now with play picking up right where it left off at the end of the mini-game (in other words, if you are tied late in the mini-game but are driving for the winning score, that drive simply continues to start sudden death overtime).

That adds two weeks to the NFL season with only four teams playing one extra game, and that extra game in this case is the first leg of what would now be a two-leg conference title that would add a new dimension to that.

[EagleJoe8]

[djbigf]

the LAST thing i want to do right now is to add two weeks to this abortion of an eagles season.

[Wallyhorse]

Only one week would be regular season (and that would be a bye week before the Thursday night game so teams are not playing that game on three days rest).  The other would be to make the conference championship a two-week, two-game, total aggregate score affair.  I was simply using the Eagles and Cowboys as an example in this case.

djbigf, on 19 November 2012 - 05:06 AM, said:

the LAST thing i want to do right now is to add two weeks to this abortion of an eagles season.

[eglz1]

As long as the players still only play 16 regular season games, would they care if the season were a couple weeks longer?  I would think an extra bye week would be welcome as long as the bye week didn't happen on the 2nd week of the season.

[Westyis2Underrated]

The extra bye week: Really solid idea.  Those Thursday games have been tough on the players.

The extra playoff game: No way.  It takes the excitement from the game and changes it too much fundamentally.

[KzEaglefan86]

I don't know what sounds crazier to me, the idea of a 2 game Championship game or the Eagles making it there.

[Wallyhorse]

Westyis2Underrated, on 19 November 2012 - 03:46 PM, said:

The extra playoff game: No way.  It takes the excitement from the game and changes it too much fundamentally.

The playoffs in Soccer (except for the Championship, played on a neutral field) have always been two-game, total aggregate score affairs with one game at each site.  This adds a week to the conference championships and makes for a new dimension that I think would be very interesting, especially after the first game if there is a surprise.

[EagleJoe8]

Wallyhorse, on 21 November 2012 - 05:48 AM, said:

The playoffs in Soccer (except for the Championship, played on a neutral field) have always been two-game, total aggregate score affairs with one game at each site.  This adds a week to the conference championships and makes for a new dimension that I think would be very interesting, especially after the first game if there is a surprise.

Not sure I'd agree. You get a team possibly starting a game where they're already down 17-20 points, and you're not likely to see the same effort the second time around, especially if the winning team scores early. Sorry Wally, but that is a really bad idea.

[djbigf]

KzEaglefan86, on 20 November 2012 - 10:48 AM, said:

I don't know what sounds crazier to me, the idea of a 2 game Championship game or the Eagles making it there.

just imagine...that would've made the four conference championship games that reid lost 2x as painful.

[SNOORDA]

Add 2 games to the season. Get rid of the thursday games(except thanksgiving and only 2 games not 3 on thanksgiving) and get rid of the bye weeks. The nfl and its players have become soft.

[SNOORDA]

Oh yeah and nfl network shouldn't have games. They should just have the "redzone" or something. No games. And no games in other countries either.

[DFC]

At first I was thinking "who is this wallyhorse knockoff with the blue font"?  Then I looked at the name and realized wally, just changed his font color...