If I Was Commissioner
by Tuesday Morning Tailback
Special guest post by J.D. Cook
The League seems to be in a constant state of controversy lately. Whether it’s Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson or the recent “deflategate”, we can’t help but think the Tuesday Morning Tailback would be more suited to run the league then those in power at the moment. With that in mind here are some of our solutions to solve some of the leagues current problems.
4 Point Plan to Improve the NFL
1. Zero Tolerance Rules for Substance Abuse or Conduct Unbecoming of a Player
This would include (but not be limited to) child abuse, dog abuse, spousal abuse, shooting self with gun while at a nightclub or even shooting others. Playing in the NFL is above all else a privilege and if you bring shame to the game you don’t belong in it. The same goes for the recent deflate gate situation. If it turns out to be 100% legitimate then someone should be sent from the league in the Patriots organization as this would mark the second time in seven years that the team has been caught trying to cheat. Fines don’t seem to have had any effect on players or organizations and have proven themselves as nothing more than jokes to the players who make millions of dollars.
2. Reduce Pass Interference Penalty to 15 Yards
This maximum penalty should be implemented so as to not unfairly impact a football contest. There are so many times in the NFL season that a controversial pass interference call gives a team a go-ahead touchdown that you’d think the NFL would have already changed this rule. Making it yard penalty instead of a spot penalty insures that teams don’t attempt hail Mary’s at the end of games or half’s in an effort to draw a pass interference penalty in the end zone. 15 yards is still a huge chunk of yardage and no intelligent cornerback would willingly take the penalty and give their opponent a first down with it.
3. Restore the Classic “Sudden Death Overtime”
Or move completely to College Football Overtime rules. One of the reasons the Tuesday Morning Tailback started was in opposition to the change of overtime rules in the NFL This was done quietly without much fuss and no decision has irked me more. Sudden Death is responsible for making the NFL America’s game after the fantastic 1958 championship game and it was unceremoniously taken out back and shot without so much as a goodbye. In its place we’ve been given a half assed overtime that neither pleases football conservatives or those calling for college rules. Appease one group and move on.
4. Restore a Sense of Football being a Blue-Collar Sport
Start by reducing ticket prices so that regular fans can make NFL games more than a once in every five year occurrence. Although there are still some teams that seem to have a blue collar fan base there are teams like, the N.Y. Giants, who have shunned those fans in recent years by hiking up their ticket prices and making football games exclusive celebrity driven affairs. The Blue Collar fans are the ones who actually live and die for NFL teams and they are the ones who should be filling NFL stands in favor of people who only go to games on Sunday for team buffets.
Those are my sure-fire solutions to fix the N.F.L. but we don’t just critique the NFL we also critique the NFL Media, so with that in mind we have some other ideas on how to fix their problems.
2 Point Plan to Improve NFL Media
1. Do Not Create Undeserved Hype for a Team
Just because it has a large fan base and viewership (Dallas Cowboys), over hype can negatively impacted the team itself as well as fans of every other team. It seems like every year the Dallas Cowboys are the team to beat and we’ve really had enough. I’d much rather hear about any of the other 31 teams in the NFL then Dallas on a daily basis. The Cowboys themselves would also probably love to be relived of the constant inflated expectations. They might even prove to be the team the media says they are when they aren’t saying it all season long. Every other team and fan of those teams hears the hype and wants to beat them that much more. Along with that a recent study showed that the Denver Broncos and not the Dallas Cowboys were ‘America’s Team’, or at least their favorite. So why do we keep getting hit on the head with the Dallas Cowboys!?
2. Stop Celebrating the Prima Donna over the Hard Workers in the NFL
Every year it seems like the biggest loudmouths become the talk of the media. While quietly great players are left in the dark. I’d rather hear an inspirational story about someone I don’t know as well then a report on what antics a loud mouth is up to any day of the week. Last year the media made Richard Sherman into a household name because of inflammatory comments rather than his very good play on the field which actually wasn’t very good on the play he received so much praise for.
Ah it’s all going down the toilet. Hire the Tuesday Morning Tailback and maybe we can still manage to save this thing with a football shaped plunger.
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Tuesday Morning Tailback is a weekly article during football season which take a critical look at the NFL. We do this from the base belief that NFL football is the greatest game in the history of mankind, but some recent policies and the overall direction of the league has chipped away at this greatness. Our primary goal is to spark debate on these subjects, so please leave your own opinion on this article in the comment box below.
