Thursday Night Football: Another NFL Hypocrisy

[CloakNNNdagger]

We all know that bodies do not require time to heal...........especially football bodies..........

Ravens, Eagles will play four games in 17 days this season
Posted by Mike Florio on September 15, 2012, 9:19 AM EDT


On Thursday’s Pro Football Talk, I pointed out the disconnect between safety and having every team play once this year on a Thursday, after playing on a Sunday.

Jason Whitlock of FOXSports.com took that inconsistency to the next level (or two) on Friday, with a scathing rebuke of the league’s decision to play Thursday Night Football.

Whitlock points out that the Ravens are in the midst of a season-opening stretch of four games in 17 days. We checked the schedule for every team; the Eagles will do it, too, from November 26 (a Monday nighter against Carolina) through December 13 (a Thursday night game against the Bengals).

THE REST OF THE STORY Be sure to also click on the link within the text above.

[Thorn]

4 games in 17 days has got to be rough on the players.

[Playoffs]

I'm losing interest in Thursday NFL games outside of Turkey Day -- Sunday & Monday is enough.

And I agree that players are in greater danger stacking games so close together.

[Dutchrudder]

I really think the NFL is missing out on a great way to extend the NFL season and give players more recovery time. Add two more bye weeks to the schedule and make them 3 or 4 weeks apart. So instead of a 17 week season, it becomes 19, with bye week rotations starting week 4, 8 and 12. It still allows for the final division matchups at the end of the season, and it helps break up the games. The season would have to be moved up and preseason could be shortened to make up for that, but I think it would be good for the
Players.

[b0ng]

Originally Posted by Dutchrudder

I really think the NFL is missing out on a great way to extend the NFL season and give players more recovery time. Add two more bye weeks to the schedule and make them 3 or 4 weeks apart. So instead of a 17 week season, it becomes 19, with bye week rotations starting week 4, 8 and 12. It still allows for the final division matchups at the end of the season, and it helps break up the games. The season would have to be moved up and preseason could be shortened to make up for that, but I think it would be good for the
Players.

You should know by now that the NFL does not care about the "good for the players" bit.

[SheTexan]

Is this part of the new CBA? If so, why did the players agree?

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by SheTexan

Is this part of the new CBA? If so, why did the players agree?

The new CBA mapped out a 16 game Thursday Night Football schedule.

[dream_team]

If the NFL really cared about player safety, they'd try to move the sport back to a more ground & pound low scoring type of game.

But of course, that isn't good for ratings.

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by dream_team

If the NFL really cared about player safety, they'd try to move the sport back to a more ground & pound low scoring type of game.

But of course, that isn't good for ratings.

Maybe that's why they have such an infatuation for Tebow.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by dream_team

If the NFL really cared about player safety, they'd try to move the sport back to a more ground & pound low scoring type of game.

But of course, that isn't good for ratings.

Please show the running game is safer than the passing game. I am sure all the linemen would like to hear it.

[dream_team]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Please show the running game is safer than the passing game. I am sure all the linemen would like to hear it.

Well it's more of a theory of mine, so I could easily be wrong. I have no hard facts to back it up.

When the NFL talks about player safety today, they are mostly talking about head injuries. I don't think they care about finding ways to reduce the number ankle sprains or ACL tears. All of the new player safety rules revolve around reducing head injuries.

The NFL has been around for close to 100 years, so why are head injuries just a concern as of late? Helmet technology has gotten better, so safety should have gotten better... but it hasn't.

The reason is the NFL wanted to produce more action & scoring to make the game more exciting, thus boost ratings. They did this by introducing/enforcing rules to make passing the ball much easier. Defensive backs can no longer basically touch a receiver, or else they'll get called for a PI.

So how do defenses respond to this? The best way to defend the pass is to rush the passer and hammer receivers once they touch the ball. And here's where your increase in head injuries come from.

[dream_team]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Please show the running game is safer than the passing game. I am sure all the linemen would like to hear it.

Well it's more of a theory of mine, so I could easily be wrong. I have no hard facts to back it up.

When the NFL talks about player safety today, they are mostly talking about head injuries. I don't think they care about finding ways to reduce the number ankle sprains or ACL tears. All of the new player safety rules revolve around reducing head injuries.

The NFL has been around for close to 100 years, so why are head injuries just a concern as of late? Helmet technology has gotten better, so safety should have gotten better... but it hasn't.

The reason is the NFL wanted to produce more action & scoring to make the game more exciting, thus boost ratings. They did this by introducing/enforcing rules to make passing the ball much easier. Defensive backs can no longer basically touch a receiver, or else they'll get called for a PI.

So how do defenses respond to this? The best way to defend the pass is to rush the passer and hammer receivers once they touch the ball. And here's where your increase in head injuries come from.

[GuerillaBlack]

Originally Posted by Ryan

Maybe that's why they have such an infatuation for Tebow.

Yeah maybe that's why they have changed the rules to favor the passing game. Tebow was popular for who he was off the field and the crazy stuff he did at the end of games. Had nothing to do with the ground and pound.

[Nawzer]

There will come a time when we'll have NFL football 7 days a week. It's inevitable imo. There's too much money to be made. Thursday night football is such a weird night to have a game. I was watching the Packs and Bears game it didn't feel like a real football game to me. It just doesn't feel right to me, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who love it.

[Joeycharp89]

Originally Posted by dream_team

Well it's more of a theory of mine, so I could easily be wrong. I have no hard facts to back it up.

When the NFL talks about player safety today, they are mostly talking about head injuries. I don't think they care about finding ways to reduce the number ankle sprains or ACL tears. All of the new player safety rules revolve around reducing head injuries.

The NFL has been around for close to 100 years, so why are head injuries just a concern as of late? Helmet technology has gotten better, so safety should have gotten better... but it hasn't.

The reason is the NFL wanted to produce more action & scoring to make the game more exciting, thus boost ratings. They did this by introducing/enforcing rules to make passing the ball much easier. Defensive backs can no longer basically touch a receiver, or else they'll get called for a PI.

So how do defenses respond to this? The best way to defend the pass is to rush the passer and hammer receivers once they touch the ball. And here's where your increase in head injuries come from.

Sort of makes sense. Though I sort of believe that no matter how many rules you try to put in place to prevent head injuries they will still occur. At least, anything short of turning Football into an entirely different sport. With how fast these big guys can ram into each other it's almost unavoidable to not get a concussion, even if it's just from hitting the ground.