The Case Against an 18 Game NFL Regular Season

The NFL preseason has to be the most overrated month of the entire sports year. Each August, geeks around the country gather together in order to watch two football teams play against each other for roughly seven minutes until the teams' scrubs take the field. Said geeks then argue with one another about which player should be a team's third quarterback and who is a future special teams star. I get paid money to write about the NFL and the New York Giants, and even I don't watch 60 minutes of any preseason game.

You'd probably think that I would welcome an 18 game NFL regular season, eliminating two worthless preseason football games. More meaningful football is a win for every football fan in the country. As a Mets/Indians fan, my football season is done each August. Why not start real football before Labor Day?

Because it's an incredibly stupid, not-thought-out whatsoever idea.

There's a reason NFL fans who think an 18 game football season is simply about adding two games to the schedule are fans and not general managers, coaches, players or football experts. The NFL and team owners will make more money, at the expense of every player in the league. Don't take my word for it. Ask New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, who said "You see what are our old-timers are going through now? Now you add two more regular-season games to the end of the year when your body is already beat up and when the stakes are still high? We have that gladiator persona about ourselves where even though our bodies are hurt we're still going to go out there and bang around those last two games. That can be tough. I've been through seasons where you play 22 games, and you need the whole offseason to get your bearings back because of the pain and suffering you went through. There are a lot of things you can say positive and negative about (an expanded schedule), but I don't see how it's beneficial to the players."

Giants' center Shaun O'Hara on an 18 game NFL season: "I think everybody knows the injury rate in the NFL is 100 percent. There isn't a player who hasn't been injured. It's not a matter of 'if.' It's a matter of 'when.' So if you tell the players that you're going to increase their opportunities for injury, of course, we're all very hesitant to commit to that."

Saying that NFL careers will be shortened by 18 game regular seasons isn't a hypothesis. It's a guarantee. The beginning of the end of a stellar, All-Pro NFL running back's career is usually the RB's 30th birthday. Say goodbye to that once an 18 game NFL season starts. Due to an entire NFL season plus playoff games added onto the running back's career, 30 years of age turns into 28. That's just running backs. Can't wait to see the knees of 300+ pound linemen at the age of 30.

For an 18 game NFL regular season to work, the league must make several significant changes, changes that will upset many a football geek. First, two league-wide bye weeks, one after week six and one after week twelve, must be added to the schedule. This ensures all teams have equal rest during the season and heading into the playoffs, which can help limit injuries. Second, the NFL must incorporate a disabled list for injured players. No more of this IR crap for players hurt after the second game of the season. Just as baseball has 15, 30 and 60 DLs, the NFL could have four, eight and twelve-game disabled lists, allowing players to heal and not lose a season. Third, the league has to expand team rosters to compensate for the inevitable injuries that come with an added two regular season NFL games.

Last, but certainly not least, NFL players will need more money. An unpopular idea among NFL fans, yes, but the players deserve to be compensated for an extra two meaningful games. The owners and the NFL will be raking in extra dough. As should the guys who sacrifice their bodies every Sunday for your enjoyment.

NFL players are already preparing for a lockout and they're publicly voicing their displeasure over an 18 game regular season. Regular season expansion is happening because Stone Cold Goodell said so, but at what price? Health of the players? Unquestionably. If the issues I listed above are not properly dealt with, an extra two worthwhile football games on the schedule could cost the NFL the 2011 football season. Laugh all you want, but the survival of a minor league football association gives many NFL players leverage while bargaining with the league. These players clearly are not budging on important issues.

Nor should they.

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