Quote:Well I've thought about this as well. There was a time when each team had two byes each season. If the league ever went to a 17 or even 18 game regular season, there would be good reason to revive the idea of a second bye for each team. Then a team traveling overseas could have their overseas game scheduled around a bye and/or a thursday night matchup. For instance, a team could have a Thursday night matchup, then get on a plane on Friday or Saturday to their international destination like Tokyo. Then they have their international game the following Sunday then come back and have a bye the next week. The few times I've been overseas, it's always taken me 2 or 3 days to get adjusted to the new timezone and 2 or 3 to get adjusted when I get back home. I imagine it's the same for most though I could be wrong. If the above scenario happened early in the season for a team, having a second bye later in the season wouldn't necessarily put undue stress on a roster for the rest of a long season.

 

  Though I like you suggestion,  the greatest obstacle appears to be the Sunday Afternoon TV Networks that are NFL broadcast partners.  Back when they had 2 byes per season,  the networks complained that there weren't enough good games available to them in many given weeks.   With the money FOX and CBS is paying for the rights to televise NFL games,  they have major influence in NFL scheduling decisions.

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