The NFL is apparently considering going to an 18-game schedule, which would be two games longer than the current 16-game season. (My arithmetic is indomitable….) This is seemingly a reaction to the recent spate of injuries in late preseason games to such players as Atlanta and New York Jets quarterbacks Michael Vick and Chad Pennington. I'm not sure how that would change the possibility of injury, really; it seems to me Vick could have been hurt in the regular season as well. In 1991, the Philadelphia Eagles were picked by some to go to the Super Bowl, until then-QB Randall Cunningham tore his ACL and was lost for the entire season - - in the regular season opener.
Not that I'm against an 18-game schedule, although I'm not all that keen on meaningful football games taking place in mid-August, which would be necessary (unless they push the Super Bowl back to middle or late February, the other option). But if injuries are really that big of a concern, I wonder if an 18-game season might be too much for the players. Football is a violent game, and it takes these guys a long time to recover once the year is over. The current schedule, 17 weeks long (to accommodate for 16 games plus one week off for each team) would probably best be expanded all the way to 20 weeks (18 games, plus two buy weeks - - I think two byes might be necessary). And with the additional games, I'd almost certainly expect the Player's Union to insist on expanding the rosters, and therefore the salary cap as well.
(And apparently people have been tailgating at Ralph Wilson Stadium, in anticipation of today's season opener for the Bills, since Thursday. Wow.)
The personal blog of author Kelly Sedinger, chronicling the adventures of one overalls-clad wanderer.
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