Is Roger Goodell Good For the NFL?

[sportscurmudgeon]

Originally Posted by mattyk

i think he made the draft even better. Two thumbs up to prime time drafts.

amen!!!

[celts32]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

I think he made the draft even better. Two thumbs up to prime time drafts.

It's terrible. Draft saturday used to be a holiday for football fans to get together. The prime time format took that away from the diehards in exchange for a couple more casual viewers in primetime.

[MTK]

A couple more viewers? Ratings are significantly higher.

[celts32]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

A couple more viewers? Ratings are significantly higher.

Matt you put anything in primetime and ratings will go up. But that little bit of money earned does not justify taking away the draft saturday from the diehards who actually made it an event in the first place. And actually the first round is the only one that is even in primetime. The Friday schedule is what aggravates me the most! Someone needs to let Roger know that 6PM on Friday is rush hour on the East Coast not primetime! And it is 3PM for the fans on the West Coast.

I understand they want the 1st round in primetime and it's never going back to saturday afternoon. But how about making round #1 8PM on Friday and then have the rest of the draft all day Saturday. That gives the long time draft fans back their draft saturday and gets rid of the STUPID 6PM Friday start time.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by celts32

Matt you put anything in primetime and ratings will go up. But that little bit of money earned does not justify taking away the draft saturday from the diehards who actually made it an event in the first place. And actually the first round is the only one that is even in primetime. The Friday schedule is what aggravates me the most! Someone needs to let Roger know that 6PM on Friday is rush hour on the East Coast not primetime! And it is 3PM for the fans on the West Coast.

I understand they want the 1st round in primetime and it's never going back to saturday afternoon. But how about making round #1 8PM on Friday and then have the rest of the draft all day Saturday. That gives the long time draft fans back their draft saturday and gets rid of the STUPID 6PM Friday start time.

That's partly my fault...and that's all I'm going say about that

[celts32]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

That's partly my fault...and that's all I'm going say about that

Perhaps I owe Roger an apology. I assumed this was the NFL's decision but it sounds like you are telling me that ESPN had a big hand in this. I would love to know the logic behind anything considered to be an event starting at 6PM on a week night. It's absurd...

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by celts32

Perhaps I owe Roger an apology. I assumed this was the NFL's decision but it sounds like you are telling me that ESPN had a big hand in this. I would love to know the logic behind anything considered to be an event starting at 6PM on a week night. It's absurd...

No, I just meant I (we) maybe didn't do enough to stop it. Honestly, not sure we even could have. Moving the draft to Thursday and Friday night was an absolute nightmare for us. I mean the NFL is the big dog. But we had to have a lot of delicate discussions with other leagues with whom there are certain contractual obligations.

Ratings wise and fan reaction wise (with some exceptions, of course), it has worked out well for us. But I can tell you that it was nearly two years of intense discussions and back and forth.

[mlmpetert]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

That's partly my fault...and that's all I'm going say about that

Can ESPN or ABC do anything about moving Sunday night and Monday night games up ealier then. If there are 2 nights in particular each week i really dont like staying up late, its those 2 nights. I mean i get that theres all sorts of recap and analysis programming they can put on before each of those games that are probably big money makers but to try and stay up to 1130 or 12 on a Sunday and Monday night is just too much to ask of some people.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by mlmpetert

Can ESPN or ABC do anything about moving Sunday night and Monday night games up ealier then. If there are 2 nights in particular each week i really dont like staying up late, its those 2 nights. I mean i get that theres all sorts of recap and analysis programming they can put on before each of those games that are probably big money makers but to try and stay up to 1130 or 12 on a Sunday and Monday night is just too much to ask of some people.

We've got nothing to do with Sunday nights, and MNF has moved up. Moved the start time up 5 years ago from 9pm to 8:30pm. Except for the double-header opener where the start time is 7pm

[mooby]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

That's partly my fault...and that's all I'm going say about that

That's a BAD SmootSmack!

[MTK]

Well, you can't keep everyone happy obviously. But overall the new draft has been a big success for the league.

[MTK]

They tried the earlier start for MNF years ago and it was a big fail.

[rbanerjee23]

Goodell has done an okay job that's been punctuated by a lot of really bad decisions -- I remember reading an article about how players really hate goodell and someone remarked that even though Tagliabue wasn't exactly buddy buddy with the players, most people in the league respected him. Not so with Goodell

[sportscurmudgeon]

Originally Posted by rbanerjee23

Goodell has done an okay job that's been punctuated by a lot of really bad decisions -- I remember reading an article about how players really hate goodell and someone remarked that even though Tagliabue wasn't exactly buddy buddy with the players, most people in the league respected him. Not so with Goodell

A lot of really bad decisions? Really?

The players that you asert "really hate him" just signed on to a 10-year agreement leaving him - - or whomever is his successor - - in charge of the league and their punsihments.

The revenues have grown under Goodell from about $8B when he took over to approximately $9.2B (estimated for 2011). That is a 15% increase over a period of time when the economy has not been in great shape.

Whether or not the players "respect" Goodell is irrelevant. If I worked for WalMart and did not respect Sam Walton's descendants, it would not matter even a little bit.

Under his watch, revenues are up and there is a decade of labor peace. Explain to me how either of those things might be "bad for the league".

Then enumerate all of his really bad decisions and tell me how important they are for the NFL when compared to increased revenues and labor peace.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by sportscurmudgeon

A lot of really bad decisions? Really?

The players that you asert "really hate him" just signed on to a 10-year agreement leaving him - - or whomever is his successor - - in charge of the league and their punsihments.

The revenues have grown under Goodell from about $8B when he took over to approximately $9.2B (estimated for 2011). That is a 15% increase over a period of time when the economy has not been in great shape.

Whether or not the players "respect" Goodell is irrelevant. If I worked for WalMart and did not respect Sam Walton's descendants, it would not matter even a little bit.

Under his watch, revenues are up and there is a decade of labor peace. Explain to me how either of those things might be "bad for the league".

Then enumerate all of his really bad decisions and tell me how important they are for the NFL when compared to increased revenues and labor peace.

Fans don't care how much money the league makes. We care about the actual games. Under his watch too many games are being decided by calls. Too many game changing flags are being thrown. Guys are being fined ridiculous amounts of money. In that area he's done a terrible job. Goodell seems obsessed with fining guys and making a collision sport too safe of a sport.