RevWarRifleman Posted November 27, 2019 Posted November 27, 2019 Been thinking about how much of a grind the game is on the body by this time in the season. Each year, 6 teams are playing on Thanksgiving Thursday. Yes, they have the following Sunday off, but many players, by this time in the season are falling in love with the ice water bath. When the idea of playing games on Thanksgiving was first implemented, generations ago, players were slower, smaller, and had to have jobs during the off season in order to pay the monthly bills. Today's NFL player is way bigger & faster. Just wondering what some of your thoughts might be on this. Go Bills
whatdrought Posted November 27, 2019 Posted November 27, 2019 Two things: 1- what about every other Thursday game? 2- The whole "players were slower and smaller" narrative is so overdone in general (not specifically calling you out). It's more less saying players now take more abuse than Bronco Nagurski and Dick Butkus did in their generation. it just doesn't measure up. 6
oldmanfan Posted November 27, 2019 Posted November 27, 2019 (edited) If they were the only Thursday games of the year I’d agree. Edited November 27, 2019 by oldmanfan 3
HOUSE Posted November 27, 2019 Posted November 27, 2019 I remember when the Bills took every Sunday off 1 12 1 1
RevWarRifleman Posted November 27, 2019 Author Posted November 27, 2019 10 minutes ago, whatdrought said: Two things: 1- what about every other Thursday game? 2- The whole "players were slower and smaller" narrative is so overdone in general (not specifically calling you out). It's more less saying players now take more abuse than Bronco Nagurski and Dick Butkus did in their generation. it just doesn't measure up. As far as I'm concerned with #1, they can do away with Thursday night games. At least with Sunday & Monday games, they have close to a week to recoup & prepare. As with the old school days, yeh it was though, but they played 12 games then. 1
RevWarRifleman Posted November 27, 2019 Author Posted November 27, 2019 2 minutes ago, HOUSE said: I remember when the Bills took every Sunday off Yes, you must be thinking about 1984- 85. Back -to-back 2-14 seasons. I swear, there were college teams that could have beaten those Bills.
whatdrought Posted November 27, 2019 Posted November 27, 2019 1 minute ago, RevWarRifleman said: As far as I'm concerned with #1, they can do away with Thursday night games. At least with Sunday & Monday games, they have close to a week to recoup & prepare. As with the old school days, yeh it was though, but they played 12 games then. For player safety I agree. As a consumer, I enjoy the Thursday night games. I watch maybe 7-10 of them a year and it's nice to have football another day of the week. Yeah, that is true. Nutrition and medical care (both restorative and preventative) were much less impactful then as well... I think the guys then had a lot of toughness, and there wasn't as much of a priority placed on player health, which we're seeing create a big issue for these guys later in life. My main point on that note is just that I think, while it's true that humans are bigger and faster, I don't think it removes any of the wear and tear and grit that those guys faced then.
row_33 Posted November 27, 2019 Posted November 27, 2019 20 minutes ago, HOUSE said: I remember when the Bills took every Sunday off 12 of the 14 Sundays
Aussie Joe Posted November 27, 2019 Posted November 27, 2019 Just have two byes and give all teams playing on Thursday a bye the previous week.. 2
iinii Posted November 27, 2019 Posted November 27, 2019 Only if every team playing on Thursday got the same deal.
RyanC883 Posted November 28, 2019 Posted November 28, 2019 I could do w/o the Thursday games. Wrecks havoc on trying to watch the games, and setup a fantasy lineup! I'd go back to Sun/Mon, with a bye for the teams playing on Thanksgiving. 1
TheFunPolice Posted November 28, 2019 Posted November 28, 2019 Either way you'd have to play again Sunday then I wouldn't mind mnf becoming a Marquee product again 1
ctk232 Posted November 28, 2019 Posted November 28, 2019 (edited) What was the reason they didn't want to do Friday games? High school football and TV ratings? It's only a day, but I feel like Friday night games would be a more reasonable short week for the players. TNF is only for the money anyway, so it stands to reason Friday night likely wouldn't yield the same ROI as Thursday. But I honestly can't imagine how much less/more lucrative it'd be on either day. Edited November 28, 2019 by ctk232
wagon127 Posted November 28, 2019 Posted November 28, 2019 1 hour ago, RevWarRifleman said: As far as I'm concerned with #1, they can do away with Thursday night games. At least with Sunday & Monday games, they have close to a week to recoup & prepare. As with the old school days, yeh it was though, but they played 12 games then. I'm honestly curious, how realistic do you think it is that the NFL cancels Thursday Night football. Especially after signing a huge TV deal with fox over a year ago.
JoshAllin Posted November 28, 2019 Posted November 28, 2019 i'd prefer saturday games in place of thurs games 1
Big Turk Posted November 28, 2019 Posted November 28, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, RevWarRifleman said: As far as I'm concerned with #1, they can do away with Thursday night games. At least with Sunday & Monday games, they have close to a week to recoup & prepare. As with the old school days, yeh it was though, but they played 12 games then. They will never do away with Thursday night games they are a major revenue source for the league with their ability to get huge TV contracts for an extra night. Fox just paid 3.3 Billion for Thursday night games over 5 years. Do the math...no way that is going away. Edited November 28, 2019 by matter2003 1
Hebert19 Posted November 28, 2019 Posted November 28, 2019 I'm all for Thursdays tbh. Yes people B word about it...but if you have a deep roster and understand that opponents are dealing with the same thing you have a gameplan that supports it. I like the bills in this game for the very reason...cowboys poorly coached and had a tough game Sunday in the rain...we dominated and have great depth. Go bills
Cripple Creek Posted November 28, 2019 Posted November 28, 2019 2 hours ago, whatdrought said: Two things: 1- what about every other Thursday game? ding ding ding ding Really no other answer is necessary.
Utah John Posted November 28, 2019 Posted November 28, 2019 I don't see the league scheduling byes before Thursday night games. The one thing I think they should do is minimize having a team play on Sunday night before a Thursday game, as the Cowboys had to do this week. I realize this is the team the Bills are playing, but it could just as well be the Bills in that situation in the future, and that would really suck. Those few hours difference between an early and a late game could be crucial, especially for the coaches trying to work up the game plan. On that topic, does the league try to get game films out early to the teams playing on Thursdays? In this case the Bills tape would go to the Cowboys, and vice versa. The more time the Bills coaches have with the tape of the Cowboys, the better. If the tape doesn't show up until Tuesday, that doesn't let them get any use from it.
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