The NFL has always looked at new ways to improve ratings and bring in money. They seen the success that Monday Night Football has had throughout the years, and figured why not have another day of football in the middle of the week? So starting in 2006, the NFL added Thursday Night Football to their usual lineup. It may seem like a good idea, but it has proved to be a horrible thing for fans to watch, as well as the players actually on the field. So here are a few of the reasons why the NFL should completely abandon football on Thursday nights.
Timing Within The Week
The NFL for sure would have loved to be able to schedule a game on Friday night, instead of Thursday night. It could appeal to many more people, and it would bring in huge ratings simply because a lot of people have the typical Monday through Friday jobs. Those people would be more willing to watch a late night game on Friday than deal with having to stay up late to watch it and have to wake up early for work the next day. However, the NFL simply can not schedule Friday games because of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. The act basically restricts the NFL from having games on Fridays and Saturdays because it would diminish attendance and a willingness to go to or watch high school and college sports. So it puts the NFL in a unfavorable predicament if they want to add another day of the week for NFL football.
Coaches Can Not Gameplan Against Their Opponents
If you are one of the teams that have an upcoming Thursday Night Football game, be prepared to be unprepared for the game. The coaches simply do not have time to come up with gameplans on either side of the ball, resulting in a very low quality product. The defenses are sloppy, and the offenses are not much better. The games usually end in a shootout, or a low scoring game.
Player Safety
We’ve heard NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell say over and over again that players safety is his number one priority. Thursday Night Football says otherwise. After playing a game on Sunday, they take the field again just four days later. That means that if a players health is at 50% after the game on Sunday, he will play Thursday with a more inclined chance of serious injury. So if a star player get hurt Sunday, and let it heal enough to play the following Sunday, but they have a game on Thursday instead of Sunday, the player could sit and not play in the game Thursday siting his health, which takes away a star player for the NFL that people want to see. If he does play, he could get injured further and miss significant time, or if serious enough, end his career. Add in the fact that coaches and teammates will encourage players to play even if he is not at 100% health.
Replacing Thursday Night Football
The best solution I could come up with is having a doubleheader on Monday Night Football, instead of having a game on Monday and one on Thursday. It would greatly improve the quality of the product, as it would give players time to heal from injuries, and it would also allow for coaches to come up with and actual gameplan for the games. No matter which way the NFL decides to go with it, there has to be a better solution to Thursday Night Football.