Steve Sabol Please Help to Improve the NFL Network (Films) - Unitas Namath Staubach Tarkenton

[Thorsrock]

Btw, the Sabol conversation was great and Steve did agree but was non committal about anything I suggested. Still, I respect him greatly....very decent guy & human being.

[Thorsrock]

Interestingly, the was a forerunner network of the 'NFL Network" call "NFL Classic Network" (or something close to that), that ran NFL films exclusively 24 hrs. They repeated the programming every few hours. Still it was great classic (50's, 60's & 70's) films, covering much of what is mentioned in the petition above. Then it went to the 'NFL Network"...and you know what that turned into....I'm about ready to cut bait unless something changes there.

[Thorsrock]

Steve Sabol and I had a phone conversation for almost an hour about this very subject about 4 yrs ago

[Thorsrock]

????

[headley62]

You might want to put in that little known runner named JIM BROWN.

[MegaFELIPE48]

I agree, and it would be a nice gesture on the NFL' S behalf if they decide to do it.

[Seastorm21]

Find a new voice for NFL Films! I know you can't replace John Facenda but get someone! ...AND NOT SOME PUSSY LIKE BRUCE WILLIS!

[JCKAMK]

I send an e-mail to the nfl network 3 times per year with this very request. Never hear back. Keep up the pressure!

[mikeycereal]

Yeah! More Lem Barney, less Barry Sanders! More of the real LT (Giants), less new LT(Chargers)! More Lynn Swann, less T.O.! More Dick Butkus, less Brian Urlacher! More Bart Starr and less Brett Favre!

[mikeycereal]

Hey NFL Network, a 2003 game is not a classic, it's still new! Show more real classics like the 1975 Hail Mary game. Screw online voting because the damn kids will always vote for something recent. Do what you're supposed to do and play more classic NFL games. Don't change the format like ESPN classic did. ESPN classic was my favorite sports channel, now they play shit like poker. I stopped watching that channel. Who the hell wants to watch a bunch of idiots play cards, that's not a sport!!!!!!

[JeffGR4]

@mikeycereal I concur. "Right on the money" comments.

[webs78]

The NFL Network shows a guy broadcasting a radio show.

NFL Films has in it s vaults classics such as "They Call it Pro Football" "The Championship Chase" "Super 70s" and Team Highlights, Season Highlights, etc.

And we get a guy doing a radio show.

QED

[deeniemarie7]

The 2 crotch rots who dislike this must be NFL network employees who

REFUSE to SHARE the history of the greatest TEAM SPORT IN THE WORLD.

We the fans,have a RIGHT,to enjoy every ORIGINAL BROADCAST that remains.

WHY YOU PROCEED TO SELFISHLY KEEP IT FROM US,THE VERY SOUL OF THE SPORT,IS BEYOND ME. WAKE UP! YOU OWE IT TO US.

[ThePretzelHead]

I remember watching a half an hour Packer classics show on Sunday mornings in Duluth, MN back in the 1970's. (Before the Nortre Dame highlights) Packer games from the 30's, 40's and 50's...some in color. Where the heck are those? Anyone?

[ltahoe7195]

LOVE FOOTBALL !!! HATE THE NFL NETWORK !! What is with all the ridiculous over-evaluating of the games ??!! Show some old school highlights, sick of seeing Deion and MIchael Irvin and Mooch give their analysis for the 300th time !!! BOOOOORING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bdog1323]

I love the shot of Don Shula as a player!! bdog

[67bobbyg]

Amen to everything you suggested. Here is a man or woman who knows what they're talking about!!!!

[tknippe]

classic game boys

[RaidersCentral]

remember they dont own all those shows affiliates own them aswell they pay the Nfl for the highlights or game footage but the show is owned by other entities --so they have not bought the lot yet --also did those networks maintain all those tapes and footage --???who knows --and if they make these blocks residuals for actors & voices have to be cleared so its a fukin slow ass process--you do have some great suggestions as i have seen many of the above mentioned stuff on NFL network ---TY Fans

[fairnorth]

I love these highlights ! Some of my all time favorite players are featured, such as Archie Manning, Joe Namath, Larry Csonka, and Mercury Morris. I would love to see some old 1967 American Football League Highlights (The weekly series, hosted by Charlie Jones and done by Tel-ra Productions). Also I would love to hear the mid to late music soudtracks of the 1960's. The "Chilling Championship" ICE BOWL music was awesome !! The 1969 AFL and NFL championship game highlights were great too !!

[cjrory]

article I referred to is archived at link below. Worth a read for fans of classic NFL Films. Eventually the vintage product will see the light of day again, but for now the dummies have painted over it with short attention span filler ...

articles.philly.com/2011-07-29­/sports/29829579_1_nfl-films-n­fl-films-nfl-network

[cjrory]

Tim I echo your praise of Mr Domowitch's recent piece. I cited it elsewhere before seeing your comment. Nice to see someone telling it like it is

philly.com/philly/sports/eagle­s/20110729_A_MARRIAGE_GONE_WRO­NG.html



[timcrtr]

@cjrory Truth is, there is only one way to fix it and that is for the Sabol's to give the middle finger to the NFL Network and start their own network... The NFL Films Channel. Hell, they barely use their material anyway. Let these "new guys" run NFL Network and the vets who've been there through it all can program this channel.

Big Ed is 93 now and Steve has cancer..it sucks they have to see things the way the are now

[MoeHailstone]

Absolutely agree with my man on this one!! These films were the lifeblood of many a fan including myself

[timcrtr]

I also wrote the comment below. I encourage anyone who value and loves this company to read a feature column in the Phila daily News on July 29, 2011. In short, it details how the NFL is trying to end the life of NFL Films. it includes several quotes from Phil Tuckett, a charter member of the company, who concludes that the "new" NFL doesn't want them around any longer and how it sickens him what they've done to the NFL Network.

[dishwaterhands]

Amen brother.

But in their defense, I think they show alot more stuff that is similar to what you are asking for than you give them credit for.

Could we use more?

Yes.

Could they make some of it more accessible for download purchase or some such thing?

Yes.

Should they show us less hand-wringing about the upcoming draft - and fewer repeats of their off-season news shows - and fewer top 10 or top 100 or best duos or best of lists??? Yes, Yes, and Yes.

Use that extra time for old stuff.

[Tony211169]

I wish I had a VCR when I was a kid. I watched all of the ESPN highlight games and NFL's Greatest moments and Inside The NFL on HBO back in the day with Nick Bonacanti (sp?) and Len Dawson. Loved the footage and the music. Speaking of which, what is the name of this particular track that's playing?

[joneseracolts]

@Tony211169 The song playing is called "The Pony Soldiers" by Sam Spence. It is available on the NFL music CD The Power and the Glory.

[Jaceoface1]

I hate watching a rebroadcast of a preseason game and the scroll across the bottom shows the score.Or showing a classic game and the score is in the write up, Hey I may not remember the outcome of a game in the 60's.

[Perpetualmusik]

@ShinobiMusashi_I hate it that Houston left for Tennessee, I was a huge Oiler fan since 1978 when Earl came in as a rookie. I am not here to argue w/ anyone I just wish the NFL would play on grass more, I am sick of all the turf. Where is the mud at? The last game I really recall being a mess was the 49er Packer playoff game in 1997? and the Raiders vs Titans in the 2002 AFC championship. But NFL films used to be great before the NFL network seemed to hijak everything.

[Perpetualmusik]

I hate it that I cant buy any of the "classic games " on dvd or blu-ray. I am losing my love for the NFL and the only thing that will bring it back is classic games, teams, players etc. The NFL network is lame, I liked it when ESPN classic would air games.

[ShinobiMusashi1]

The 23 Canton Bulldogs, 29 Packers, 33 Bears, 41 Bears, 49 Eagles, 50 Browns, 52 Lions, 60 Eagles, 62 Packers, 63 Bears, 63 Chargers, and 65 Bills each deserve thier own Americas Game documentary, and a place on any top teams countdown.

[webs78]

This is the most truthful and glorious thing ever written on the internet in perpetuity. Preach on, brother!

[Perpetualmusik]

I think the NFL really started going down when Jacksonville and Carolina came in as expansion teams, the Browns leave ?? I am a from Cleveland and know that the thing was over greed and a new Stadium. Cleveland Municipal was not the prettiest stadium but it was one of the best homefield advantages in the NFL. Also the Houston Oilers moving and then changing their name really made no sense being that Houston gets a team like 10 years later named the Texans, like the (AFL) Dallas Texans, KC Chiefs

[ShinobiMusashi1]

@Perpetualmusik How disrespectfull can you be towards a city? I threw up everytime the Titans brought out the Oilers throwback uniforms, WHY? The Oilers history, logo, and colors should have been left in Houston similar to what happened in Cleveland. What a smack in the face.

[blazer79]

NFL Network needs to start showing some of the older players whom made the NFL, the league that it is. Hopefully, it won't go the way of ESPN Classic, which is HORRIBLE!

[timjumper7]

the nfl films music is liked sacred,there is nothing like that out today

[selloutasaurus]

In the '90s used to watch old NFL Films on Classic Sports Network (now ESPN Classic Sports), but since NFL Network came along, it's as if they locked up the vault! Now it's just two-to-four guys sitting at the desk saying nothing repeatedly about Favre,Vick & Brady AND pointless Top Ten Lists compiled by morons who believe the NFL started with Montana! You hit the nail on the head with this video! Thanks!

[ram29jackson]

I didnt say it would be easy to get people to click LIKE thiough haha

[kwolf68]

The NFL Network is horrid. Over-saturation of last weeks games, blowhards saying the same thing...absolutely NO respect for the history of the game there. I compared the MLB network with the NFL network and it's a joke...Baseball fans and the sport itself reveres its history...Football ignores it. That's a crying shame. Football history is wonderful...NFL Films is one of the greatest institutions.

[ram29jackson]

you need to enable -LIKE- for this video !

yep, I feel the same

[CAG00]

I totally agree, the NFL Network is pretty lame, I think even now more boring than ESPN, the old NFL Films classics are hard to beat but as I understand it, the NFL Network is not in harmony with NFL Films, and does not want to be either. I am watching the NFL Network fewer and fewer times, how many times can you see the same programming hour after hour. That was a great video that you put together, LOVED IT AND THANKYOU

[xlbronco]

There is a reason they now use the term "throwback player". I would rather watch any season from the 70's then what they show now. I agree with Jim Brown when he calls the players of today, "millionaire babies".

[philtrexler]

amen

[kingofmilwaukee]

I would KILL for more complete games broadcast. Heck, replay whole seasons!!!

[b17bomber]

great suggestions! 

[Kuykendall54]

The Top 100 players is good. America's Game series is good. Some of the Top 10 shows are good, some are stupid. We don't need you to 'reach' to create some programming, when NFL Films has a treasure trove of great shows and films that we never get to see anymore. ESPN and ESPN Classic used to give us a taste of these classics more often than NFL Network does. Instead NFLN plays hour after hour of replays of of NFL Total Access.Love the show, but you have other classic programs that can fill time

[JJJaxson]

I agree whole-heartedly....The NFL Network could recreate an entire season through the old "This Week In Pro Football" shows sometime during the off-season. These were great shows and the ONLY way we got to see highlights in the days before ESPN.

BTW, great choice of music with "The Pony Soldiers". I'm even typing in slo-motion. LOL

[obiwanobiwan13]

@JJJaxson That would be AWESOME if they recreated/replayed a whole season!

Imagine--they could give us a WHOLE SEASON'S woth of games EASY in the offseason! Watch the new season fall and winter and then in-between watching my New York Mets I could tune in to, say, an '80s season being replayed, and it's Joe Montana back in the saddle for my BELOVED 49ers (oh...oh, the pain...) playing against, say, Joe Theismann and the Washington Redskins, and after Marino vs. Kosar in the snow!

WOW! :D

[RRHINE1]

JUST SHOW ANY REGULAR SEASON GAME FROM THE 20's-70'S IN IT'S ENTIRETY (IF POSSIBLE, OR THE FOOTAGE AVAILABLE) WITH OR WITHOUT SOUND.

[Sirscorps]

@RRHINE1 espn classic used to show all of this stuff but stopped after a while due to people taping all of the footage & selling it. I believe that's a major reason why no channel shows old games & much footage anymore. My .02.

[tommerj]

I agree with all the comments. The NFL Network focuses too much on games in the past few years when they show so called "NFL Classics." Whenever I see NFL Greatest Games coming up I'm always disappointed when it's a New England Patriots or Indianapolis Colts game from the past few years. I wish they branched off and created an NFL Network Classics channel that could show the old NFL Films from the 1960's and 1970's that Sports Classic used to show.

[superman93994]

the nfl network should be nfl 1995- network

[vfgjhj]

Whenever I hear NFL Films music I think of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Don't know why, we're seeing something special.

[00Billy]

I want a online database like youtube with every frikin quarter played in every game.

How much will that cost.

oh yeah all the movies too...

Please.

[dolphinbuc]

It's time for Sabol to get off those videos.I was just thinking about this 2 days ago.I'd like to see Buffalo vs SF in 92 or 93...what a game that was! How about Deion Sanders' first ever game,or the Monday Night pinball game between San Diego and Pittsburgh? The NFL network is slowly losing me,and I hope they won't turn me off from them like I've turned away from ESPN.

[mikeycereal]

And dump the newer follies... they're stupid as hell! I love the old follies and stuff from the 80s but the new stuff is too damn stupid! It's like first grade humor and very poorly written. Did I mention the news scroll? GET....IT....OFF!! I don't care about MLB or Tiger Woods updates! I hate everything moving at once when I try to relax and watch a show. Put that stupid scroll and all your other bells and whistles on the new NFL ADD Channel!!! That'll keep the kids occupied!

[mikeycereal]

No bells and whistles, just give me classic games from the 50s and stop at the 80s. All the other games in the 90s - most people had vcrs back then they're everywhere. Show some games that no one has! Show some classic Monday Night Football...I need more Howard! I love the old theme...HATE "all my rowdy friends!" Show some NFL on CBS with Brent Musberger and their interviews at halftime. Knock off the new stuff already...everyone has tevo or recording devices these days. Give us the rare stuff!

[dolphinbuc]

@mikeycereal Amen brother! How about Ron Jaworski's first start as an Eagle?

[mikeycereal]

@dolphinbuc I'll take anything classic like that, though I'd rather see his games as a Ram if I had a choice. Tell you what, I won't complain on anything before 1990.

[dolphinbuc]

@mikeycereal Hey,I'm with you 100% on that.I'll even watch OJ Simpson!

[mikeycereal]

Wow....someone who thinks like me. Remember when ESPN Classic used to be good? Then around 2005 they started to suck badly. What happened to the team highlights? Pleases don't tell me that a game from 2009 is already a classic? WTF it's brand new! And college football or any other crap does not belong on the NFL network! And why only show the 1975 Hail Mary game once? I missed it! Meanwhile they replay the same 1992 playoff game over and over! And my god that news scroll needs to go! I hate it!

[rjcpacker]

Just want to add my two cents. There is plenty of great stuff that NFL films has in its vaults (video yearbooks from the 60's, TWITNFL from the 60's and 70's). I can accept that much of the great games from the 60's and early 70's on videotape were erased (although it irks me like hell), but NFL Films was the NFL's propaganda arm and given how much content it produced, it pains me that the NFL network won't use the content it already has. Or that it isnt available on an on-demand channel.

[dolphinbuc]

@rjcpacker Sabol has every game ever recorded in the NFL.There's no excuse for not showing better games and videos on NFL network.If I had the money,I'd start a football network.We'd show live high school,some college,and random old NFL games if Sabol would let me.I'd even show the commercials from the original airing.I mean who wouldn't like to see an old Chargers-Raiders game from the 70's and 80's?

[peterhook72]

Well said...Why is it that you can watch the 1st ever MNF game on YouTube but not on the NFL Network? The MLB and even NHL networks do a much better job of showing vintage games. And don't insult us by showing a game from last year and calling it "NFL Classic Games"..

[wdm1219]

Super! I'm with you 100% on this brother!

[SuperJM1980]

another thing,when i was growing up in the 80's and early 90's ,the nfl did a great job selling the history of the game during the season,and that is what sold meto the game as a young fan,espn used to show classic games and players every friday ,and now nfl network has not,that is a bad way to sell the game to the younger fans.

[IHeartMasha09]

There's no reason single season re-caps should cost $50 ea. Even selling each team's video yearbook history by decades, for $19.95 each, would be profitable for NFL Films, and affordable for collectors alike. I'd buy up every 1960's and 1970's set in a heartbeat. The This Week in Pro Football shows were excellent value, too, and if there were an affordable way of collecting those, NFL Films would make a ton of fans very happy. Please, NFL Films, don't let our pleas fall on deaf ears!

[IHeartMasha09]

I agree totally with all of this except the part about the '76 Buccaneers, who were, with or without visual evidence, not only the worst team of all time, but actually the worst team and a half of all time. I definitely don't need to see the '76 Bucs "highlight" film again anytime soon.

[fromthefarside]

Excellent Job!!! Agree w/everything said!!!

[cardboardbelt]

I love the "America's Game" and "Greatest Games" specials and hope they will continue to produce and expand on these. A dream of mine would be to see a fully chronological history of the NFL marathon lasting several hours a day for several weeks, including these and other great programs.

Thumbs up for the Sam Spence music, by the way.

[cardboardbelt]

One problem that the NFL Network is perpetuating is the infantile perception that the NFL did not exist before the 1st Super Bowl. I'm certainly not advocating that they air the lousy highlight films that were produced prior to the development of the signature NFL Films style, but NFL Films did produce many high quality features about the teams and players of the league's first 50 years. The younger generation of NFL fans is growing up with a warped sense of professional football's history.

[lionslicer9999]

@cardboardbelt NFL films didn't even exist until around when the Packers won the championships in the 60's. Before that, there just wasn't much film on the NFL which is why many great players from pre superbowl era don't have many high light films. Even Jim Brown doesn't have that much film on him, and he played in the late 50's early 60's.

[cardboardbelt]

@lionslicer9999 That's true, but it doesn't stop them from covering those eras fairly. Whatever film they've got, they should use. Just take a look on Hulu and you'll see LOTS of footage from the 50s and 60s. They have more. What I'd love to see would be new shows edited around the film they do have which would focus on great pre-Super Bowl teams. Those players are already dying, and the millionaires of today and tommorrow need to see the faces of the men who created the game they prosper from.

[lionslicer9999]

@cardboardbelt NFL films does show as much of that stuff as they can... Personally from watching the NFL network since it first begain in 2003 I've seen so much of the pre 60's era of football, but it seems that the majority of people watching NFL network would rather see new highlights. They want to see Rice and Emmitt Smith and Steve Young, its just how it is. Its not the NFL taking away its the fans wanting something else.

[AllPro777]

@cardboardbelt

I agree 100%. The NFL Network is a failure in my eyes. When I first heard of the Network coming into existence, I thought it would show a lot of old bygone games and really open up the NFL Films vault, but all I found was the same crap playing over and over again 24 hours a day. The NFL Networks programming should be 50% New era material, 50% past era material. Whoever manages programming there should be fired because they clearly have no clue as to what they're doing.

[ShinobiMusashi1]

@cardboardbelt Man you hit the Hammer right on the head of the Nail with this comment. I've been doing a lot of digging and research about the pre Super Bowl era of the NFL and there are some very, very dramatic, and interesting stories to be told. I can't believe they have a series entitled Missing Rings without mentioning the Bears of 34 and 42, both were only one win away from being the Greatest Team in NFL history bar none, yet fell short.

[cjrory]

Amen, Supe - fight the good fight! They teased me with a couple yearbooks recently but it was only a one-shot deal for the new hall-of-famers, then back to the lame stuff. Just a half-hour a day of vintage NFL Films would do the trick ...

[SuperJM1980]

@cjrory they show pre season games all day,what the hell.

[timcrtr]

@cjrory

MESSAGE TO ALL -- THEY DON'T CARE!!!!! IF THE DID YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN A RESPONSE TO THIS VIDEO WHICH WAS POSTED A YEAR AGO. IF YOUR THINKING THAT THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT, THINK AGAIN. THEY KNOW EVERY POST THAT INVOLVES THEIR "BRAND" . TRUST ME.

[istefanx]

AMERICA'S GAME agree

[SuperJM1980]

do you have any nfl films program you can put on you tube

[SuperJM1980]

the nfl network badly need to put those shows on,because it sucks,play to the fans not the owners or corporations.