For nearly every player at nearly every National Football League game, it is a lonely walk from the locker room to the field as halftime ends and the decisive second half Marlon Humphrey Jersey beckons. The stadium that shortly before was overflowing with energy and enthusiasm, with nearly every seat occupied, now is almost entirely empty.Because as much as customers want to get some food or a beer or to dispose of what they consumed before and during the first half 12 minutes just is not enough time to get this accomplished when nearly 70,000 people are using the same window. So they remain stranded in conce sions or restroom lines while the second-half kickoff transpires.STEELE: Bad development ruiningQB play "Ive noticed it on my jog out from the locker room going out for the second half,"Indianapolis Colts nose tackle David Parry told Sporting News. "But as soon as the ball is kicked off and the second half starts, I'm focused on whats going on out on the field."The NFL has the shortest halftime break of any major spectator sport, and that has a considerable impact on how the game is paced at other points during the three-plus hours required to complete a game. With the loud discu sion since the 2016 season began about declining ratings, the league can only control those elements that are within its purview. And there is no other element of the product that can be as easily improved as the way the games are structured.One Pittsburgh Steelers season-ticket holder told SN he has pondered surrendering the two seats that have been owned by his family for more than four decades because of the "intrusivene s" of game stoppages. He expre sed the greatest botherat the mad dash toward commercial any time a player shows signs of needing attention for injury, noting one instance in the team's game against the New York Giants when a player stayed down for a momentbut got to his feet before the training staff could reach him on the field.He could have been off the field safely in time for the game to resume with only a brief interruption. Instead, fans in the stands were forced to wait through several minutes of television ads before the game resumed.MORE: NFL considering fewer commercials The Wall Street Journal earlier this decade conducted a study that demonstrated there are only 11 minutes of game action during the course of any NFL telecast. That's the sport. It's what surrounds those 11 minutes that can be dre sed in different ways that are more pleasing for the fans in the stadium and at home."Everything you have thought of, we have too,"Brian McCarthy, the NFL's vice president of communications, told SN. "We look at everything. It's trying to balance a number of factors Tavon Young Jersey to put on a game that is continuous and meets the needs of teams on the field, people in the stadium and fans at home. We do look to balance all these things."We look at everything. We do make adjustments where nece sary. We are fans of the game, too."Here are a few things the league could addre s easily: Extend halftime to 15 minutes. That will allow some of the commercial breaks that are weaved into game action after punt exchanges, kickoffsand even injuries to be le s intrusive.It only makes sense advertisers prefer commercials that run during the course of games as opposed to those that air at halftime. The audience is more captive then, waiting for the next play rather than dashing to the powder room during the break. But advertisers generally will get greater penetration for their spots if the audience is larger than if it continues to shrink. In college football, halftime is 20 minutes. In the NHL,three periods are divided by two 15-minute breaks. NBA teams stop for 15 minutes at halftime. But it almost seems as though NFL teams march into their locker rooms with merely enough time to turn around and reenter the field.PHOTOS: Remembering epic Super Bowl 50 halftime showDarrel Young, Robert Griffin III and the Redskins trot off the field during halftime of a game against the Eagles in 2013. (Getty Images) At 12 minutes, players say there'senough timeto get done what is nece sary: a bathroom break, a bit of rest, maybe an energy bar and definitely some strategic adjustments. Colts left tackle Anthony Castonzo said, "The last thing you want to do is come in at halftime and get cold, then go out there the second half and have to re-warm up."Parry said the only time he feels "time-crunched"is on an exceedingly hot day when he might need to receive IV fluids. Because people kind of struggle finding my vein."Let's not pretend the 12-minute halftime is sacred, though. At the Colts-Pittsburgh Steelers game on Thanksgiving Night, it was extended to 14 minutes as Marvin Harrison and Tony Dungy received their Pro Football Hall of Fame Marshal Yanda Jersey rings. At the Super Bowl, obviously the biggest game of the year, it's stretched to 30 minutes to accommodate the halftime concert (Lady Gaga, really?) and some more of those big-money commercials. Put a time cap on replay reviews. Yes, getting the call correct is paramount. But we know by now that replay decisions can be as subjective and wrong as those executed by game officials in real time.Theres nothing more frustrating for spectators than a review that drags on only to end with a non-decision. The officialsno longer confe s in their explanations there isnt a definitive camera angle that presents a view worthy of overturning the call on the field. Theyll simply tell you the play stands as called. That's code for: We tried but couldnt find any definitive evidence.Often, though, they try too hard. It has been reported the average replay review lasts fewer than 45 seconds, but that would seem to include automatic reviews triggered by obvious scoring plays and turnovers given that many reviews require several minutes to complete. If no decisive angle can be found in a certain amount of time 90 seconds, perhaps the game should move on to the next play.MORE: How replay affects the psyche of refsCoach Bill Belichick and the Patriots watch a replay review during a game against the Steelers in 2016. (Getty Images) IYER: NFL can't totally fix replay"Could they be shorter? Could Tony Jefferson Jersey they be better? Are replays too long? Brian Rolapp, the NFL Networks president, said at a National A sociation of Broadcasters convention. We are constantly looking at those things to make the pace of games more interesting. Always get on with the show. One of the great beauties of the 1 p.m. NFL kickoff is that the ball actually goes into the air somewhere around 1 p.m. With later afternoon telecasts, or in prime time, the distance between the pregame show and kickoff leads to the belief that the game needs an introduction.It doesnt. The announcers have more than three hours as we've established to discu s injuries that might affect the outcome, the consequences of the game and other circumstances of the two teams.When the San Diego Chargers visited the Denver Broncos for an AFC West game in late October, this is how the telecast began: a 22-second animated opening; announcers Greg Gumbel and Trent Green advancing the game for 1:50; a series of CBS programming promos that last 1 minute; a minute worth of advertising spots; then a 1-minute reset that included a dispatch from a sideline reporter.More than 5 minutes in, and no one had blocked, tackled, run or pa s.Are you ready for some football?Yes, may we have some, please?
