Colts President Bill Polian says NFL's 18-game season is a done deal!

[Brian Damage]

INDIANAPOLIS — Colts president Bill Polian believes the debate over an 18-game NFL season is over, and an expanded schedule will soon become a reality.

The competition committee member and former league executive twice said he expects the NFL to stretch its regular season by two games. He twice called the decision a “fait accompli” during his weekly radio show Monday night.

“I think that the owners, and principally the commissioner, have decided that it's the way to go, and so the debate, such as it was, is over,” Polian said. “I've heard recently, and I'm sorry that this didn't get more coverage earlier, some really, really interesting commentary on it. ... I wish some of that dialogue had taken place earlier.”


Officially, nothing has changed.


League owners and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell have expressed support for cutting the preseason schedule from four games to two and expanding the regular-season schedule from 16 to 18. But the format change hasn't been approved by either the owners or the NFL Players Association.


Polian believes that is just a formality although the two sides are trying to work out a new collective bargaining agreement before the current deal expires in March.


A caller asked Polian how close the league was to expanding to 18 games and how the Colts would respond to fewer preseason games, trimming the number of opportunities players would have to win roster spots.


Polian said: “The short answer is that it's a fait accompli, I'm afraid, and we're going to have to find ways to get those evaluative experiences. We're not going to sit back and say, 'Oh oh, 18 games. Now we're going to become a veteran team.' That's not going to work. And it's not the way we want to play.”

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100927/SPORTS03/100927019/AP-Bill-Polian-says-NFL-s-18-game-season-is-a-done-deal?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com

[dlemond]

Don't like it at all.
And I love NFL football.

Those sloppy pre-season games that can be hard to watch- those are your two extra games.

You are almost assured more injuries.

And crappy teams with cake schedules are always in contention to make the playoffs snagging a wildcard from a good team that now has even more difficult games to play.

It devalues the importance of each game by adding a cushion for games that teams tank. In a league where 100% is required because of the limited games, you just created more room for slack.

The end of the season will almost be like a free for all.

[James]

Are there going to now be an asterisk by the 2008 Detroit Lions' winless season?

[TVFactFan]

I don't like it ever because I don't think anyone is going 0-18-lol We lose the opportunity now of seeing winless or undefeated team