Oct 22, 2016 4 min read

Are you ready for some football?

Remember when Hank Williams Jr. asked that question in the opening music for Monday Night Football? He asked the question from 1986 until 2011 when he was taken off the telecast for making a politically incorrect remark about President Obama.

If he were singing the open in 2016, it would probably make sense for him to ask, “Have you had enough football?”

The NFL’s TV ratings are still cratering and there has been a lot of analysis done inside and outside the league to find out why.

One survey showed players following Colin Kaepernick’s lead and not standing for the National Anthem was a major reason.

Maybe.

But it might not be that complicated. It could be there’s just too much football on TV and fans don’t feel compelled too watch the game on now because another one will be coming along in 20 minutes.

And it’s not just too much pro football.

There was a time when a game such as Saturday’s Alabama vs. Texas A&M game would have been ABC’s game of the week. Fans all over the country would have been talking about it during the week and it would get a huge national audience.

Fans didn’t have the choice I had on my cable system this weekend. From noon until 10:30 p.m. Saturday, I could have picked two or three games to watch out of a selection of 37 games.

That included Grandview at Peru State and/or Lehigh at Holy Cross.

On Sunday, of course, I get the Steelers at 4:25 p.m., but can also watch Ravens vs. Jets at 1 p.m. and Seahawks vs. Cardinals on Football Night in America.

And, by the way, how does NBC get away with declaring Sunday night America’s football night?

There are games on Saturday, Monday and Thursday and Friday nights.

Monday Night Football is a shadow of its former self and the NFL doesn’t even get Thursday night to itself. You might want to make a note to remind yourself about the four college games this Thursday, including Virginia Tech at Pitt. If you’re not a Pitt fan, there’s the always important Appalachian State vs. Georgia Southern game.

And who wants to sit outside in the cold and watch high school football on Friday night when Navy vs. South Florida and Yale vs. Columbia are on TV?

It’s been a long time since football was appointment TV. And while the product is being watered down by saturating the market, the NFL is offering games that become more boring by the week.

Dink-and-dunk offenses are everywhere and that means QBs dumping the ball off and throwing screen passes. Field goal kickers are almost twice as good as they were 40 years ago and the league refuses to acknowledge it, which has made coaches ridiculously predictable and boring when they get inside the 40-yard line.

After a ridiculously easy field goal, the NFL gives you two-and-a-half minutes of commercials followed by a touchback followed by two-and-a-half minutes of commercials.

Why is anybody wondering why ratings are falling?

• Tom Brady has thrown for almost 800 yards in two games since serving his suspension. Guess how many passes have traveled 15 or more yards in the air.

Would you believe 11?

His favorite receivers are his two big tight ends. They create impossible mismatches with linebackers and cornerbacks and the Patriots’ offense is unstoppable.

Unstoppable but not necessarily exciting.

• Landry Jones has shown some flashes to indicate he might be a decent NFL back up quarterback, but he’s done nothing to indicate he can be a good starting quarterback. He’s going to have to be crazy good to score enough points to bail out the Steelers’ defense against New England.

• Should the Steelers be feeling extra pressure to at least get to the Super Bowl because of what’s happening in Cleveland? You remember Cleveland, the mistake by the lake. It’s threatening to become the new City of Champions.

• Roy Gerela was good enough to kick field goals for three Steelers Super Bowl teams in the ’70s. He tried 13 field goals from beyond 50 yards.

He made one.

From 40-49 yards he missed 52 of 82 in his career.

From 30-39 he missed 40 of 90.

NFL games were more exciting when the field goal was an adventure instead of an after thought.

John Steigerwald writes a Sunday sports column for the Observer-Reporter.