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- Peter
Yes, you read that right. Don't know what planet he's on mentally or if he's merely trying to push a failing product, but Thursday night NFL games suck for the most part. For those of you too young to remember the infamous Baghdad Bob, look it up.
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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...uality-of-games-is-better-on-thursday-nights/
Roger Goodell: The quality of games is better on Thursday nights
Posted by Josh Alper on January 25, 2017
Getty Images
The quality of Thursday night games has been much discussed since the league expanded the slate of games played during the week and the general feeling expressed by players, fans and media members has been that the games aren’t a particularly good example of the NFL’s product.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell disagrees with that assessment. During an interview with Goodell on “The Herd” Wednesday, Colin Cowherd of FOX Sports said that he and his staff had found that there are fewer penalties and a higher completion percentage in Thursday night games and asked Goodell if that battled the narrative that the games aren’t very good to watch.
“We’re more than just optics here. We’re into facts,” Goodell said. “Go to the same statistics, because you’re right about the quality of the games on Thursday night. There are actually less penalties, less turnovers. Almost by every barometer the quality of the games is better on Thursday night. Obviously, some games you’re going to have aren’t going to be as competitive, they will have a dominance. You get that.”
It should probably go without saying that fewer penalties and turnovers and higher completion percentages don’t necessarily translate to a higher quality game and does nothing to combat complaints from players about the quick turnaround from Sunday to Thursday.
Goodell said that there is no “indication, facts or anything else that would indicate that the level of injuries are up on Thursday night” but did say the league would look at scheduling to minimize stresses on teams.
Like many other things in the league, the long-term answer on Thursday night games (the current contract with CBS and NBC runs through 2017) probably comes down to a decision about whether or not the league benefits more from having the game than they would by scrapping the Thursday slate. If ratings and revenues are good enough, questions about the quality of the games aren’t likely to rattle the league all that much.
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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...-completion-percentage-irrelevant-to-quality/
Penalties, completion percentage irrelevant to quality
Posted by Mike Florio on January 26, 2017
The goofy notion that Thursday night football is somehow better than football played on other days sprung from a single premise, as articulated by Colin Cowherd during his interview of Commissioner Roger Goodell: Thursday night games have fewer penalties and higher completion percentages.
For starters, penalty rates and completion percentages are hardly the definitive metrics for determining the overall quality of a football game. Whether or not a given football game is “good” depends on many things, with the ultimate attractions being lead changes, splash plays, big hits, dramatic moments, and an outcome determined as late as possible in the contest.
The bigger problem with these two hand-picked factors, which supposedly were the product of show research but which more likely were handed to the host by someone who works at 345 Park Avenue, come from what reduced penalties and increased completions actually mean.
As one league source with extensive experience studying football games played on every day of the week explained it to PFT, reduced penalties and increased completions are the signs of a blowout.
In blowouts, the defense of the team on the right side of the margin plays a lot of loose, zone coverage. The team that’s trailing consequently gets plenty of “garbage completions” that pad stats.
The team with the lead throws fewer passes, in order to keep the clock running. When they do throw, the passes are more likely to be short and controlled, which pushes the completion rates even higher.
Penalties also decline because the officials become less inclined to bog down a game that no longer is in doubt.
So whoever cooked up a hot take based on those ingredients needs to cram the thing into the garbage disposal, quickly. As more and more people get a whiff and/or a taste of it, more and more people will question the sanity of the chefs.
************************************************************************************
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...uality-of-games-is-better-on-thursday-nights/
Roger Goodell: The quality of games is better on Thursday nights
Posted by Josh Alper on January 25, 2017
The quality of Thursday night games has been much discussed since the league expanded the slate of games played during the week and the general feeling expressed by players, fans and media members has been that the games aren’t a particularly good example of the NFL’s product.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell disagrees with that assessment. During an interview with Goodell on “The Herd” Wednesday, Colin Cowherd of FOX Sports said that he and his staff had found that there are fewer penalties and a higher completion percentage in Thursday night games and asked Goodell if that battled the narrative that the games aren’t very good to watch.
“We’re more than just optics here. We’re into facts,” Goodell said. “Go to the same statistics, because you’re right about the quality of the games on Thursday night. There are actually less penalties, less turnovers. Almost by every barometer the quality of the games is better on Thursday night. Obviously, some games you’re going to have aren’t going to be as competitive, they will have a dominance. You get that.”
It should probably go without saying that fewer penalties and turnovers and higher completion percentages don’t necessarily translate to a higher quality game and does nothing to combat complaints from players about the quick turnaround from Sunday to Thursday.
Goodell said that there is no “indication, facts or anything else that would indicate that the level of injuries are up on Thursday night” but did say the league would look at scheduling to minimize stresses on teams.
Like many other things in the league, the long-term answer on Thursday night games (the current contract with CBS and NBC runs through 2017) probably comes down to a decision about whether or not the league benefits more from having the game than they would by scrapping the Thursday slate. If ratings and revenues are good enough, questions about the quality of the games aren’t likely to rattle the league all that much.
-----------
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...-completion-percentage-irrelevant-to-quality/
Penalties, completion percentage irrelevant to quality
Posted by Mike Florio on January 26, 2017
The goofy notion that Thursday night football is somehow better than football played on other days sprung from a single premise, as articulated by Colin Cowherd during his interview of Commissioner Roger Goodell: Thursday night games have fewer penalties and higher completion percentages.
For starters, penalty rates and completion percentages are hardly the definitive metrics for determining the overall quality of a football game. Whether or not a given football game is “good” depends on many things, with the ultimate attractions being lead changes, splash plays, big hits, dramatic moments, and an outcome determined as late as possible in the contest.
The bigger problem with these two hand-picked factors, which supposedly were the product of show research but which more likely were handed to the host by someone who works at 345 Park Avenue, come from what reduced penalties and increased completions actually mean.
As one league source with extensive experience studying football games played on every day of the week explained it to PFT, reduced penalties and increased completions are the signs of a blowout.
In blowouts, the defense of the team on the right side of the margin plays a lot of loose, zone coverage. The team that’s trailing consequently gets plenty of “garbage completions” that pad stats.
The team with the lead throws fewer passes, in order to keep the clock running. When they do throw, the passes are more likely to be short and controlled, which pushes the completion rates even higher.
Penalties also decline because the officials become less inclined to bog down a game that no longer is in doubt.
So whoever cooked up a hot take based on those ingredients needs to cram the thing into the garbage disposal, quickly. As more and more people get a whiff and/or a taste of it, more and more people will question the sanity of the chefs.
