Tuesday Evening Phinsider Question Of The Day 12/07/2021

Welcome to the Miami Dolphins bye week. I was initially upset that the NFL gave us a bye week so late in the season. Before the recent turnaround by the Phins, resulting in our five-game win streak, I doubt that having it earlier puts this team in any better or worse position than they are now. Maybe this oddly late bye week actually wound up working out in the favor of the Dolphins. We got a couple of key contributors back last week and this only allows them to get even more healthy before having to hit the field again, not to mention the help that it gives the rest of the team. The NFL season takes a hell of a toll on NFL players physically and I would really like to see the players, especially in the wake of adding another regular-season game (that I suspect will eventually become 18), have the time to rest and recover. Nearly every single starting player in the NFL has some nagging injury by this time of the season.

By adding the 17th game to the NFL schedule, the NFL has taken yet another step in its attempt to make the league a year-round entertainment product. Before the addition of the extra game, thus making the season 18, instead of 17 weeks long they had already begun to “stretch” the season out. First, they added the bye week. Then they began placing the NFL Pro Bowl in between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. It gave them an excuse to spread the season out by one more week by placing a game in the middle that few were watching in the first place. It’s an interesting move given the fact that more games would eventually mean more injuries but money talks and the wellbeing of others rarely gets in the way of some making all the money they can even when they have more money than they could ever possibly spend in a lifetime.

I personally think the extra game is okay if you expand the rosters by at least a few players. Some say that it will affect the big names and contracts but if you look at the bottom half of rosters, most of those guys are playing for near the minimum. It would not hurt the big names money-wise at all, especially with the extra revenue that each game adds to the pool. I suspect the NFL also goes to 18 weeks if and when they can. This will cut the pre-season games down to two, I would suspect. I don’t think too many fans will be upset with this but not sure the coaches love it and besides the players that might be where some of the pushback comes from. If they go to 18 they also need to add an additional bye week. This would at least give them some argument with NFLPA. I also think that they should add the additional bye week even if they do not go to 18 games. I just think if you combine the two, the added roster spots, and the extra week off during the season, that you might be able to get the NFLPA to budge and move the season up to 18 games.

So with the NFL trying to continually find new ways to make more money, outside of their giant TV contracts and sponsorships, what do you think they will do or will try to do beyond now with the season, what do you think they should do beyond now with the season or even with the off-season?

Give us your thoughts below-