Don't dilute NFL with 18 games

The sobering realities of football were manifest Saturday night as an ambulance rolled onto the UB Stadium field and to the aid of Bulls offensive tackle Matt Ostrowski, who had just suffered a gruesome leg fracture. The play had seemed innocent enough. There was no scrum, no mass of tangled bodies that usually precedes such frightful injuries. Instead, a Central Florida player was blocked into Ostrowski behind the ongoing play, and his falling body struck Ostrowski's leg in a fashion that afforded it no give. Some might say this particular nfl jerseys
misfortune was a one-in-a-million occurrence, and they'd probably be right.
Ostrowski's season is over, just like that, the injury not dissimilar to the one that felled Buffalo Bills guard Eric Wood last season. The nature of the game guarantees that players will be hurt, sometimes in a devastating fashion that requires long, lonely and anguishing recoveries.
Because injuries are inherent to football, because the game often debilitates its participants over their lifetimes, the notion of an 18-game NFL regular season comes across as sheer greed -- a quest to maximize revenues at the expense of those who make the sport their livelihood.
Certainly points of persuasion avail themselves to those in support of expanding the season. The schedule already includes four preseason games that push the overall total to 20. The league merely would replace two preseason games with two regular-season games, a tradeoff that at face value gives fans more for their dollar. Who wouldn't rather see a game that counts instead of a practice tilt?
But do those who support their franchises through season-ticket purchases truly benefit in Buffalo Bills jersey
the long run? The New York Jets lost nose tackle Kris Jenkins for the season from an injury suffered in the opener. The Green Bay Packers will play the rest of the schedule without starting running back Ryan Grant, another opening-day casualty. Surely those teams are no better as a result.
And is there any doubt that swapping preseason games for regular-season games is something less than fair trade? Starters typically see spot duty in the preseason, for no reason other than to protect them. Wouldn't teams give their regulars extended duty, iron out more of the wrinkles, if the threat of injury was nonexistent? Isn't the idea to be nearing top form once the games count in the standings?
Doubtless injuries sometimes unveil new talent through opportunity. Post-draft free-agent signings have become almost as noteworthy as the draft itself. There is no shortage of competent players willing to subject themselves to the sport's brutality either for love of the game, glory or financial gain. There comes a point, however, when the depth pool draws shallow, when the quality of play suffers as injuries mount. And if that becomes the case how does the fan benefit?
Besides, the one place where the talent pool is lean happens to be the most important position on the field. There might be little difference in the Bills if Brian Brohm replaced Trent Edwards, but how about Indianapolis without Peyton Manning, New Orleans minus Drew Brees?
The NFL need only regard the workings of the NBA and the NHL toSteelers jersey
see that more is less. In those leagues, the onslaught of back-to-back games scheduled to maximize prime scheduling dates (and profits in general) have weakened the quality of play and made the regular seasons less compelling. Players take nights off, and with good reason, because the demands of the schedule are excessive.