RevWarRifleman Posted November 27, 2019 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatdrought Posted November 27, 2019 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanfan Posted November 27, 2019 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSE Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 I remember when the Bills took every Sunday off 1 12 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 just the Bills would that be alright? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatdrought Posted November 27, 2019 Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 20 minutes ago, HOUSE said: I remember when the Bills took every Sunday off 12 of the 14 Sundays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie Joe Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 Just have two byes and give all teams playing on Thursday a bye the previous week.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iinii Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 Only if every team playing on Thursday got the same deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted November 28, 2019 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFunPolice Posted November 28, 2019 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctk232 Posted November 28, 2019 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagon127 Posted November 28, 2019 Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshAllin Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 i'd prefer saturday games in place of thurs games 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted November 28, 2019 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hebert19 Posted November 28, 2019 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cripple Creek Posted November 28, 2019 Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah John Posted November 28, 2019 Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 If the NFL wants a longer season add a second bye and make sure any team playing Thursday gets one before that game. Heck, they could even do a Wednesday game too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah John Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 The Patriots have several players missing practice because of illness, not injuries, and it's not surprising considering they were playing in cold rain the whole game. Apparently there's some contagious illness going through the Pats' locker room. Wouldn't it be a darn shame if several of the Cowboys got whatever is taking down the Patriots? Considering how much physical contact there is between players, it would be really hard not to pick up something the players on the other team have. 1 minute ago, PromoTheRobot said: If the NFL wants a longer season add a second bye and make sure any team playing Thursday gets one before that game. Heck, they could even do a Wednesday game too. The only way they could fit in another bye week, creating an 18 week regular season, would be to shorten the preseason. Which a lot of players and teams want to do, but which means a lot of marginal players don't get a chance to show what they can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlando Tim Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 My ideal version of this is two bye weeks during season and every Thursday game is preceded by a bye week after week 3. I think the extra bye week would improve late season football. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fansince88 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 As long as the home team travels rhe week nefor and the traveling team is home I don't have an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 2 hours ago, Aussie Joe said: Just have two byes and give all teams playing on Thursday a bye the previous week.. I'm with you on that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 No. just play football. and I swear to Christ, mom, have the desserts ready before the end of halftime. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stallions Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 3 hours ago, RevWarRifleman said: 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. Vince Ferragamo era - it was awful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelius Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 (edited) I don't really care too much but I'd hope they'd ensure that at least one team doesn't get a bye before Thanksgiving, or any Thursday game for that matter. Not sure if that happens but would definitely seem like an unfair advantage. I am expecting a low scoring, possibly sloppy game. Thursday games always seem pretty awful and low scoring, and I'm going against my own fantasy football rule to never start a Thursday QB with Allen this week. I really have nothing to support this but I swear every Thursday game maxes out at about 30 combined points and has a bunch of turnovers. Edited November 28, 2019 by Nelius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PUNT750 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 NO - NO!!! It's just a Thursday night football game and this week there are 3! Show up and be tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan in Cleveland Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 I would favor getting rid of Thursday games. But if they are to continue they need to find a way to make every team play one Thursday game and add another bye week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da webster guy Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 So many replies here off topic. The answer is emphatically YES thats a great idea and painfully sad the league doesn't embrace the idea. One of the replies was (incorrectly) " well either way you have to play the next sunday" but thats not true at all. You get a bye week so you play in 11 days instead of 14, and you play again in 10 days instead of 7. So you have two games in exactly 3 weeks, just like a 14 day break and a normal game. If you do it with every team then it is an equal number, and the original poster is right you will never have a short four day week which the players (and the players union) has complained about heavily for years now. Great idea. I love Thursday nite football more than Monday nite (duh). League should do it. And while they're at it, put a goddamn white stripe on the football like college so we can see the muddy.lookin ball better you idiots. Imagine soccer, volleyball or golf with a mud colored ball? Yeah...we're that far behind. Still got old guys with sticks and chains (medieval invention) measuring first downs. They should wear armor and have shields too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoHuddleKelly12 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 7 hours ago, HOUSE said: I remember when the Bills took every Sunday off Post of the day! You sir, get an extra embossed genuine imitation gold ribbon seal on your certificate suitable for framing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 It evens out. It's the same for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 11 hours 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. was going to say the first point and definitely the second is true, the game WAS a lot tougher back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 9 hours ago, motorj said: i'd prefer saturday games in place of thurs games Won't happen because of the non-compete with the NCAA. As for a lot of the negativity towards TNF in general.... I think the teams have adjusted. There was a time when those games were always sloppy and the product was terrible. But Indy @ Houston. 9ers @ Cardinals. Rams @ Seahawks. There have been some really good TNF games this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 12 hours ago, ctk232 said: 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. To protect fans of college and high school football, Congress also approved language that barred professional games on Fridays and Saturdays during the schools' seasons. The NFL still stays away from those days outside of rare exceptions, like when Christmas falls on a Friday.Dec 15, 2018 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 12 hours ago, wagon127 said: 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. Well, I didn't mean that they just up and do away with Thurs games. It was more of an opinion, as far as I was concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 11 hours ago, Stallions said: Vince Ferragamo era - it was awful! Yeh, and there was more than Ferragamo. Remember Joe Dufek? Bruce Mathison? Terrible! Trivia question: Who was the Bills starting QB when Kelly came out of the defunct USFL & signed with the Bills? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve O Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 12 hours ago, Buffalo Timmy said: My ideal version of this is two bye weeks during season and every Thursday game is preceded by a bye week after week 3. I think the extra bye week would improve late season football. Not only bye week before Thursday game, but also play the same team next game 11 days later. Home and home against divisional opponent. That way no advantage with the extra rest. That's change number 3 when I'm commissioner. Rule change number 2 is real speed instant replay. If you can't overturn in real speed, the call wasn't incontrovertible. Change number 1 of course is Super Bowl Saturday. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkyMannn Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 NFL agrees with the bye b4 Thanksgiving, but only for the Patriots 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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