Pre-Season Is Out Of Whack, NFL Sticks It To The Steelers

As long as there are 4 pre-season games Steelers safety Ryan Clark (25) is right where he should be –  on the side lines as should the other Steelers stars. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Solution to the Pre-season Problems

• Reducing the pre-season by 2 games will reduce serious injuries which can be season changing injuries for some teams. The only negative is that it would take away one pre-season home game payday per team.

• There would be at least 12 days and no more than 16 days in between pre-season games.  16 teams would play in week 1 (Which would include the Hall of Fame Game) and week 3.  The remaining would play in weeks 2 and weeks 4.  The teams would flip flop weeks next season. This way the networks get to still televise games every week and fans still get to see 4 weeks of pre-season football, just 8 less games per week.

• As a compromise add one regular season game (to 17) with stipulations.

• With the addition of one regular season game a second bye week is added.

• Increase the game day roster to all 53 players or at least 50. I just don’t understand the reasoning why only 45 dress every game? How is limiting your game day roster to 45 make the game safer? It only forces injured players to play injured. But that is Goodell for you, his actions often not matching his words.

NFL Sticks It to the Steelers This Pre-Season

Any surprise here? Goodell the Commissioner of the NFL who is supposedly all about safety with his rules that change the way the game is played for injury purposes approves a pre-season schedule where the Steelers play 3 games in 11 days. The pre-season which starts at the end of July and ends when all of the final cuts are made a day or two after the last pre-season game at the end of August is about 35 days long. Yet the Steelers are playing 3 games in 11 days? Why?  It’s ridiculous.

The Steelers played in Washington Monday night, Tuesday was a mandatory off day and they have to play again tonight (Sat.) which is always considered the game that the starters play into the third quarter. Then they have to repeat the same cycle, plus throw in a travel day to play an away game Thursday night. My changes to the pre-season would avoid this ridiculous type of pre-season schedule. How does such a quick turnaround help the player’s injuries? How does that help anyone trying to make the Steelers roster with such little recovery time? How does this help the Steelers coaches in their personnel decisions?

It Is Always About the Money

Don’t listen to what Goodell says, watch we he does. Courtesy bing images.

Goodell has implemented drastic rule changes for player safety: can’t hit high, can’t hit low, can’t lower your helmet, discouraging kick off returns among others. All of these changes have made the game much different and difficult for the players to play than it ever was.  Goodell would rather change the way the game is played- and has, but won’t give up one pre-season home game payday for the owners – unless – compensated back with more regular season games. Despite all of these rule changes players are changing the way they play and injuring other players and themselves in different ways. But obvious things like shortening the pre-season is something the Commissioner won’t do unless regular season games are added. Quite a contradiction. Goodell must figure that if he can strip away the game as we know it to where it almost becomes like flag football, then adding 2 more regular season games really won’t be an issue as far as causing any more harm. Goodell knows that 2 less pre-season games will definitely – not – cause any more harm physical harm to the players but yet he won’t make or be a proponent for that change. But that is because Goodell knows 2 less pre-season games cause physical harm to the owners’ bank accounts and thus his bank accounts.