Week 8 and the Thursday Night Game

Thursday night games suck.

I wasn't a huge fan of them to begin with. And that was before the Seahawks were forced to play their division rivals, the San Fransisco 49ers last week. On the road. On only 4 nights rest. Yeah, I already wasn't super fond of them. But now,  I hate them now. Scratch that, I loath Thursday night games.

They're stupid.

Sure on paper they sound great. Another night dedicated to professional football. Actually, it sounds delicisous. But the execution has been poor, to say the least. The games have been overall boring, sloppy and have yielded a ton of injuries (go back and watch that Pittsburgh game again).  Its just not enough rest in between games for the teams to put their best effort. They're still banged up from the previous game, and now they gotta go do it again? No thank you.

Look at what happened to the Seahawks last week. They're defense had allowed 12 points per game heading into last weeks game and by the second half, they were gassed. San Fransisco pushed them around like they were children. Granted, the score doesn't reflect an ass whooping, but my eyes told me a different story. After half time last Thursday, the 9ers would've had a tougher challenge against tackling dummies and blocking sleds.

This is a physical game. These are dudes with physical attributes a pubic hair short of crime fighters, and they spend 60 minutes fighting each other. Even Wolverine would need a couple days between doing that. Following last Thursday nights game, Seahawks full back Michael Robinson described the situation as, "go get into a carwreck and then try and play 2 days later."

These games are hypocritical.

Think about it: every rule the NFL has passed in the last few years has been done under the context of trying to keep players safe. Defensive players can't even adjust thier cup within five yards of a quarterback without having charges pressed on them. Which is fine, to an extent. Gotta keep these players safe, right?

Wasn't player's safety the reason the league came down on The Saints and the bounties this summer? I seem to remember hearing something about that.

But then you go and make them play on half a weeks rest? Seriously? Whats more dangerous? Bounties, or sending player's that are not fully recovered back onto the field. Hint: Thats they kind of attitude that lead to the league getting sued in the first place. Granted, the players are suing over misdiagnoises of head injuries; but this is sending players out on the field when they are not physically ready to. It might not be the same thing, but it's atleast related.

Don't believe me? Ask Scott Fujita.

"The Commissioner says he is disappointed in me. The truth is, I’m disappointed in him. His positions on player health and safety since a 2009 congressional hearing on concussions have been inconsistent at best. He failed to acknowledge a link between concussions & post-career brain disease, pushed for an 18-game regular season, committed to a full season of Thursday night games, has continually challenged players’ rights to file workers compensation claims for on-the-job injuries, and he employed incompetent replacement officials for the start of the 2012 season."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who never responded to Fujita's manly statement,  did respond to complaints on the Thursday games, "The shorter week is harder for the players. They'll tell you that, I'm sure."  He then went on to preach the benifits of having 10 days off following the Thursday game.

Point is, Thursday games are dangerous and have yet to yeild an interesting game. Lets go a head and scrap this idea after the season, eh owners? Atleast pretend you give a shit about the players and fans, and not just about that money.

Here are the picks (last week 6-7):

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Minnestoa Vikings -5 1/2 I was about to write about how Tampa is improved against the run this year and Christian Ponder isn't very scary- then I remembered I just wrote like 7 paragraphs on why Thursday night games suck (especially for the road team). So the Vikings are going to win, but by how much? Last week they won by 7 at home against Arizona so lets assume they could put up a 6 point margin against Tampa.
• Washington Redskins vs Pittsburgh Steelers -4 1/2 I really don't want to bet against RG III, but he hasn't really had a bad game and he is playing IN Pittsburgh. So... lets just say Steelers and move on before I change my mind.
• Seattle Seahawks vs Detroit Lions -1 I have watched 1 Detroit game. Last weeks Monday night game against the Bears. In a grand total of zero moments did I find myself thinking, "shit, this team could beat us next week." Fun fact: Last time Sidney Rice played Detroit, 2009, when he caught 7 balls for 201 yards.
• Carolina Panthers vs Chicago Bears -9 The Panthers are really bad and the Bears seem to be really good. But do I think the Bears can go out and past someone by 10 points. It's iffy. I'm going to say yes, if only because Carolina still doesn't know how to turn around and had the freaking ball off. Fantasy note: in ESPN PPR leagues (points per reception) Brandon Marshall is projected (THAT PROJECTED) to go for 27 points this week. Holy damn thats some (justifiable) disrespect to Carolina's defense.
• New England Patriots vs St. Louis Rams +7 Three weeks ago the Patriots capped off the 6 best offensive quarters in the history of the universe. Then they played the hawks and got punched in the dick. Then they played the Sanchize, and tried to beat themselves. I feel like this team should be good and angry for this one. Another thing to think about: The Patriots are 0-2 against the NFC west this year. They have this game and a home game against the 49ers left. They better win this one or they could seriously be looking at a chance to get blanked by a division.
• Indianapolis Colts vs Tennessee Titans -3 1/2 Sometimes is as simple as this: Andrew Luck is very good. Andrew Luck is averaging 42 passes per game. The Tennessee Titans are allowing teams to complete 72 percent of their balls. For this trend to continue, Andrew Luck will complete 29 balls this week. If Andrew Luck continues his current 12.5 yards per completion percentage, he will be at 362 yards on Sunday. Translation: Colts win.
• Miami Dolphins vs New York Jets -1 Reggie has been slumping and hurt over the last couple weeks. Maybe Rex Ryan demanding he apologize for comments about Revis' injury will give him some incentive to have a good game.
• San Diego Chargers vs Cleveland Browns +2 1/2 I have no thoughts on this game other than CBS better not try and put it on my tv. I will go straight ape shit if it is.
• Jacksonville Jaguars vs Green Packers -15 Green Bay has found their swing. Rodgers has tossed 16 of his 19 Touchdowns in the lsat four weeks. The Jaguars are not good. However, I am starting Rashad Jennings in my fantasy league this week so I'm going to pick the Jag's to cover.  I'm throwing it in the universe and seeing if it sticks.
• Atlanta Falcons vs Philadelphia Eagles -2 1/2 Atlanta isn't going to go undefeated. Here is a good game to make that statement accurate.
• Oakland Raiders vs Kansas City Chiefs PK Damn this game is ugly. Raiders. Enjoy your #1 pick, Kansas. Hopefully it finds you a Quarterback. Side Note: How funny would it be if Brady Quinn plays out of his mind for the rest of the season, locks up a contract from Kansas only to shit the bed next year? I would say, "very funny." 
• New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys +1 Cowboys won the first game. These two always split. 1 point means I'm just picking the winner. Giants, I'm looking at you. Jason Garrett, you might as well start packin' up your shit now, bro.
• New Orlean Saints vs Denver Broncos -6 Drew Brees the Hun needs to go for like 500 yards in this game. As a guy who owns him in my fantasy league (and Peyton in the other) I really, really hope they combine for 1,100 yards.
• San Fransisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals +6 1/2 I really wanted to pick San Fransisco to run up a touchdown on the Cardinals here. This is what's stoping me: 1) Arizona was 4-0 to start the season. They beat three potential playoff teams in that run. That tells me this losing streak should end at some point. 2) Wise man once told me, "always bet on the home dog on a monday night." I would attribute that quote if I could remember where it came from. But I can't. I still think it plays here though.  AZ covers, but they don't win.