Roger I. Abrams: We Could All Use A Bye Week

For twenty years now, the National Football League, in an ever-vigilant effort to find more ways to sell its product to the television networks, has featured 16 games in 17 weeks. From the fourth to the tenth week, each of the 32 teams has one week off. The bye-week system extends the regular season providing for even more programming. The bye week is the time for devoted fans to take a rest from the 0-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for example. The fans of the 0-7 St. Louis Rams could use a bye week, but they don't get one for another week. Just sit back and enjoy the game as played by teams that win. I was musing about how nice it would be to have a bye week as a regular part of our work activities, assuming, of course, that we still have a job in this economy. We could spend a few days in light practice, and then fly off to be with friends and family while every else continues to work. We could even watch them work on Sunday! Bye weeks definitely are not good for fantasy football players. If you paid ... (link)