Flipping between the Birds and the Sixers last night

[McCarthy12]

really reinforced how poor the NFL product has become. Between the non-stop flags and all the game stoppages, I found myself watching the last quarter of the Sixers and not wanting to turn it off. I didn't feel like I was missing anything. If I watch the Sixers for 15 minutes maybe I miss 3 plays, 2 flags and 2 TV timeouts.

Never in a million years did I think I would turn off a 5-1 Eagles game and I didn't even realize I had done it until my wife wondered why I was watching the Sixers instead.

The NFL product kind of stinks.

[D Leff]

I couldn't agree more and it went the exact same way for me.

[Diggle]

there is a lot of basketball and only 16 games of football. I go football everytime

[JuTMSY4]

You and maybe 35 people in detroit agree.

[D Leff]

there is a lot of basketball and only 16 games of football. I go football everytime

This is the way I want it to be, but the league makes it really difficult sometimes.

[DEERSPINE GUY]

PRETTY GOOD GAME FROM WHERE I WAS SITTING. YEA THERE WILL BE LAUNDRY ON THE FIELD, LAST NIGHT EARLY CALLS I BELIEVE WERE PAYBACK, BUT IT'S THE BEST FOOTBALL WE'VE SEEN AROUND THESE PARTS IN A LONG, LONG TIME.
ALWAYS FOOTBALL OVER HOOPS FOR ME.

[McCarthy12]

I hear you and that's kind of my point - I watch football over everything. I don't prefer to watch the Sixers over the Eagles. But the game started with 5 penalties and however many stoppages and in my brain I just said "F it." Too much down time with the stoppages and flags after every play.

[Loki]

It was nice seeing Jo-El, second son of Jor-El

working hard to get into the lane this game.
He and Simmons are going to be beasts once Jojo gets into shape and Simmons has more games to figure things out.

[art vandelay]

yeah ridiculous start but i think things were under control after that. the drives that ended with TDs to clement and agholor were both long and uninterrupted. i had a great time watching the game.

idk...i feel like ever since the replacement officials fiasco it's been trendy to knock the NFL as a product. but i don't think the product has really gotten worse over the past 10 or so years. games haven't really gotten longer, and more penalties aren't called. i just think people's attention spans and viewing habits have changed.

[McCarthy12]

I think there is a difference in the product on the field due to how PI is called, etc. There are more commercials too. I could be wrong and maybe it is me, but that's my perception. I look for a flag on every play. Didn't used to do that.

[IronEagle]

I dislike a number of things about the NFL... particularly the officiating.

But the notion that the NFL is collapsing popularity wise is ridiculous.

I saw some link the other day from Matt Drudge's web that claimed the stadiums were empty.

That is BULLSJ*T.

These guys obviously took photos from right after halftime in an attempt to make it seem like nobody goes to NFL games. In order to advance a political agenda.

The Linc was packed last night and I have photos to prove it.

[IronEagle]

yeah ridiculous start but i think things were under control after that. the drives that ended with TDs to clement and agholor were both long and uninterrupted. i had a great time watching the game.

idk...i feel like ever since the replacement officials fiasco it's been trendy to knock the NFL as a product. but i don't think the product has really gotten worse over the past 10 or so years. games haven't really gotten longer, and more penalties aren't called. i just think people's attention spans and viewing habits have changed.

I don't get out of control at a game but I was within yelling distance of the ref and I let him have it. No profanity, though. It was ridiculous early in the game.

[McCarthy12]

I agree. NFL isn't going anywhere. Even if ratings are down, it's still the most popular sport. And, as Diggle mentioned, with only 16 games, every game is must see.

[udontknowme]

I do think that many teams are starting to play in a way that is not as enjoyable to watch, but luckily we as Eagles fans haven't had to deal with that. I'm talking about the saturation of 5 yard dink and dunk offenses to try to minimize turnovers. Funny that KC, a team that led the charge to this boring trend, actually have been very entertaining without a qb change.

[PackWest]

I agree. NFL isn't going anywhere. Even if ratings are down, it's still the most popular sport. And, as Diggle mentioned, with only 16 games, every game is must see.

Ratings are the revenue "canary in the coal mine". There's a bunch of reasons why ratings are down, but most of the league revenue is tied to the 3 hour broadcast and the 78 commercials they run per game.

Any softness there gets a lot of attention, even the whore Jerruh talked about it in terms of how the anthem protests were hurting his bottom line. Ticket and beer sales are puny by comparison. The networks loved the NFL because they could pimp their own line-up for 3 hours. They also loved the huge ad dollars.

As people cut cords and casual fans find the next shiny thing to follow- there are real impacts on revenue. And that's a problem, because we know the 31 owners will do anything to keep those numbers up - including changing the game to increase scoring and protecting their "leading men" with even more rules.

The NFL isn't going away, but they are going to need to adapt as the gravy train (network broadcasts) falters. That's why they are so hell bent on playing in the EU/ Asia. They need more eyeballs