Union: 18 Games Is Off The Table
By author
Well there it goes, the end to the 18 game schedule… officially.
"For the first time publicly, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said tonight that an 18-game season is off the negotiating table in collective bargaining talks with the owners.…“First of all, the league has never presented a formal proposal for 18 games. But more importantly, it’s something that our players don’t want. Eighteen games is not in the best interest of our players’ safety, so we’re not doing it.”"
I for one really wanted an 18 game season… I’m disappointed as a fan first and foremost here.
For example, considering the fact that Dez Bryant missed a ton of playing time for the Cowboys last season due to a preseason game injury, I can’t imagine that this is much of a stretch to make a better case for 18 regular season games. Also — we hear about the hundreds of players that ended up on injured reserve this year… but what about the guys that recovered DURING the season and could have been eligible to play if there was an in-season IR option added to the CBA. I’m thinking about guys like Victor Cruz, Ramses Barden, and Sinorice Moss (yes, Moss) that could have helped the Giants ailing receiving core by season end with a different set of options. Who knows, with an 18 games season you could have well over 60 guys to choose from on your roster…
It keeps the numbers skewed by not being forthcoming about the fact that many players last season went on injured reserve because of the short amount of roster spaces (53) and a season ending IR stipulation in the current CBA. I haven’t seen any numbers comparitively to my point, because they don’t exist in the current paradigm the NFL and NFLPA have worked out. But we know for a fact that on the Giants a few players COULD have come back from injury and played, diminishing the overall impact of the injury argument no one seems to want to fully address.
As a fan, as a dedicated observer to the sport and of the league — I think an opportunity was missed here. What do you all think Giants fans?