While fans enjoyed watching a close matchup between the Saints and the Falcons last night, not everybody was happy about “Thursday Night Football.”
After his team’s 20-17 loss to the Falcons, Drew Brees ripped the Thursday night games because of the toll they take on players’ bodies.
Brees told reporters that his players are “absolutely” unsafe when they play on Thursdays since they get less rest after their weekend games.
When asked more specifically what he was insinuating about the Saints’ loss, Brees responded, “Do you understand what guys’ bodies go through in a game? And then to have to turn around 4 days later and to play?”
Drew Brees on Saints’ injuries: “It’s 100% a product of playing on Thursday night. Do you understand what guys’ bodies go through in a game? And then to have to turn around 4 days later and to play?…Is this smart as it pertains to guys’ health and safety? No, absolutely not.”
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) December 8, 2017
He’s not alone in his feelings for TNF. Seattle Seahaws’ Doug Baldwin went on record saying playing games on Thursday should be illegal.
Full Doug Baldwin on Thursday-after-Sunday games: “This shit should be illegal. It is not OK. It’s not OK. You can quote me on that,” Baldwin said of Thursday-after-Sunday games. This is not OK.” #Seahawks
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) November 10, 2017
Now I’m not an expert but those sound like fighting words. He’s echoing teammate Richard Sherman, who was one of the first players to come out against TNF with characteristic eloquence.
“Poopfest. It’s terrible,” he told ESPN. “We got home like 1 o’clock in the morning, something like that, on Monday, and then you’ve got to play again. Congratulations, NFL, you did it again. But they’ve been doing it all season, so I guess we’re the last ones to get the middle finger.”
The Saints did suffer several injuries last night, including a concussion that’ll take running back Alvin Kamara out for a few days.