I am more convinced each NFL season that they have a competition problem. The source of competition (or lack thereof) is in part driven in part by group-think and a lack of creativity among coaches. I will also venture to say for all their technical ability, the league, (some) owners, and (some) coaches completely fail to understand the greater context in which they operate. I recognize that part of my critique probably stems from being a neglected Los Angeles fan for over 20 years and having to settle for the Rams (don't even get me started on the Chargers...). Do note that I am part of that audience that grew up loving the NFL. My friends and I grew up pretending to be Joe Montana tossing our imperfect passes to our neighbor Jerry Rice, then switching the next play at the line so imaginary Troy Aikman handed off the ball to Emmitt Smith - only to be stopped by our older friends, who combined probably had half the strength of LT.

To say I was (am?) a fan is accurate. However, if it were not for Fantasy Football, I probably would have stopped paying attention 6 years ago. Nothing to do with scandals, pay, or politics - it's how boring the game can be. The stop-and-go, endless reviews, the constant punting - it is very difficult to get any flow in a game. Did I mention so much punting! Add the fact that you need at least 3 hours, and usually 4, to watch a complete game. I don't want to waste my whole Sunday watching 2 games! - and why do the announcers still wear suits!

Sample Case

A little over mid-way through the 2016 season, I witnessed the Rams down by two scores, with about 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter AND with a losing record (4-6?), punt on 4th and short... WHY? I get it, Fisher was probably trying to look sane and look out for his next job since he knew he was going to get the boot. But if you are really trying to win, that's the time to try something. You already have a losing record, at least try to make it exciting (This goes for you too Rex).   

Context

The simplest lesson I understood from Moneyball is that when you lack the resources like other teams (in that case money, e.g. Yankees), you CAN'T play the same game they do - you have to look for a different advantage to try and improve your odds. In the NFL it's not money since teams have the same cap, it's TALENT. Talent cannot, will not ever, be spread out evenly through the league. If you can squeeze out your fair share of top talent, find under-valued talent, then have a team system that increases your chances of winning, you'll get to the playoffs enough times to eventually get a ring. Forgive me, it makes my stomach churn too, but that is the Patriots. 

Thought Reconciliation

Taking all these thoughts - improving flow, shortening games, making them more competitive and exciting, below are some points to consider. I do understand that in the end, coaches will look out for their self-interest, no fault there. Therefore, we need to change some rules and give them an incentive to improve the game, and give them some cover in the process. Critique away - but include some research. I know I haven't, but there's no point in both of us going back and forth with unverified ideas.

  • Shorten the Game: Let the timer keep rolling, don't stop the game. If that's too radical, you can borrow from the NBA and give each team a couple of 30-second timeouts per game. Don't like it? Okay, keep the current clock management system, but shorten the quarters to 12 minutes. You can also shorten the game clock. It'll keep the pace. You can even add a "last possession rule" - if a team is down by a score or less (i.e. 8 points or less) and time runs outs, they can keep possession and playout the last drive. Can you imagine how exciting that would be! Too crazy? The NFL did recently change the overtime rules right? 
  • Penalize Teams for Punting: This is a manly sport right? Why should we let teams give up so easily? Here's the idea, IF you are on your own 40 or further up the field, and you punt, the other teams gets 5 yards added at the end of their return. IF you punt on 4th and short (say 4 yards or less), then the returning team gets another 5 yards added to the end of the return. That way coaches can't take the cowardly way out of punting on 4th and 1 from their own 40... You can't pin a team deep, they get rewarded with an additional 10 yards, so might as well go for it. Too complicated? We are talking about the NFL right?
  • Kill the suits: This is sport, they are commentators, there's nothing official about them. Give me more than retired and mumbling former players/coaches. Introduce young, hip, dudes and dudettes! Let them curse everyone once in a while! Have them check each other - the moment the conversation heads off into la la land (i.e. "back when I was in college...") shut off their mic for 5 minutes, then have everyone else make fun of them. Just do something different, no more old dudes yapping about what they think.

Finally

I know there are many more things to consider to improve the game. I only offer a few simple fixes that may get me to start watching again. If there is one guiding principal, it should be FLOW. All the other issues that come up in the NFL probably matter, but fixing game flow solves many problems (like an improving economy). Why do you think I enjoy watching (wait for it, wait for it...) fútbol, aka soccer, more? Don't discredit me yet - I waited until the end to state this because you would have stopped reading earlier. While 0-0 games may not be fun to watch, you know it'll be over in less than two hours - and the next time you've been watching a field goal and punting competition for over 3 hours, remember that I told you so...