How would you grade the overall quality of the NFL this year?

[Yavin4]

I would give it a D+. Yes, there are a few good teams like the Broncos, Seahawks, and Colts, but for most of the other teams, their play has been inept.

[PeteSelman]

1. D is about right.

A few good teams, a few shit teams and everyone else is "meh".

The whole league is mediocre but this is what they want, parity. And killing defense little by little is wrecking the game.

[KamaAina]

2. Colts?

The ones who just got shellacked by the Rams? At home?!

[Jamaal510]

3. In terms of the rules,

I'd give it an F. In addition to the chickenspit excessive celebration rule, I don't like it how they've made it tougher for teams to play defense now. Nowadays, it is SOP for games to be an NFL Madden-style shootout, and at the risk of sounding cynical, I'm wondering if Roger Goodell tweaked the rules around like this to purposely make games higher-scoring. He claims it is about safety, but many fans tend to be more interested in games where it is fast-paced and the scoreboard lights up. Those type of games usually get higher ratings.

With regards to the grade I would give the Raiders (my team), they deserve a C. They have a sub-par record and are in last place, but I sense a little bit of improvement from last season. They did beat the Chargers and at least put up a fight against the Colts on the road and the undefeated Chiefs at Arrowhead. In addition, they're not committing as many penalties, and their running game and defense are decent. Their main problems, though, are with the QB and protection. Pryor is inaccurate and almost like the Raiders' Tebow, and their OL makes it too easy for opposing defenses to get to Pryor and too easy for their punts to be blocked.

[Angleae]

4. No one else is wondering about Goodell. We all know damn well he did it purposely.

PS: Our Raiders don't deserve a C, they still suck to high hell. They've just been lucky, especially the whole team is a bunch of has-beens and never-will-bes.

[joeybee12]

5. Seems like the past few years there have been more and more really awful teams...

I mean, teams that stink...the whole NFC east, but most of them have wins because they're playing each other.

[Yavin4]

6. Yep. ALmost every year, one team flirts with 0-16 or is a 0-16 team

which shows that there are too many teams and not nearly enough talent to go around. Also, as stated earlier due to the rules changes, unless your team has a top franchise QB, you're not going to win.

[joeybee12]

7. I think my Pats will win the AFC East, but really, they're only about B-

at this point, maybe C+...and before a team playing like that would be lucky to make a wildcard...it's been a weird few years...and as you note, not enough really good QB's to go around.

[trotsky]

8. We can give it whatever grades we want...

but the fact remains, it's still the most popular sport in the USA. Might not be the game we want, but it's the game that keeps people watching, and since it's a business and looks to generate revenue for its owners, that's what we will get.

But personally, I'd give it at least a B-, maybe even a B. I also don't like how defense has been made an afterthought, but even clunkers of games feature some amazing plays and great action.

[TBF]

9. A lot of injuries -

the team I cheer for has been completely shut down with their top players out.