This article rings true for me-This new age of parity is a little boring

[Scott Dierking]

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-giants/post/_/id/31913/nfc-east-is-a-sign-of-nfl-going-south

 

Yes, technically, the New York Giants remain alive in the NFC East race. But in 2013, all that means is that they haven't folded the franchise. In few cases throughout history would a team three games under .500 with seven to play -- and 1.5 games back of two teams against which it's a combined 1-2 -- have legitimate cause for hope. But in this year's NFC East, everyone gets to hope because no one's any good and the rules say someone has to win it. 

For fans of the division's teams, this is fine. If you root for the Giants (3-6) or the Redskins (3-6) or the Eagles (5-5) or the Cowboys (5-5), and you care about nothing but your own team's results, it's great. Just get into the playoffs and anything can happen. Who cares that you were 9-7 or 8-8 or even 7-9, as the NFC West champion Seahawks were in 2010. If you get in, you have a shot, and that's all that matters. 

But when you step back and examine the NFL as a whole, the NFC East represents pretty much everything that's wrong with the league in 2013. And it is nothing about which to feel proud, excited or encouraged. 

 

[+] Enlarge

Chris Faytok/The Star-Ledger via USA Today SportsNeither offense produced a touchdown when the Giants and Eagles met on Oct. 27.

Creeping mediocrity is one of the NFL's great unacknowledged problems. The league has assigned it a more innocuous word, "parity," and people have bought into it because people buy everything the NFL sells. "Parity" in NFL parlance means everyone has a chance. Someone who finished in last place last year will finish in first this year. Four or five new teams make the 12-team playoff field every season. Round and round it goes, and it's supposedly exciting because you never know what might happen. 

The problem is that, rather than push its players and teams toward greatness, this concept draws too many of them gravitationally toward a mediocre middle ground, where poorly played games between backup quarterbacks too often end up too significant. George Will wrote that "Sports serve society by providing vivid examples of excellence." But in this regard, the NFL increasingly fails. 

The last three Super Bowl champions have had regular-season records of 10-6, 9-7 and 10-6. The middle one is of course the 2011 Giants, who were 7-7 on Christmas Eve morning and went on a six-game winning streak to claim the title. The only team ever to win a full-season NFC East with fewer than 10 victories, the only team ever to win the Super Bowl with so few, the only team ever to be crowned champion after allowing more than 400 points in a season, those Giants are the toothless grin on the face of an emerging and upsetting core NFL principle: 

You don't have to be all that good to be a champion. 

If you like the NFL and want it to be the best it can be, this should concern you. And so should the extent to which its teams and players have embraced it. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is constantly pointing to his team's 8-8 records the past two years, then to the records of those years' Super Bowl champs, and making the point that the Cowboys don't have to improve by much to be title contenders. Slightly above average has become a legitimate goal for one of the league's marquee franchises, and the Cowboys are not the only one. 

SportsNation: The NFC East race

With the Eagles winning and the Cowboys losing, there's a tie atop the NFC East. Which team will win the division? Vote! »

"For us, a good season doesn't necessarily equate to 12 or 13 wins," Giants defensive end Justin Tucktold me in August, after a training camp practice. "For us, a good season is clicking the last three games of the season and squeaking into the playoffs. That's how I want to be. I really do. I'm more confident that way. I remember being 12-4 and beating the crap out of everybody [in 2008] and losing in the first round of the playoffs." 

The sad part is that he's right. There's no reward for working hard to excel for the four months of the regular season. No compelling reason to be your absolute best for 16 games. You don't have to be. You can have a good month-and-a-half and get a Lombardi Trophy for it. Never mind what the fans are paying for tickets and parking, or what the networks are paying to put your games on TV. Don't sweat it. Lose the first six games of your season, and in today's NFL, you can still be in the race. 

There are a lot of factors contributing to this. The salary cap, of course. The reductions in offseason practice time. The fact that at least one of the very best players in the league suffers a significant injury every week that keeps him off the field for an extended period of time. It might be that sustained excellence over a period of 16 weeks is, in fact, unattainable because of the grueling nature of the sport. It might be unavoidable. But that doesn't make it OK that there are so many unwatchable games between so many below-average teams every single Sunday. 

Call me curmudgeon, but I assure you that I take no joy in any of this. Like Mr. Will, I watch sports hoping to see something great. I come away disappointed when I believe I've seen something average or worse, as I did Sunday at MetLife Stadium, and after pretty much every game I have covered this season. I have no favorite team, so I find no joy in the fact that someone won or lost a terrible game. I see only the terrible game, and wish it had been better. 

The NFL has greatness in it, and when its great players are doing great things in games against each other that carry high stakes, it's a beautiful thing to watch. I rather like the NFL when it's at its best, and I'd like to see it more. The problem is, the trend is toward less, the movement toward the muddy middle. And the 2013 NFC East is the heinous epicenter of that movement. Someone will win it, sure. But it won't be a good team. And it won't be anything of which the NFL should be proud.

[faba]

Giants suck- salary cap makes for parity

[Irish Jet]

Ridiculous article.

 

Any sport that goes to a single game knockout stage, is going to have upsets and see teams overachieve, it still takes an incredible run of games for an NFL team to win the Superbowl. 4 wins against the league's elite is pretty impressive regardless. It's far better than the NBA's retarded system where pretty much all but 3 or so teams go to the playoffs to die. 

 

There are so many things I have an issue with in the current NFL, this wouldn't even make the list. 

[Scott Dierking]

Ridiculous article.

 

Any sport that goes to a single game knockout stage, is going to have upsets and see teams overachieve, it still takes an incredible run of games for an NFL team to win the Superbowl. 4 wins against the league's elite is pretty impressive regardless. It's far better than the NBA's retarded system where pretty much all but 3 or so teams go to the playoffs to die. 

 

There are so many things I have an issue with in the current NFL, this wouldn't even make the list. 

All you have to do is get hot at the end of the year, based on a mediocre record. Never used to be that way.

 

You could usually count on the best teams making it deep in the playoffs, and they would have earned being there based on season long excellence. Not always, but usually.

 

Not any more.

[The Crusher]

Eventually be just like basketball.  Not worth turning on until the playoffs.

[Stonehands]

In this age of "parity" it sure seems like the same teams end up making Super Bowl runs each year.

[Jetsfan80]

All you have to do is get hot at the end of the year, based on a mediocre record. Never used to be that way.

 

You could usually count on the best teams making it deep in the playoffs, and they would have earned being there based on season long excellence. Not always, but usually.

 

Not any more.

 

Meh, still not worth getting upset over.  It's not as if the game has suffered.  There are still players that are doing things every week we haven't seen before.  Calvin Johnson catching passes over 3 people over and over again.  Peyton Manning throwing 10 yard completions little at a time on his way to 4 TD games on the regular.  Nose tackle Geno Atkins doing this (see first highlight of video, with our own Willie Colon the unfortunate victim...it's one of the most impressive things I'd ever seen on a football field):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byIck3p5vVE

 

 

From an entertainment value the game is fine.  And I imagine that homefield advantage will mean a great deal this year.  Beating the Saints in the dome is going to be very difficult if they get homefield.  And the aforementioned Peyton seems like a man on a mission.

[Scott Dierking]

In this age of "parity" it sure seems like the same teams end up making Super Bowl runs each year.

Actually, there has not been a repeat winner since the Patriots (9 years ago). That is the longest stretch in the SB era, without a repeat winner.

[T0mShane]

Given that we're about to watch a horrid Monday Night game, this article is well-timed. I miss the days of the great Cowboys, Niners, Giants teams. Watching alleged contenders go out there every week with rookie street free agent agent types at RT, OLB, S, WR, etc, etc is pathetic. Goodell better find a fix quick before the gambling public turns back to dumping their disposable income into college sports

[Scott Dierking]

Given that we're about to watch a horrid Monday Night game, this article is well-timed. I miss the days of the great Cowboys, Niners, Giants teams. Watching alleged contenders go out there every week with rookie street free agent agent types at RT, OLB, S, WR, etc, etc is pathetic. Goodell better find a fix quick before the gambling public turns back to dumping their disposable income into college sports

Fantasy football and degenerate gamblers are propping this sport up. Probably will for a while.

[faba]

Given that we're about to watch a horrid Monday Night game, this article is well-timed. I miss the days of the great Cowboys, Niners, Giants teams. Watching alleged contenders go out there every week with rookie street free agent agent types at RT, OLB, S, WR, etc, etc is pathetic. Goodell better find a fix quick before the gambling public turns back to dumping their disposable income into college sports

Never going to happen pro football is big business and will always rule

[pedro55]

Eventually be just like basketball.  Not worth turning on until the playoffs.

Basketball is pretty much a boring sport because you always know who is going to win.    Now its the Heat.    Will they be challenged?  Probably, but the NBA has had very few teams win compared to any other sport.     lakers, Celtics, Bulls, & Spurs have essentially won every title since the 80s.   Throw in the Heat & Pistons  and you really have covered almost every winner besides the Rockets during the Jordan retirement years.       

 

 That's boring as crap to know that no matter what era, the same teams always seem to win decade after decade.

[pedro55]

Meh, still not worth getting upset over.  It's not as if the game has suffered.  There are still players that are doing things every week we haven't seen before.  Calvin Johnson catching passes over 3 people over and over again.  Peyton Manning throwing 10 yard completions little at a time on his way to 4 TD games on the regular.  Nose tackle Geno Atkins doing this (see first highlight of video, with our own Willie Colon the unfortunate victim...it's one of the most impressive things I'd ever seen on a football field):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byIck3p5vVE

 

 

From an entertainment value the game is fine.  And I imagine that homefield advantage will mean a great deal this year.  Beating the Saints in the dome is going to be very difficult if they get homefield.  And the aforementioned Peyton seems like a man on a mission.

 

 

  Honestly I think the NFL has started to become less interesting. It's part parity, part idiot players, and part rule changes.  

   I was flipping through redzone yesterday and I went to 4 different games and every single one had some weak roughing the passer, some other tackle, etc.    4 different games and four 15+ yard penalties.      Can't tackle low, can't tackle high, can't really look at a QB or you'll get penalized.        

 

 I get the issue with head injuries and things needing to be changed, but at some point they should just make it flag football.   Every week I"m watching games and it's like, WTF was that penalty.  I'm sure defensive players are far more pissed off than I am.    When you have guys like Cam Newton running around as QB and you can't tackle him low or high or lead with this or that and have to move out of the way if he slides and so on,  it might as well be flag football.

[Maxman]

Given that we're about to watch a horrid Monday Night game, this article is well-timed. I miss the days of the great Cowboys, Niners, Giants teams. Watching alleged contenders go out there every week with rookie street free agent agent types at RT, OLB, S, WR, etc, etc is pathetic. Goodell better find a fix quick before the gambling public turns back to dumping their disposable income into college sports

 

Why would Goodell care about gamblers?  People will still watch the NFL and pay to go to the games.

[Scott Dierking]

Why would Goodell care about gamblers?  People will still watch the NFL and pay to go to the games.

Not as many are paying to watch the games live.

 

Of course the NFL cares about the wink, wink, gambling. It makes the sport relevant to an audience who very well may not otherwise be interested.

[Jettington]

learn to love the parity, this could be the NBA where the only teams that win or go deep in the playoffs are the ones with superstars.

[Scott Dierking]

learn to love the parity, this could be the NBA where the only teams that win or go deep in the playoffs are the ones with superstars.

Actually , when the NFL had dynasties, it was some of the more watchable football. That, of course is a subjective opinion.

[faba]

Don't you want to see most teams having a chance to win-instead of one or two teams always winning

[Jettington]

Actually , when the NFL had dynasties, it was some of the more watchable football. That, of course is a subjective opinion.

 

But I bet it sucked if you were a fan of a team that never contended. The Jets should be one of the most boring teams in the league, lack luster offense, all about defense, but these games besides the blowouts have been really exciting in my opinion.

[Scott Dierking]

But I bet it sucked if you were a fan of a team that never contended. The Jets should be one of the most boring teams in the league, lack luster offense, all about defense, but these games besides the blowouts have been really exciting in my opinion.

Um, I am a Jet fan, so I am sitting in the same seat I was today, as I was in the 70's and 80's.

 

I understand Free agency, and the sport had to evolve in that area. But the combination of the new CBA (limited practices, a flattened cap,) have watered down the sport in my opinion.

[Scott Dierking]

Don't you want to see most teams having a chance to win-instead of one or two teams always winning

As much as I hate the Yankees, they are good for the sport of baseball, and the sport thrives when the Yankees are near the top

[Il Mostro]

Eventually be just like basketball.  Not worth turning on until the playoffs.

 

 

Better yet, be like Hockey -- making last minute trades to acquire players just for the playoffs.

[The Crusher]

Better yet, be like Hockey -- making last minute trades to acquire players just for the playoffs.

 

 

Coming soon.

[Larz]

yeah, lets let jerry jones buy rings

 

lol

[T0mShane]

Never going to happen pro football is big business and will always rule

If the league alienates the gambler by asking them to bet on 30 sh*tty teams, and millions of dollars change hands when a scrub RG (who is only playing because the team couldn't afford a decent vet) gets his QB killed, they're going to lose a pretty significant market share. Gamblers are a very highly sought-after demographic for advertisers, as well as the league.

[Bugg]

Ridiculous article.

 

Any sport that goes to a single game knockout stage, is going to have upsets and see teams overachieve, it still takes an incredible run of games for an NFL team to win the Superbowl. 4 wins against the league's elite is pretty impressive regardless. It's far better than the NBA's retarded system where pretty much all but 3 or so teams go to the playoffs to die. 

 

There are so many things I have an issue with in the current NFL, this wouldn't even make the list.

It has happened quite often that 1 and 2 seeds lose in the playoffs. Everyone knows the rules of the format going in. You still have to win the games in January in order to get into and win the Super Bowl.What the author is really complaining about is team rise and fall every year and dynasties are a thing of the past. That's a function of the cap.

[Bugg]

Why would Goodell care about gamblers?  People will still watch the NFL and pay to go to the games.

The only reason for detailed injury reports is for gamblers. Recall at various times the Pats and Broncos were fined for failing to comply with injury reporting. In 2011 it's estimated that roughly $1.34 billion was wagered legally in Nevada alone, another $380 billion offshore and illegally.Forbes estimates fantasy football by itself is a $70 billion industry.When you go further who knows how much changes hands in weekly, playoff and Super Bowl pools.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/06/nfl-s-shadow-economy-of-gambling-and-fantasy-football-is-a-multibillion-dollar-business.html

[JiFtheOracle]

I started a thread about this before.  It is in NFC and it isnt in the AFC.  Only the Steelers, Pats, Jets, Colts and Ravens have been to the AFC Championship game in the last decade.  Since 2000, the Pats have been to the Super Bowl 5 times, Steelers 3, Colts 2, Ravens 2.  The NFC is different, the Giants have been 3 times...but they are the only NFC team to have won multiple conference championships. 

[Maxman]

Not as many are paying to watch the games live.

 

Of course the NFL cares about the wink, wink, gambling. It makes the sport relevant to an audience who very well may not otherwise be interested.

 

No doubt, the gambles help the game.  But Tom's theory isn't true.  Parity isn't going to have gamblers leave.  The lines balance that out each week.  It isn't like having powerhouses helps the gamblers.

[Sperm Edwards]

It has happened quite often that 1 and 2 seeds lose in the playoffs. Everyone knows the rules of the format going in. You still have to win the games in January in order to get into and win the Super Bowl.What the author is really complaining about is team rise and fall every year and dynasties are a thing of the past. That's a function of the cap.

+1

Same # of good players. They're just not all concentrated on a few teams. They then look even better than they are due to many games over their careers against perennial doormats who never have anyone good.

We're those Bills teams, that went to the SB every year, really that good or were they just pretty good but had the Jets and Colts and Pats in their division. Was it great football when the Giants won that SB with their backup QB because of a missed FG? How many games were decided due to bad calls where those dominant teams got their Jordan calls time and time again with no instant replay?

There is so much technology also that subtle nuances get discovered FAR more easily. There are so many guys now that are so big and so fast and play with durable battle armor that's light as a feather.

But let's go back to the glory days when the Steelers were the best at juicing and Tampa was uncompetitive for like 18 out of 20 years (and only so-so good on the other 2). Same with the Cardinals Lions and post-Wyche Bengals and others who annually served to do little other than make others look great.

[Il Mostro]

From an entertainment standpoint, I loved the great teams of the 70's, 80's and 90's.  You knew who the powerhouses were and who were close and had a shot at offing them.  And, there were the generally futile teams who had a real sense of their place.  An upset was really and truly a real upset in those days, and a win or two was enough to keep their fans unrealistically optimistic.  There was order in my world.  Then, before this period, there was the joy of the AFL -- pre-merger.  The very best of times.

[JoeKlecko]

If the league alienates the gambler by asking them to bet on 30 sh*tty teams, and millions of dollars change hands when a scrub RG (who is only playing because the team couldn't afford a decent vet) gets his QB killed, they're going to lose a pretty significant market share. Gamblers are a very highly sought-after demographic for advertisers, as well as the league.

 

 

 

I'll bet that the league could survive without gamblers.   

[SenorGato]

Parity sucks a dick and it's going to ruin baseball like it's ruined football. **** you, NFL! 

[Irish Jet]

Um, I am a Jet fan, so I am sitting in the same seat I was today, as I was in the 70's and 80's.

 

I understand Free agency, and the sport had to evolve in that area. But the combination of the new CBA (limited practices, a flattened cap,) have watered down the sport in my opinion.

 

The sport is most certainly watered down, I’ve only been watching for about 10 years and the changes have all but ruined it for me. The horrendous rule changes which have pretty much seen it become a different sport. My irks with today’s NFL – It’s far, far too passing oriented. Big plays have lost their significance, they’re seemingly the norm rather than the highlight they used to be. It used to be 3 or 4 special QB’s which would put up good numbers consistently and great numbers occasionally, now you have about 10-12 decent QB’s doing that same thing while the likes of Manning and Brees can simply take the piss. The DB’s can’t touch WR’s anymore (the rule I have the major gripe with as there’s no safety issue there), the QB’s are untouchable (some more than others) and WR’s can run free all over the field without the fear of being headhunted. It’s simply far too easy to be a QB these days, I laugh when people say that the QB’s are coming out of college “pro-ready” these days, they’re not, the NFL just isn’t as brutal on rookie’s, it can’t be.

 

As for the parity, I don’t see how people can complain. It is what it is and if anything it is good for the league. Having teams with a financial advantage having a monopoly over the league is not a road you want to go down. The current system works, it’s entertaining and unpredictable – Much better than any other US sport equivalent. People are complaining about only having to tune in for the playoffs, which is ridiculous – If anything it makes every single game that much more significant, because teams aren’t finished until they’re mathematically finished. The Baseball/Basketball regular season is an absolute farce, just gives the players something to do to pass the f*cking time. 

[Scott Dierking]

The sport is most certainly watered down, I’ve only been watching for about 10 years and the changes have all but ruined it for me. The horrendous rule changes which have pretty much seen it become a different sport. My irks with today’s NFL – It’s far, far too passing oriented. Big plays have lost their significance, they’re seemingly the norm rather than the highlight they used to be. It used to be 3 or 4 special QB’s which would put up good numbers consistently and great numbers occasionally, now you have about 10-12 decent QB’s doing that same thing while the likes of Manning and Brees can simply take the piss. The DB’s can’t touch WR’s anymore (the rule I have the major gripe with as there’s no safety issue there), the QB’s are untouchable (some more than others) and WR’s can run free all over the field without the fear of being headhunted. It’s simply far too easy to be a QB these days, I laugh when people say that the QB’s are coming out of college “pro-ready” these days, they’re not, the NFL just isn’t as brutal on rookie’s, it can’t be.

 

As for the parity, I don’t see how people can complain. It is what it is and if anything it is good for the league. Having teams with a financial advantage having a monopoly over the league is not a road you want to go down. The current system works, it’s entertaining and unpredictable – Much better than any other US sport equivalent. People are complaining about only having to tune in for the playoffs, which is ridiculous – If anything it makes every single game that much more significant, because teams aren’t finished until they’re mathematically finished. The Baseball/Basketball regular season is an absolute farce, just gives the players something to do to pass the f*cking time. 

In basketball, you can walk right in as a player and have an effect. The team benefits from that.

 

In baseball, you have a minor league system that develops the player, and they come up to the majors when they are supposedly ready. And your Free Agency clock does not start ticking until the club deems you ready, so they control you more readily.

 

In the NFL, it takes a majority of the players a couple of years to get their bearings and become good fits for a club, and then become an RFA after 3 years, and UFA after 4 years. In some cases, you are developing players for other teams.