I agree with a lot of what you say. The new CBA and resulting far more restricted practice time in OTAs, camp and during the season make for a sloppier product. Also makes it harder for the bad teams to develop young draft picks.
I agree the product isn't as good as even 12 years ago. I'm not a fan of how far the league rules have swung toward the passing game. Fantasy Football loves it- and frankly I think fantasy football has damaged the league- but it's a watered down reality. It's almost like the juiced ball era in MLB. Right now there are
twelve QBs with passer ratings above 95.0. In the 2004 season there were seven. In 2001 there were two. In 1999 there was one (guess who...). Dan Marino's 1984 and Steve Young's 1994 seasons are
so far more impressive than what either Manning or Brady did in any of the past 12 years because look at the circumstances of the league when they had them.
