One of the things that I hate about the NFL is its hypocrisy when it comes to player safety. The league (aided and abetted by sports media) constantly crows about how it is making the game safer, whether it is with new rules, redesigned helmets, or what have you. And yet, the very existence of Thursday Night Football puts the lie to all the league's "players first" posturing. You take two teams full of players who have just played a violent, concussive game on Sunday, and, instead of giving them the standard week to recover, you make them play again on Thursday.
For league exposure.
For TV and ad revenue.
Players first? More like business first.
Players hate Thursday Night Football. Fans should too. It takes a contest between what should be two teams at their best, and waters it down.
Players, and fans, deserve better
Thursday Night
Baltimore at Cincinnati
Another thing that bugs me about Thursday Night Football is that it complicates things when I'm trying to make my pick. Instead of looking at football-related matchups, I have to start factoring in things like fatigue and who played harder on Sunday, and other weird intangibles.
So let's get that out of the way: Cincy had a tougher game, falling behind early and rallying to win in the second half, while Baltimore romped over a terrible Buffalo team, with the R****s resting some starters in the second half.
This is a close matchup, closer than most people believe, I think. Many are touting Baltimore as elite because of how impressive they looked last Sunday, but, I believe that that performance is a mirage; Buffalo is terrible, and terribly-coached, and Baltimore handled them easily as a result. I think the ease of Baltimore's victory could backfire on them. Cincy comes into this contest battle-tested, having faced a surprisingly sharp Andrew Luck, and the B*****s should be feeling confident in their ability to weather some early yips and come back strong. Cincinnati's passing and running (featuring notorious girl-puncher Joe Mixon) games were effective, and that level of competence and balance is something that Baltimore might not be prepared to face. And don't even get me started on Joe Flacco. Baltimore fans have been trying to sell themselves on him for years; I refuse to believe that he's going to have a monster season based on one decent game against a pitiful opponent.
It'll be a close one, but I'm leaning towards the home team
Winner: Cincinnati.
For league exposure.
For TV and ad revenue.
Players first? More like business first.
Players hate Thursday Night Football. Fans should too. It takes a contest between what should be two teams at their best, and waters it down.
Players, and fans, deserve better
Thursday Night
Baltimore at Cincinnati
Another thing that bugs me about Thursday Night Football is that it complicates things when I'm trying to make my pick. Instead of looking at football-related matchups, I have to start factoring in things like fatigue and who played harder on Sunday, and other weird intangibles.
So let's get that out of the way: Cincy had a tougher game, falling behind early and rallying to win in the second half, while Baltimore romped over a terrible Buffalo team, with the R****s resting some starters in the second half.
This is a close matchup, closer than most people believe, I think. Many are touting Baltimore as elite because of how impressive they looked last Sunday, but, I believe that that performance is a mirage; Buffalo is terrible, and terribly-coached, and Baltimore handled them easily as a result. I think the ease of Baltimore's victory could backfire on them. Cincy comes into this contest battle-tested, having faced a surprisingly sharp Andrew Luck, and the B*****s should be feeling confident in their ability to weather some early yips and come back strong. Cincinnati's passing and running (featuring notorious girl-puncher Joe Mixon) games were effective, and that level of competence and balance is something that Baltimore might not be prepared to face. And don't even get me started on Joe Flacco. Baltimore fans have been trying to sell themselves on him for years; I refuse to believe that he's going to have a monster season based on one decent game against a pitiful opponent.
It'll be a close one, but I'm leaning towards the home team
Winner: Cincinnati.
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