If NFL won't change, NFL broadcasters need to

As the NFL's ratings continue to drop for what is likely a variety of reasons, the league and its commissioner refuse to actually acknowledge there is a problem at hand.

At the annual fall league meetings on Wednesday, commissioner Roger Goodell gave reporters his usual "nothing is wrong, we are still a strong league" speech. He recognized that the ratings decline does exist, but downplayed the issue and addressed it vaguely stating "We don't make excuses."

The league has shown no signs of changing its product to get rid of the "No Fun League" policies or reputation. Any changes that could be or would be made will be drawn out and voted upon by a group of millionaires and billionaires who seem to have a tough time relating to their fan bases.

The NFL has been notoriously slow to react to its fans' wants, regularly defaulting to the argument that its product has been popular enough not to need adjusting. It's going to take more than half a season of declining ratings to get owners to give any power to fans, but NFL broadcasters don't need to be so stubborn.

As the league has relied on its inexplicable dedication from fans to argue it don't need change, so have broadcasters. The five networks that broadcast league games - NBC, FOX, CBS, ESPN, and NFL Network - all use a fairly formulaic way to show games that quite honestly have become boring and predictable.

The younger demographic is starting to take over, but broadcasters aren't making any moves to accommodate and older viewers are growing tired with the same old song and dance. Here are three changes broadcasters can make to help correct what the NFL won't.

Get rid of 'legendary' commentators

NBC's Al Michaels, CBS's Jim Nantz, and ESPN's Chris Berman have been described as the voices of the NFL after a combined 107 years of broadcasting experience. There's no denying they have their places in sports media history, but all that time in the broadcast booth and the studio have left them out of touch with viewers.

Their jokes are old, their references are out-dated, and they've gotten used to doing things the same way week after week with complete support from their higher-ups. It's tough to find good, young talent to replace men known as "broadcasting legends," but everyone has an expiry date.

Give the fans some credit

Once upon a time, Sundays were meant strictly for NFL football, and Sundays only. That is not the case anymore.

With games played on three days of the week and constant access to news, reaction, and analysis in our pockets, the need to constantly recap storylines and news events that take place all week on Sundays is redundant. No one needs a five-minute segment telling them Colin Kaepernick is protesting the anthem before 49ers games, or that the Panthers went to the Super Bowl last year, or that Tom Brady was suspended for a dumb reason. We know. Tell us something new, give fans an original thought, or don't say anything at all.

Football is a complicated sport with endless strategies that most fans don't really understand all the ins and outs of - so don't tell fans that month-old story is all you've got to work with.

Promote recently-retired stars

ESPN's NFL countdown show is starting to figure it out. Adding recently-retired stars Randy Moss, Charles Woodson, and Matt Hasselbeck to the panel has given fans a much better idea of what current players are going through. The fact that Phil Simms bumbles through two nationally-broadcasted games a week with little input on what he's watching is annoying and insulting. With the support of their bosses, player-turned-broadcasters like Simms and Troy Aikman have resorted to pointing out the obvious and referencing their careers from a different era.

Like the issue with older play-by-play men, player analysts have gotten into a groove, relying heavily on the fact that they played in the league and fans didn't, so what they say goes. That doesn't fly anymore.

Fans are so involved and educated that making weak arguments and playing the "I played and you didn't" card doesn't have much validity, especially in a league that has changed so much over time. With Pro Bowlers like Peyton Manning, Marshawn Lynch, Calvin Johnson, Greg Jennings, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Jared Allen, Justin Tuck, and Charles Tillman out of the league, there are plenty of modern NFL stars who could give their thoughts on today's game.