NFL's new rulings for Thursday Night Football

Discussion in 'National Football League' started by Brook!, Mar 29, 2023.

  1. Brook!

    Brook! Soft Admin...2018 Friendliest Member Award Winner

    Joined:
    May 11, 2011
    Messages:
    14,438
    Likes Received:
    17,263
    Seems like if we get Rodgers, we might truly play 2 Thursday night games.

    One game against Cowboys in Thanksgiving, another one late in the season for playoff seeding. Who knows. Also, the rule about every team playing a prime time game has been lifted. Some teams won't appear on Thursday night. Lucky them I guess.



     
  2. Brook!

    Brook! Soft Admin...2018 Friendliest Member Award Winner

    Joined:
    May 11, 2011
    Messages:
    14,438
    Likes Received:
    17,263
    On a related note...

     
    stinkyB likes this.
  3. stinkyB

    stinkyB 2009 Best Avatar Award Winner

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2002
    Messages:
    13,201
    Likes Received:
    11,526
    meh... F- Thursday Night Football
     
  4. Jonathan_Vilma

    Jonathan_Vilma Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2004
    Messages:
    32,240
    Likes Received:
    30,556
    Football season has almost become exhausting for avid fans. I can’t say that I personally mind it a ton, but games 3 days a week + college if you watch it including all weekend is a lot.

    It’s also terrible for the product on the field to play on short weeks. You can almost see the players playing tired. And if a team takes a commanding first half lead it’s almost like both teams play the second half just to get out of there without getting hurt.

    And fuck streaming the games. But we all watch so they’ll continue to ratchet it up.
     
    Jojo, stinkyB and Dierking like this.
  5. Brook!

    Brook! Soft Admin...2018 Friendliest Member Award Winner

    Joined:
    May 11, 2011
    Messages:
    14,438
    Likes Received:
    17,263
    Well said. I am in the same boat. Even though I don't watch college football, I feel like Thursday night games are watered down product for reasons you mention.

    Tell me JV, is there a law against NFL playing on Saturday night?
     
    DetroitRed and Losmeister like this.
  6. Br4d

    Br4d 2018 Weeb Ewbank Award

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2004
    Messages:
    36,670
    Likes Received:
    14,472
    If they ever flex Sunday to Thursday or vice-versa there are going to be huge catcalls directed at the league office from all angles.

    This would be like Disney telling tourists their weekend trip needed to happen two days early at the last minute.
     
  7. Brook!

    Brook! Soft Admin...2018 Friendliest Member Award Winner

    Joined:
    May 11, 2011
    Messages:
    14,438
    Likes Received:
    17,263
    https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35986328/thursday-flex-proposal-tabled-mara-mahomes-critics

    NFL clubs table TNF flex proposal; Mara, Mahomes among critics

    PHOENIX -- While NFL owners opted not to vote on a rule that would allow games to be flexed into a Thursday night kickoff, they agreed Tuesday to modify the existing rule and allow teams to play a maximum of two short-week games.

    That means that while some teams could play two Thursday night games, others would not have any. Back-to-back Thursday night games, such as a Thanksgiving game followed by a Thursday night game the next week, would only count as one short-week game, so some teams could wind up playing three Thursday games.

    "We're interested in making sure that we get exposure for all of our clubs," said Brian Rolapp, NFL executive vice president and chief media and business officer.

    "We also believe that these national windows are for clubs that are playing well. We want to put the best teams in the best windows."

    While the tabled proposal and subsequent modification on the final day of the league's annual meetings in Phoenix had support from a sizable number of clubs, others met it with tepid reactions, and some were adamantly opposed, including New York Giants owner John Mara, who called the idea "abusive."

    Mara said owner support for the proposal was close and said he's concerned a vote will come up again at the spring league meetings in May and will pass. A flexed game would be announced 15 days before the scheduled Thursday kickoff.

    "At some point, can we please give some consideration to the people who are coming to our games?" Mara said. "People make plans to go to these games weeks and months in advance. And 15 days ahead of time to say, 'Sorry, folks, that game you were planning on taking your kids to Sunday at 1, now it's on Thursday night?' What are we thinking about?"

    Mara also said he's frustrated that the idea was presented to the owners at the league meetings this week with no advance warning.

    "This should have been vetted with the health and safety committee, it should have been vetted with the competition committee, and it was not," Mara said. "They just tried to push it through."

    NFL commissioner Roger Goodell pushed back against Mara's assertion that the practice would be "abusive" to fans, saying the league is trying to balance the best interests of in-stadium fans with those watching on television from home.

    "There isn't anybody in any of our organization that doesn't put our fans first," Goodell said. "Providing the best matchups for our fans is what we do. That's part of what our schedule has always focused on. Flex has been part of that. We are very judicious with it and careful with it. We look at all the impacts of that before a decision is made."

    Players also appeared to be critical of the decision to increase the number of Thursday night games a team can play. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the league's reigning MVP, tweeted the news with a facepalm emoji.

    Asked about Mahomes' reaction, Goodell stressed that the league isn't prioritizing a broadcast partner over the health and safety of players.

    "I don't think we are putting Amazon (which has Thursday night rights) over players' interest," Goodell said. "We look at data with respect to injuries and impact on players. ... I think we have data that's very clear, it doesn't show higher injury rate."

    "I hear from a lot of players directly. too. They have 10 days (off) afterwards. So there's some benefits on that side."

    Pittsburgh Steelers president and CEO Art Rooney II said he was in favor of two Thursday night games, but he also opposed the Thursday flex.

    "I didn't support the flex part," Rooney said. "I think that if we are smart about how we schedule the teams ... if they're playing two Thursday nights, I mean, for instance, you can give them back-to-back Thursdays, things like that, and have a bye on one end or things like that. I think it can be done in a way that teams will be able to live with it. It provides more inventory to schedule on Thursday night, so it can be a good thing.

    "The biggest problem I had with the flex was that the proposal was that you only had 15 days' notice. That's just too short of a turnaround time for a flex from a Sunday to Thursday, as far as I'm concerned."
     
  8. ColoradoContrails

    ColoradoContrails Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 2016
    Messages:
    14,409
    Likes Received:
    21,486
    Pretty soon the NFL will announce that there will be no live audiences for games, and they'll have teams play on fields without stands, using soundtracks to simulate crowd noise. It's obvious that they really only value the broadcast money they rake in.
     
    Ralebird and Footballgod214 like this.
  9. ukjetsfan

    ukjetsfan Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2005
    Messages:
    4,365
    Likes Received:
    3,319
    If the league would accept having a few weeks in the season where there is no Thursday Night Football, it could be arranged that the teams playing would always be coming off their bye week. That way they would not have played just four days earlier and the on-field product would improve as well as lessening the potential for injury due to playing on such a short week. Last season there were eight weeks where multiple teams had byes. That could be expanded to maybe 10 weeks without any difficulty. Plus week one can always feature a game on Thursday night without any problems.

    I will always believe that asking players to play on Sunday and then Thursday is irresponsible, but the league is only interested in money.
     
    Jets79 likes this.
  10. Nyjets4eva

    Nyjets4eva Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2005
    Messages:
    1,615
    Likes Received:
    1,194
    TNF games are usually horrible tbh wish they just get rid of it all together
     
  11. Jets79

    Jets79 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2020
    Messages:
    2,624
    Likes Received:
    5,206
    I LOVE football and either attend in person or watch all Jets games on TV.

    I HATE Thursday football…I think it puts both teams at risk with no rest time, but it puts a HUGE disadvantage to the traveling team. I hate having to dedicate another night to watch when I already eat up all day Sunday with the early game the afternoon game and then the night game.

    If I could I would do away with Thursday.

    But if we HAVE to have it, then I would absolutely schedule it so the teams playing on Thursday are coming off bye weeks…then at least they’d have a fair shot.

    But yah, the NFL doesn’t care about fair play or safety if it cost them TV money…just awful
     
    Nyjets4eva, papapump and ukjetsfan like this.
  12. Acad23

    Acad23 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2008
    Messages:
    25,743
    Likes Received:
    20,162
    I just knew Amazon would flex their muscle once they bought the TNF package.
     
    JETFUEL1580, Nyjets4eva and papapump like this.
  13. NY Jets68

    NY Jets68 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2010
    Messages:
    5,847
    Likes Received:
    3,176
    NFL pushes quantity not quality.
    Playing a Sunday game followed by a Thursday game puts player health in jeopardy.
    Adding a 17th game doesn't help them either.
     
  14. LogeSection2RowJ

    LogeSection2RowJ Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2009
    Messages:
    3,380
    Likes Received:
    2,311
    I only watched one Thursday Night game last season. It's a transition to ignoring "some" NFL Football. Not easy to do ; )

    Also, for the league supposedly sooo concerned about player's safety, they don't seem to give a shit about short rest, and how that could really affect undetected brain injuries happening on Sunday then compounding four days later. Greedy bastards are they.
     
  15. JETFUEL1580

    JETFUEL1580 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2022
    Messages:
    1,469
    Likes Received:
    1,253
    I feel the same
     
  16. stinkyB

    stinkyB 2009 Best Avatar Award Winner

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2002
    Messages:
    13,201
    Likes Received:
    11,526

    yep, same here. probably really only watched two games all season....
    The NFL is so full of shit...
     
  17. Jojo

    Jojo Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2021
    Messages:
    339
    Likes Received:
    298
    I'm actually content when the season ends. Get my Sundays back to actually DO things. And yes, add in ALL the college football, its wearing.
    Australian rules football, is worth looking into. Easily my 2nd favorite sport.
     
  18. abyzmul

    abyzmul R.J. MacReady, 2018 Funniest Member Award Winner

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2003
    Messages:
    50,770
    Likes Received:
    21,906
    And how about them transatlantic flights to London and back?
     
  19. stinkyB

    stinkyB 2009 Best Avatar Award Winner

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2002
    Messages:
    13,201
    Likes Received:
    11,526
    Well, I guess if you were stuck on one of those that would be a good time to watch a Thursday night game.... as long as you didnt wash down sleeping pills at the airport bar.
     
  20. Unhappyjetsfan

    Unhappyjetsfan Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2013
    Messages:
    2,968
    Likes Received:
    2,077
    On behalf of every fan of a team who has lived out of state for 30 years and has to scramble every week to find a pirated live stream (that dies every five minutes and has constant pop-up adds in the middle of plays), I'd like to punch Goodell in the face.
     
    Sec124DieHard, JETFUEL1580 and Brook! like this.

Share This Page