Portrait » After years of declines

Irving Fryar Jersey Salute to Service , NFL television ratings are showing modest gains.Three of the league’s television partners have shown increases after the first nine weeks of the season while one remains flat. That is welcome news after ratings decreased 9.7 percent last season and 8 percent in 2016.“I’m glad the league has turned the corner. The top teams are very exciting and there are plenty of high-scoring games,” said Neal Pilson, the former president of CBS Sports who now runs his own sports television consulting company.Pilson said a major ratings driver has been the emergence of young quarterbacks like the Rams’ Jared Goff, the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Bears’ Mitchell Trubisky. That has created a buzz not only with their teams but throughout the league.Another factor is that player protests against social and racial injustice during the national anthem have not been a major storyline this season. Pilson noted that “a few of those folks who said they were going to stop watching I don’t know how many did.”NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” package has shown the biggest improvement with an 8 percent increase from last season. It is averaging 19.7 million viewers, compared to 18.3 million last season.This past Sunday’s game between the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots averaged a league-high 23.7 million, and was the largest prime-time audience on any network since ABC aired the Academy Awards in March. NBC has seen increases all but one week compared to last season.“We’re looking forward to the second half of our schedule, which features many crucial divisional matchups, the Thanksgiving night game, plus the Week 17 flex game. We expect ‘Sunday Night Football’ to finish atop the prime-time rankings yet again,” NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus said in a statement.ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” is averaging 11.418 million, which is up 3 percent (11.135 million). Pilson has been critical of scheduling for Thursday and Monday nights in past seasons, but he said the league has made improvements in those areas. ESPN will have one of the marquee games of the season on Nov. 19 when Kansas City faces the Los Angeles Rams in Mexico City.“For years I thought that they were burying those two nights but they have improved dramatically,” he said.CBS’s Sunday afternoon games are averaging 15.713 million viewers, which is up 1 percent from last season (15.528 million). This past Sunday’s slate of five games John Hannah Jersey , which was headlined by Pittsburgh at Baltimore, had a 10.0 household rating, which was up 23 percent from the same week last season.CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus, whose network has the 2019 Super Bowl, has been pleased with advertising sales for the rest of the season and the Feb. 3 championship game in Atlanta.“There are a number of very good stories. Kansas City is a team of national interest, Mahomes has become a legit star and a lot of the big teams — including New Orleans, Pittsburgh and New England — are playing very well,” he said.Fox’s Sunday afternoon coverage is averaging more viewers than CBS at 17.299 million, but this is a decrease of less than 1 percent from last season (17.414 million).The only package that has sharply declined is Thursday Night Football. It is averaging 12.522 million viewers in its first season on Fox, which is down from the 14.134 million on CBS last season. Fox is hopeful that the numbers can rebound over the next month, which includes Green Bay at Seattle (Nov. 15), New Orleans at Dallas (Nov. 29) and the Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City (Dec. 13).Pilson and McManus think the league’s overall improvements could carry through the second half. That’s even better news for McManus, as he sees a number of potential Super Bowl matchups that would bode well for CBS.“I’m encouraged. There are a lot of good storylines that will carry throughout the next couple months,” he said. “With so much going on that is negative Authentic Tedy Bruschi Jersey , people are looking for an escape and football provides that for a lot of people.”What’s wrong with the Patriots? The Patriots are reeling after getting embarrassed by the Lions on Sunday Night Football. They’ve lost two straight games for the first time since 2015, and they’re starting 1-2 for the first time since 2012. After the game, Bill Belichick said that they have to improve everywhere, and that’s definitely true. There are, however, some specific areas in which the team really needs to improve. Run DefenseThe Patriots have been completely unable to stop the run. This is surprising because I consider their front seven as a unit to be a strength. They have a ton of depth and talent on the defensive line, so there’s no reason why they should be getting pushed around like they have been. The blame goes to the line and the linebackers, who have been allowing huge cutback lanes for the backs in the last two weeks. Getting back Trey Flowers and Patrick Chung, who sometimes acts as another linebacker, will help, but the unit as a whole just needs to start playing better. Passing GameI’m not going to single out the receivers here. The whole unit has been very underwhelming. Tom Brady has yet to eclipse 300 yards passing in a game, and already has two interceptions in three games, which is uncharacteristic of him. Right now, there’s no one other than Rob Gronkowski that has any chance of beating man coverage. If I were playing the Patriots Limited Rob Gronkowski Jersey , I’d run man and double Gronk, and they’d never have a chance. This problem should be alleviated if Julian Edelman comes back the same player he was before his injury last season. And if Josh Gordon can get it together and actually be a factor, then this offense could really be dangerous. For me, it’s disappointing to find out that Phillip Dorsett and Chris Hogan are simply pieces that need better players around them to be successful. Play CallingThis is one that people have been bugged about for a while now. Some of the calls that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels makes are head scratching. He’ll call the same running play a few times in a row, whether or not it works. Then on 3rd and short with the offense struggling to get anything going, he’ll call a run off the guard that loses two yards. It just makes no sense at all. He’s certainly dialed up some great plays here, but it seems that he has a very hard time getting the offense going if it isn’t clicking. Not sure if this one is going to change, but I know I sure hope he’ll step his play calling up. SpeedThey say speed kills. Well, so does lack of speed. The Patriots have looked slow on offense and defense the past two weeks after looking solid against the Texans in the opener. There are certainly players banged up or suspended that will help when they come back, but the entire team looked to be moving in wet cement Sunday night. Dont’a Hightower in particular has looked like he’s lost a step, which would be a massive blow for a team that desperately needs a playmaker on defense. Sometimes, if you’re thinking too much and not just playing, you can play slower than you actually are. Let’s hope that’s what is going on here, and the coaching staff can figure it out. Because otherwise Tom Brady Jersey Salute to Service , it’s going to be a very long season, and the Patriots won’t be going far. There’s too much speed in the NFL, and AFC, for you to be able to compete without good team speed yourself.This week is as close to a must-win as you can have this early in the season. Lose and you’re 1-3 with 3 straight losses, and, more importantly, you’re down three games to the Dolphins. That absolutely cannot happen – so expect them to bounce back and play well. If we know their season is on the line, so do they, and you can bet the farm they won’t just roll over the way they have the last few weeks. Pat is the host of the Weekend Warrior PodcastInteract with him on Twitter @wtplane