09-01-2024 NFL Preview - Flipbook - Page 6
NFL ’24
Sunday, September 1, 2024 6
Preston
from Page 4
“I am glad I don’t have to handle the
demands of trying to get players ready to
play for the next game.”
You could see this coming back in 1961,
when the NFL switched to a 14-game
schedule and then went to 16 games in
1978. In March 2021, the NFL adopted
a 17-game schedule after an agreement
with the NFLPA.
The format will eventually go to 18
games and then 20. But as the number
of games grows, so will the injuries. The
Ravens can’t afford to lose star quarterback Lamar Jackson at any point, but an
injury during those short weeks would be
devastating.
Plus, today’s players are bigger,
stronger and faster than those in the
1970s or 1980s, and there are more
Sunday, Monday and Thursday night
games.
“I went through it one year with the old
Canadian Football League franchise in
Baltimore,” Lopez said. “We played three
games in eight days, and I can tell you this,
we basically couldn’t practice. It was at
best a walk-through. They get out, warm
up, jog a little bit, stretch a little bit. Some
guys couldn’t even take a jog because
they were so beat up. And when you
throw travel in on top of that, the question
becomes how can you keep going?”
“Recovery” has become the new catchphrase in the NFL. Like every other team,
the Ravens have their strengths and weaknesses. They have ample depth at running
back and in the secondary, but injuries at
outside linebacker or on the offensive line
would cause serious problems.
The Ravens understand the situation,
but they can’t complain, not in the public
relations-conscious NFL. If you step out
a line, a fine will be coming soon. Greedy
owners don’t want to talk about multiple
games being played in a short window of
time because that would affect their cash
flow.
But if player performance and production starts to slip, will that change the
direction of where this league appears to
be headed?
“The Ravens’ success during this
stretch will depend on how well they can
manage these challenges and maintain
their health and performance through
the post season,” said Austin Dews, 26,
a Ravens fan, Parkville resident and
support specialist for the Veterans
Administration.
It’s all starting to get out of control
as the NFL looks to play more games
overseas, which will require more travel
Quarterback Lamar Jackson greets fans before taking the field for training camp practice. He and the Ravens face a daunting stretch of
three games in 14 days and another with three in 10 this season. KARL MERTON FERRON/STAFF
time. Until someone speaks up, it’s about
money first and player safety is secondary.
“The idea of having guys that are
300-plus pounds out there pounding the
hell out of each other and playing that
many games over a short period of days,
I don’t know how you recover,” Lopez
said. “When you throw all the travel in on
top of it and then you look at the Ravens’
schedule, you go, ‘Holy crap, it’s just
crazy.’
“It’s just mind-boggling to see a sport
push itself more and more. It’s absolute
insanity right now.”
