I edited this.

I watch Green Bay games and maybe a Browns game just to see how they are progressing. I watch more film clips of specific players than actually games. My interest in the NFL was restoked by FFL, but reality is I have less interest in the NFL then at any other time in my life.

I see no broken legs and few torn ACLs in soccer. I see concussions that cripple a 250 lbs strong man in football. The hyper sexualization of cheerleades ran it's day a long time ago. Demonstrations on the field have been happening for as long as I can remember and I remember football from the late 1960's. It sure seems many started having problems with players kneeling soon after Tim Tebow had finished all his kneeling. HOw did that Tebow guy miss out on all this rage about disrespect?

It is terrible that we as fans are constantly reminded that the players and the cheerleaders are human and should not be exploited for our entertainment.

The game and situation around the game has to evolve or it will not last.

I will watch and support the Packers and the NFL until the Vikings win a Super Bowl, and I hope to be a lifelong fan!

The more we learn about head injuries, the less realistic and more negligent it is to say "bring back the violence." I don't know what the future of the game looks like, either, but the NFL has to focus on doing everything it can to protect its players. No game is worth people's brains being addled by concussions.

Agree with TBackes; the NFL needs to make some efforts toward player safety. TImes have changed, and change is good. Old-school wasn't so glorious....we jjust didn't hear about the dark side. NFL is a lead-by example, and young kids through high school and colleges all follow the football culture, and NFL can still have a highly entertaining product and enhance safety. With some reasonably safety and education, the NFL can then make disclaimers and athletes will then make their own decisions, and some will follow Borland's choice.
Those who want the violence have no shortage of options in USA.
Oh, and if Soccer players would end the writhing drama fake injuries every time there is contact....maybe I could like that sport.

The NFL has 3 overriding issues that it needs to address.

Player safety is a priority or parents are not going to allow their children to play tackle football and the pool of available college players to be drafted will shrink to untenable levels. Numerous High Schools around the country have canceled their football programs over the last several seasons. Equipment, especially helmets need to be improved to prevent concussions and other head injuries. Everything else are stop gap measures.

Second is the quality of the product on the field. Every season it seems that the level of play decreases and the officiating even with replay becomes worse and worse. First the quality of play is diluted by the plague of injuries which hit the league every season and the depth is not there to maintain the quality of the starters lost to injury. More practice time is needed to allow all the players to get enough reps to make even the most basic plays. Finally, the officiating makes many games unwatchable and needs to improve.
The most lethal threat to the NFL is greed. Greed of the current group of owners and the league itself. The current commissioner is no longer committed to the integrity of the league or to delivering a quality product to the fans or to protecting the players. He is only concerned about making more money for himself and the owners.

The owners for their part have no incentive to protect the players or provide a quality product for the fans because the money keeps rolling in regardless of how stupid or negligent they are. The owners, who are already billionaires when they purchase a franchise, don't really care if the league remains viable. It is just a revenue stream that they can live without if it goes away tomorrow. In the mean time they just take as much money out of the product as possible for as long as they can. Every business is entitled to earn a profit. But the owners are nothing but examples of hubris and excessive greed at the expense of the players and the fans and even the league itself. As we have seen on numerous occasions in recent years, they can't even enforce their own rules consistently.

I became an NFL fan and a Packers fan because of the excellence I observed watching Lombardi's Packers of the 60s. I have seen plenty of great NFL football in the years since then but nothing close to those great Packers teams. But now and really since about 2005 the level of NFL play and its watchability just seems to get worse by the week. Wherever Lombardi is he must be screaming "What the hell is going on out there?", very loudly and all the time, because no one is tackling or blocking or doing anything except trying to make the highlight reel for the NFL network or for ESPN. Even fans are becoming more interested in their FFL teams than the actual teams. Owner, players and fan loyalty are all gone or going.

Whether the league knows it or not they are in a crisis for survival and the league needs to step back and respond to it. Speaking strictly for myself, I'm down to only watching Packers games and even if I miss part of a Packers game now it doesn't bother me. I can catch it later on tape or not. I can see myself moving further from the game and eventually even letting it go. If the league, the owners and even many of the players don't care why should I? The league needs a hero or heroes of Ruthian or Unitas proportions, and it needs one soon, very soon. Thanks, Since '61

The last CBA was the beginning of socialistic sports in this country,where players get more for doing less. Every position has become a specialty act and where most aren't very special in their performance of such.

Training camp is nearly a daily simple walk through and players are so fragile they appear to get hurt upon the sight of the field. Sure they look bigger,faster and stronger,though in many cases the Tarzan/Jane description is absolutely warranted...Packer players especially of late.

TV announcers are so biased and many are simply replaying their bad football days in the booth. Referees are either horrible by ability, afraid to look horrible by replay or ensure replay makes the call for them. Whichever, officiating needs a complete over haul.

Prices for tickets,food, beer,parking are not conducive to on field product and the use of the game for political messaging is like a Union donating your dues to a candidate you will not vote for.

Safety is always a needed aspect but in a voluntary endeavor as football, the risks are known and hopefully the pay is equal to the risk and each participant places their price by agreement to the possible injuries, long term and finality perhaps sooner than later at times.

These participants were not drafted as like men going to war but willing and chose to do so long before and endeavored to be part of it for the fame and money while knowing the risk...a Roman gladiator by choice not compelled with no choice.

The game is barbaric and though not designed for a barbaric results as like gladiators of Rome, still acceptance of injury/harm was understood and even more now with CTE.

Attempting to erase injury completely dissolves it's essence and making it a specialty shop for every position diminishes the accolades of each player.

Allowing political platforms to dictate over the game is an eventual suicide and coming faster to any level of fan.

"I Want The Old NFL Back"

Are you willing to put YOUR lifelong health on the line for that? I doubt it.

I will try not to preach. But anyone who enjoy in watcing violence should first be informed how it looks like when he/she is the object of violence...

Lets say, all of us can put helmet on the head and at full speed run to the brick wall. After suffering concussion repeat that next month, and again next month. After one full season (4 monzhs) you'll never worry about changing of the football.

Because you'll never remeber how fooball looked like one month ago...

I have been a rabid NFL and Packer fan since the late 1950's. But I have to say my interest has diminished considerably the last few years. Quite frankly, the games just aren't that interesting or entertaining anymore. The quality of play is ragged, too many penalties and too much emphasis on passing. The rules have made pass defense almost obsolete and have given QBs pretty much freedom to do whatever they are capable of doing. The PI and defensive holding rules are a joke. To make matters worse the owners and players agree to a CBA which dictates limited contact during practice! I'm not advocating violence or injury but unless the game can get back to some basics the NFL will continue to look like a goofy video game rather than professional football. On the other hand I have discovered that Fall hiking in the Northern Nevada and Idaho mountains is pretty darn worthwhile! Much better than sitting on my butt watching a watered down product called the NFL.

Here we are talking about football on a football site. The NFL has peaked when it comes to ratings and promotion. I't's the most popular sport in America and probably will be for some time. It peaked for me when I got to see them win SB 45 in Dallas. The rest is just icing on the cake. The only reason I got to go was because the trip was free, I won a raffle thanks to Gatorade and my company. There was no way I would pay the money to see any sporting event, around 10k I figured. If they win another SB, I'll be glued to my TV just like the rest of you, but won't smash it to smitherines if they lose.

Taryn, I could not have said it better.

Remember the old days Cory? KILL THE QUARTERBACK!

Last year, Anthony Barr tackled Rodgers, and finished the tackle by driving him into the ground, breaking his shoulder blade. Is that the kind of football we're talking about? Or the head hunting of "Night Train" Lane? Or the head slapping move of "Deacon" Jones? Or the vicious tactics that ended up paralyzing several players? Do we really want to ignore the long term effects of repeated head trauma, that ends up causing players to commit suicide, or become so brain damaged they cannnot function? If so, count me out. The game is safer, but still is a hellish way to make a living.

Helmets with 4 inches of protective material...CAN'T WAIT!

Many good points were made regarding the game of old and how the rule changes have watered down the sport but I have to add another one which hasn't been touched on and I don't know why because for me it is the most obvious one of all and has changed the game completely and '61 touched on it and that is the greed of the owners. The ghastly amount of commercials that we are forced to watch during a game has become untenable and totally takes away the flow and my enjoyment in watching a game. I swear sometimes I feel like I'm watching more ads than I am watching the game itself they cut to a commercial so often. They've taken us for zombies staring at the screen. Most here don't like watching soccer, but if you've noticed now that the world cup is on there are no commercials during play. You get to see the whole thing uninterrupted, what a concept. Why can't we enact a law and force the owners to do the same or at least cut down on the advertising. The game belongs to the people not to them and their bottom line. You can say the players want their money and that's what driving this, fine, but soccer players get paid millions too. Maybe I'm being naive, I don't know, but as far as I'm concerned something's gotta give.

As a way to defend myself against the relentless onslaught of TV advertising, especially during night games, I've resorted to the mute button on my remote to turn them off. If most fans resort to this maybe the greed ball owners will back off and put fewer commercials on, but I doubt it. Money is king and as long as the fans keep watching they'll keep drilling us with those moronic Geico and Bud Light ads which I especially can't stand to watch anymore. It's wishful thinking, but who knows, if people start complaining hard enough and threaten to turn off the TV set, and then actually do it as they see their viewership sail into the sunset, maybe someday that day will come.

I'm all for protecting the players from intentional hits that are made to try and put a player out of the game. Injuries do happen, but if done intentionally then the violence needs to stop and the player who made the hit needs to be held accountable. If a dirty hit keeps a player out for 8 games then the player who made the dirty hit needs to be out for 8 games. Keep politics out of the game as well. Fans watch football as a a form of entertainment, not a political statement. If I want to watch politics I will tune in to CNN not football. I have turned off games and quit watching due to politics being involved and will do so again. Forcing a fan to sit and watch politics along with a football game does not work. Stay focused on the game. As for commercials, you are correct when you say money is the king. And to pay for all those huge salaries of so many players it is a way to recuperate funds to pay for those huge salaries. If football games ever resort to pay per view I will be done with watching any games. To much greed is ruining and deteriorating the fan base for sure. There are many reasons why fans are frustrated with football today and I just mentioned a few that have not settled well with me. Oh one more thing, over analyzing a play is another. Come on man, just stick to the basics descriptions that normal fans can relate to.