Proliferation of standalone games requires two byes per team
Three weeks ago, when Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged the inevitable push to 18 regular-season games, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow added a caveat: Two byes.
The time arguably has come for two byes, even without another game.
Prior to 1987, the NFL had three windows each week. One o'clock Sunday, four o'clock Sunday, and nine o'clock Monday night. The lone exceptions were Thanksgiving (two games) and a midseason shift of a Monday night game to Thursday night because the NFL dared not compete with the World Series. Also, the NFL would from time to time play late-season games on a Saturday, after the college football season ended.
Now, we have three Sunday windows, Monday night, Thursday night, multiple early-morning Sundays in Europe, an early-season Friday night, three games on Thanksgiving, late-season Saturdays, Wednesday games on Christmas.
As one coach recently observed, the NFL's effort to add more standalone games creates disruptions to routines, forces players to perform without the benefit of proper rest, and otherwise throws seasons (for some teams) into disarray.
So why not just give everyone two byes?
The NFL tried two byes in 1993. The networks hated it, because it diluted the weekly schedule at a time when there were only 26 teams. Now, the NFL has 32 franchises and a more balanced talent base among teams, thanks to free agency and the salary cap. It would be easier to placate the broadcast partners by adding a second bye — and it would give everyone another weekend of football.
Would there be fewer games in some weeks? Yes. Would there still be enough games to fill the various windows? Yes. Would we still watch? Yes.
But, hey, if dilution becomes a major concern, why not just add more teams? That's coming anyway. Why not go ahead and do it now?
More games. More rest. More jobs. More money.
When it comes to "more," it can't just be more for the league. The sooner the league figures that out, the more likely that the quest for "more" will be sustainable.
