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Given the contradictory quotes attributed to Packers' CEO Mark Murphy on Friday, I chose to pretend to be a real journalist and report.
In short, I had Murphy on the phone to clarify his ideas about a potentially longer regular season.
Murphy said he remained opposed to 18 games, a position he's taken several times in the past. He admits, however, that 17 games could be an obvious compromise between 16 and 18 years old. Murphy supports 17 regular season games, primarily as a means of continuing to develop the game internationally, thus guaranteeing each team eight per year. home games, eight real road games and a neutral site game, most of these 16 neutral site games having been played in other countries. However, Murphy was adamant that the pre-season should be reduced to three or even two games (despite the loss of revenue resulting from reducing the total number of pre-season and regular season games from 20 to 19).
We have interpreted Murphy as being in favor of 18 games based on this quote from Darren Rovell of TheActionNetwork.com, in a face-to-face conversation with Murphy: "Another way to do that is maybe to be adding a neutral site an international game and an international for each team, so that we can use it to develop the game. "Murphy said that he had said (or at least meant ) "or" not "and", and that he supported 17 games (with a reduced preseason), not 18 games.
Murphy was opposed to the expansion of the regular season in the past because of the health and safety of the players. I specifically asked him if he thought that progress in player health and safety warranted increased exposure for the regular season. He said that even though the "numbers are down" from 2018 regarding injuries such as concussions, the numbers could increase each year, and he acknowledged based on his own experience in as a player that there is a component of "wear" that is built throughout a football season. Extending the season only adds to that.
Murphy also did not exclude during our conversation the possibility of playing 17 games in the regular season and two passes, which would make the Super Bowl pass the weekend of the day of the President, what the league has coveted since years. However, it is to be feared that networks do not want each team to have two exceptions. (The NFL had a season with two passes in 1993. The league had only 28 teams, four fewer than the current rankings.)
Regarding the idea of a season of 18 games with a maximum of 16 players, Murphy made it clear that he was not in favor of this approach, mainly because he believed that the fans would not like it. He agreed with my assessment of such an approach as "gadget", and he expressed his concern for fans who, for example, have always wanted to see the Packers quarterback play, but not not see him play because they have the misfortune of holding tickets. at one of two games in which Rodgers will not play.
Personally, I like the regular season of 17 games, for several reasons. I do not like 8-8 discs; 9-8 or 8-9 would clearly make the team a loser or a winner for the year. (And yes, I realize that someone might end up 8-8-1.) I also like the idea of 16 neutral site games, especially since this could mean a game at Ann Arbor or a game at Notre Dame or a game at Happy Valley or at an Ohio Stadium match or at another great iconic venue, which of course could be wired for a video-in-time communication real with the league office.
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