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NFL morning after: Keep the early kickoffs coming


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NFL morning after: Keep the early kickoffs coming
Posted by Michael David Smith on October 27, 2014, 6:25 AM EDT

 

 

I loved watching football first thing in the morning on Sunday. I hope this becomes a regular thing.

The NFL’s decision to have kick off Sunday’s game in London at 1:30 p.m. local time — which is 9:30 a.m. Eastern time — was brilliant. It created an NFL Sunday that lasted more than 12 hours, and gave fans a chance to have some football with their coffee (or an early-morning beer, if you prefer). I’m already on my couch non-stop from noon to night. Why not make it morning to night?

I’ve spent most of my life in the Midwest, but I lived in California for four years, and I always felt like those of us on the West Coast were in on a little secret that the rest of America didn’t realize: There’s nothing better than watching football first thing in the morning. Those 10 a.m. kickoffs every Sunday are great for viewers in the Pacific time zone, and the 9:30 a.m. kickoff this Sunday was great for viewers in the Eastern time zone.

Granted, there are probably more than a few fans on the West Coast who didn’t much like the idea that they were either getting up by 6:30 or missing the game, but you can’t please everybody. There are also plenty of East Coast viewers who don’t like the Sunday, Monday and Thursday night games going late when they have work or school early the next morning. The early-Sunday time slot won’t please every audience, but it pleases enough fans that the NFL should keep it up.

The league is serious about establishing a permanent presence in London. Some American fans don’t like the NFL’s overseas experiment, but we’re just going to have to get used to hearing both “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “God Save the Queen” before games. That ship has sailed, and it’s docked permanently on the other side of the Atlantic.

The only question is what’s the best way to go about putting the NFL in London, and I think the best way is to keep up the early games. The NFL is always looking to maximize its TV exposure and revenue, and so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the league eventually create a separate TV package with early-morning London games. If the NFL puts four to eight games a year in London at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, you can bet every network would be interested in airing those games, and willing to pay the league a pretty penny for the privilege. American football in London is in our future. And so are early-Sunday wakeup calls. I like it.

Here are my other thoughts:

The Lions appear playoff bound. As for the London game itself, Detroit sleepwalked through the first half and fell behind 21-0, then outscored Atlanta 22-0 in the second half to pull out a last-second win. The Lions haven’t even played particularly well this year, but they’re 6-2 and should get a lot healthier after the bye week, with Calvin Johnson, Reggie Bush, starting right tackle LaAdrian Waddle, the top three tight ends on their depth chart and rookie linebacker Kyle Van Noy all slated to return after missing Sunday’s game. Combine the improving health of the roster and a second-half schedule that includes some games they should win (including home games against the Dolphins, Buccaneers, Bears and Vikings) and it’s easy to see the Lions in the playoffs.

A silly statement from Quinton Coples. In response to the academic scandal at his alma mater, North Carolina, Coples blamed the whole controversy on “bad media.” That’s preposterous. The university’s own report, which detailed more than 3,000 students getting credit for sham classes, was far more damning than anything the media have said about the mess at North Carolina. What we need is more media scrutiny on the joke that is the state of academics at big-time football and basketball schools. Statements like that from Coples show how many athletes just don’t get it.

A gutsy, and correct, call killed the Ravens. The offensive pass interference penalty against Baltimore receiver Steve Smith that negated what appeared to be a game-winning touchdown was a gutsy call by the official: A lot of officials keep their flags in their pockets in those situations. But it was absolutely the right call. Smith pushed off to get himself open, and it deserved to be called back. The normally hot-headed Smith seemed to realize it was the right call because he was calm, cool and collected as he walked off the field, and didn’t complain about the flag.

Matt Schaub’s debut was very Raider-like. When you’re a terrible team like the Raiders, things just seem to go against you. So it was when Schaub came on the field and promptly threw an interception as part of a weird fake field goal attempt. Schaub just doesn’t look right mentally — he looked jittery and nervous as he threw that pass, just as he often did last year in Houston. Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie traded away a draft pick for the privilege of assuming Schaub’s $8 million salary this year. I’m surprised Raiders owner Mark Davis hasn’t fired McKenzie for that.

Anthony Barr is incredible. Barr, the Vikings’ rookie outside linebacker, gave Minnesota an overtime win by forcing a fumble, picking it up and racing 27 yards for a touchdown. For all the hype Jadeveon Clowney had entering the draft, and with all due respect to Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack, I’m starting to think the Vikings got the best defensive player of the bunch when they drafted Barr.

Does anyone want to win the NFC South? It’s the worst division in the NFL by far, with no one having a winning record. My money’s on the Panthers winning the division with a 7-8-1 record.

I guess Tom Brady’s not washed up yet. Brady’s stats in the four games since that debacle in Kansas City had everyone saying New England was finished are 100-for-144 for 1,268 yards, with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions. It doesn’t get much better than that.

 

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/27/nfl-morning-after-keep-the-early-kickoffs-coming/

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