- Joined
- Feb 9, 2014
- Messages
- 20,922
- Name
- Peter
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/03/whats-wrong-with-thursday-night-football/
What’s wrong with Thursday Night Football?
Posted by Mike Florio on October 3, 2014
Four short-week games have been played this season, and not a single one has been very good to watch.
The Ravens beat the Steelers, 26-6. The Falcons blasted the Bucs, 56-14. The Giants won in Washington, 45-14. And last night the Packers pummeled the Purple Paste Eaters, 42-10.
So what’s wrong with Thursday Night Football? It’s still possible that it’s simply the luck of the draw, and that these games would have been snoozers on a Sunday, too. With anywhere from 10 to 13 other games played on every given Sunday, bad games don’t stand out the same way they do when there’s only one game to watch, to discuss, to debate, and ultimately to criticize.
If the blowouts continue, however, it will be time to look more carefully at the potential causes. It could be that any gaps in talent become more pronounced when the two teams have less time to prepare. It also could be that injuries that otherwise would have healed by Sunday result in something other than the best players being available, like last night whenTeddy Bridgewater wasn’t able to suit up for the Vikings.
It ultimately could be that consistently expecting teams to play with only three days off between games isn’t the best way to get the most competitive contests.
Regardless of whether it’s the start of a trend or a fart in the wind, Thursday Night Footballis going nowhere. With the NFL now the only property capable of delivering a live eight-figure audience on a consistent basis, the short-week games will continue — and the networks will continue to throw money at the NFL for the privilege of televising the games.
CBS secured the right to do so for this year. Next year and beyond, the games could be on NBC. The quality of the games won’t matter, as long as the games continue to deliver the eyeballs.
But if the short-week games still stink, this is one stooge who won’t stay silent and/or gripe about how people from networks who didn’t win the contract are making snarky remarks about the poor quality of play. Absent honest complaints about the problems withThursday Night Football, the product could deteriorate to the point that the eyeballs find something else to eyeball.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/03/the-nfl-wants-you-to-know-thursday-isnt-that-bad/
The NFL wants you to know Thursday isn’t that bad
Posted by Darin Gantt on October 3, 2014
Yes, Thursday Night Football has been craptastic the last few weeks.
But the NFL would like to point out it’s not any more craptastic than normal.
Good solider/NFL spokesman Michael Signora isdutifully tweeting out the stats on Thursday night games, which the league would like to remind you haven’t always been quite this craptastic.
He mentions that since 2006, the average margin of victory in Thursday games is 13.6 points. In non-Thursday games (i.e., ones played with a normal amount of rest) 12 points.
Also, he pointed out that since 2012, home teams in non-Thursday games have a better winning percentage than home teams on Thursdays (.588, 314-220-2 vs. .579, 22-16).
That’s all well and good, and there’s clearly some recency bias at work here, since all we’ve seen are clunkers lately.
It’s clear that players hate playing in these games because of the toll it takes on their bodies, and if that’s the reason the product on the field is suffering, then something will need to be done.
But the number that matters most is $250,000,000, which is what CBS paid for what was supposed to be a better slate of games than ESPN was getting for Monday Night Football.
Which means they’re going nowhere, and we all have to hope this is a statistical blip and not a trend.
What’s wrong with Thursday Night Football?
Posted by Mike Florio on October 3, 2014
Four short-week games have been played this season, and not a single one has been very good to watch.
The Ravens beat the Steelers, 26-6. The Falcons blasted the Bucs, 56-14. The Giants won in Washington, 45-14. And last night the Packers pummeled the Purple Paste Eaters, 42-10.
So what’s wrong with Thursday Night Football? It’s still possible that it’s simply the luck of the draw, and that these games would have been snoozers on a Sunday, too. With anywhere from 10 to 13 other games played on every given Sunday, bad games don’t stand out the same way they do when there’s only one game to watch, to discuss, to debate, and ultimately to criticize.
If the blowouts continue, however, it will be time to look more carefully at the potential causes. It could be that any gaps in talent become more pronounced when the two teams have less time to prepare. It also could be that injuries that otherwise would have healed by Sunday result in something other than the best players being available, like last night whenTeddy Bridgewater wasn’t able to suit up for the Vikings.
It ultimately could be that consistently expecting teams to play with only three days off between games isn’t the best way to get the most competitive contests.
Regardless of whether it’s the start of a trend or a fart in the wind, Thursday Night Footballis going nowhere. With the NFL now the only property capable of delivering a live eight-figure audience on a consistent basis, the short-week games will continue — and the networks will continue to throw money at the NFL for the privilege of televising the games.
CBS secured the right to do so for this year. Next year and beyond, the games could be on NBC. The quality of the games won’t matter, as long as the games continue to deliver the eyeballs.
But if the short-week games still stink, this is one stooge who won’t stay silent and/or gripe about how people from networks who didn’t win the contract are making snarky remarks about the poor quality of play. Absent honest complaints about the problems withThursday Night Football, the product could deteriorate to the point that the eyeballs find something else to eyeball.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/03/the-nfl-wants-you-to-know-thursday-isnt-that-bad/
The NFL wants you to know Thursday isn’t that bad
Posted by Darin Gantt on October 3, 2014
Yes, Thursday Night Football has been craptastic the last few weeks.
But the NFL would like to point out it’s not any more craptastic than normal.
Good solider/NFL spokesman Michael Signora isdutifully tweeting out the stats on Thursday night games, which the league would like to remind you haven’t always been quite this craptastic.
He mentions that since 2006, the average margin of victory in Thursday games is 13.6 points. In non-Thursday games (i.e., ones played with a normal amount of rest) 12 points.
Also, he pointed out that since 2012, home teams in non-Thursday games have a better winning percentage than home teams on Thursdays (.588, 314-220-2 vs. .579, 22-16).
That’s all well and good, and there’s clearly some recency bias at work here, since all we’ve seen are clunkers lately.
It’s clear that players hate playing in these games because of the toll it takes on their bodies, and if that’s the reason the product on the field is suffering, then something will need to be done.
But the number that matters most is $250,000,000, which is what CBS paid for what was supposed to be a better slate of games than ESPN was getting for Monday Night Football.
Which means they’re going nowhere, and we all have to hope this is a statistical blip and not a trend.
