Marshon Lynch sat durring the National Anthem of his first preseason game yesterday...
In case you need another reason to hate the Raiders...
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And every game since.
Amazingly, the world continues spin.
I thought for sure life on Earth, maybe even the Earth itself, was at its end.
Turns out some people like to make a big deal out of absolutely nothing.
Not unlike people making San Di-Angeles' potential in 2017 appear to be more than it actually was.
Oops.
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Originally posted by captaind View PostMeanwhile the ratings continue to drop. You'd think some people could draw the connection.
In regards to the game itself some people believe the quality of the game has got worse. The limited number of padded practises has hurt the standard of play and hindered the development of players because they don't let the coaches go out there and coach. If players don't practice properly, it is likely the standard will go down and people will be less inclined to attend games or watch games because they see a sub par product. Likewise, there are some that argue that the standard of quarterbacks has gone down and to an extent I can actually see why some people would argue because there are still a lot of teams that struggle with their quarterback position.
Another factor is the watchability has been affected as the league continues to mess around with the rules. The league seems hellbent on eliminating kick offs, yet there are a lot of fans that find/found the return game exciting because you could get a game changing plays. Another issue is that we are currently seeing more flags thrown in the current era because the league favors offense over defense. How many times do we see corner backs, safeties or line backers make a play only to get called for pass interference or for the hit they have just given the receiver? Every game we see it. Last night Aaron Donald bursts through the 49ers O-Line and gets called for roughing the passer when to most fans, players, and announcers it should have been seen as a legitimate tackle.
Granted rule changes occur to protect the players, but when you mess around too much with the rules, and try to protect too much that some of the contest between offense and defense has gone out of the game, then product can decline and become unappealing to some viewers. It is like when I watch football with my Dad. I am 28 year old and he is 60 years old. I watch pretty much every game I can whereas these days he just casually watches the odd game here and there, and sometimes not even a full game because he doesn't see the same game that he loved. When he sees players like Aaron Donald getting called for roughing the passer he doesn't like it and loses interest because he views the game as having gone soft. Now the players aren't soft, rather they are overprotected when compared to other eras and that has resulted in what at times is an uneven contest between offensive and defensive players. As such, it is a distinct possibility that the measures made to protect the players to a greater extent than ever before has seen some fans turn away because they have made too many changes to the product and they are acting with their feet by not attending or watching.
With that said, the NFL still puts up big enough ratings when compared to programming to not be too worried. I don't think anyone really knows whether this decline is temporary or permanent, but as long as they can maintain their current exposure and popularity within the domestic market and continue to grow internationally, then the game is still going to be financially strong going forwards. However, they do need to keep a close eye on ratings and try to make sure they look at ways to put the strongest product possible out there for everyone to see because if they sit on their hands this could become a significant problem five to ten years from now is audiences continue to decline, and at that point, the damage might be too severe to turnaround.
Now something else to consider that is unrelated to the social issues and product is that the NFL, like TV in general, faces competition from other sources for people's viewing time. In the past decade we have seen streaming services grow significantly and offer a legitimate alternative to the traditional ways people watched television. Cable companies have lost customers because viewing habits have changed and people have turned towards cheaper packages and/or streaming services. So it's a different world we live in now with the options we have in how to view the content we desire to watch. Silly example but NCIS has ranked 3rd in live television rankings for their last four seasons despite their ratings have going down each year - 19.77, 18.25, 16.61, 14.63 - so what does that say about the market if a show can lose five million viewers and still rank 3rd in live viewers? It says one of two things: one, people have stopped watching because they no longer want to watch the show; or two, they have found something else to watch live on television. So in a sense it is no wonder that ratings for certain programming falls because we have lots of networks and shows competing for our viewing time, and while the NFL has held strong, it is not a surprise to see a slight decline in ratings because people have found something else to watch or do with their time.
I'll keep it at that before this rant goes on! lol
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Mike i really do appreciate the time and effort you put into your posts. Its nice to have you here at Thepowderblues.com. Always good to have thinkers and those who care enough about debates and discussions to put that sort of effort into their responses.
Cheers man
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Originally posted by captaind View PostMeanwhile the ratings continue to drop. You'd think some people could draw the connection.
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