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The NFL should rethink how it decides the matchups for Thanksgiving


pf9

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Furthermore, the decisions of the NBA and NHL to resume play the way they did caused one RSN, Fox Sports Detroit, to lose out on Pistons and Red WIngs telecasts for the rest of the season, the only RSN to lose out on both the NBA and NHL because of the pandemic.

I felt that if one RSN had to be shut out until the next season, then all of them had to.

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Also, had the NBA season been canceled, the Spurs' playoff streak would still be intact at 22 years, with a chance to set an NBA record next year. Thus, the Spurs were not as lucky as the 1994 Atlanta Braves, who were in second place when the players' strike broke. Thus, that season is not held against them, and the Braves are recognized as having won 14 straight division titles from 1991-2005.

If Spurs fans knew their team would miss the playoffs, they would have fought hard against the restart in order to preserve their playoff streak without question. As it is, the longest active streak isn't even 10 years now.

Edited by pf9
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  • 1 month later...
1 hour ago, Chargers said:

If the NFL only wants Cowboys and Lions on. Then so be it but let them face each other only. Also please don't ever move a primetime time game like Steelers vs Ravens for a garbage like today. 

They didn't move the Steelers/ Ravens game for either that was played? 

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On 10/3/2020 at 8:50 PM, cp0k2 said:

The Detroit Lions began the modern tradition of playing on Thanksgiving in 1934. They invented the concept for the NFL. The NFL, you, and the handful of other people that make this thread every year (usually closer to Thanksgiving but you jumped the gun this year), and anyone else that thinks they're taking the game away from the Lions can kick rocks, it's not yours to take.

"Invented the concept"...give me a break. It's not exactly inventing the wheel.

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9oKj8Wkb_x96.jpg
 
 
Thanksgiving Day Washington-Dallas on Fox: 30.333 million viewers. Houston-Detroit on CBS: 23.389 million viewers.
 
 
9oKj8Wkb_x96.jpg
 
Of note: Washington-Dallas pulled in more TV viewers than any other NFL game this season.
 
271
 
 
And that's why you always see Washington vs Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
 
In fact, when you ask yourself or post on here why NFC East always get the Primetime games?
 
Because the ratings are always good for it.
 
And remember....this was a matchup between (2) 3-7 football teams.
 
Imagine the ratings had they been good?
 
Dallas & Washington was the most watched game all year.
 
And I'm even willing to bet that had Ravens & Steelers actually played that night?
 
Washington vs Dallas would still have had the most watchers.
 
Fact is...the NFC East is a big draw.
No matter what...
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5 minutes ago, aceinthehouse said:
 
9oKj8Wkb_x96.jpg
 
 
Thanksgiving Day Washington-Dallas on Fox: 30.333 million viewers. Houston-Detroit on CBS: 23.389 million viewers.
 
 
9oKj8Wkb_x96.jpg
 
Of note: Washington-Dallas pulled in more TV viewers than any other NFL game this season.
 
271
 
 
And that's why you always see Washington vs Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
 
In fact, when you ask yourself or post on here why NFC East always get the Primetime games?
 
Because the ratings are always good for it.
 
And remember....this was a matchup between (2) 3-7 football teams.
 
Imagine the ratings had they been good?
 
Dallas & Washington was the most watched game all year.
 
And I'm even willing to bet that had Ravens & Steelers actually played that night?
 
Washington vs Dallas would still have had the most watchers.
 
Fact is...the NFC East is a big draw.
No matter what...

I think that has more to do with Dallas than it does the NFC East. Dallas in general has historically been the most watched NFL team regardless of the games. I've never heard talk of a general uptick in viewers based on the other teams in the division, though it wouldn't be super surprising given the media market. 

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If it were up to me, I'd have the thanksgiving games be a rotation of division rivalries every year. And I'd rotate through these rivalries for every team:

Dallas-Philadelphia

Washington-NY Giants

Detroit-Minnesota

Green Bay-Chicago

Atlanta-New Orleans

Carolina-Tampa Bay

San Francisco-Seattle

LA Rams-Arizona

New England-NY Jets

Buffalo-Miami

Cincinnati-Cleveland

Baltimore-Pittsburgh

Indianapolis-Houston

Jacksonville-Tennessee

Kansas City-Las Vegas

 

It would take probably 6 years to get through the whole setup without adding a 4th game... so I'd add a 4th game. Do an 11am, a 2:30, a 6, and a west coast 9:30 game.

Go like this: AFC E, NFC N, AFC S, NFC W one year then: NFC E, AFC N, NFC S, AFC W, the next year. Just keep rotating them and cycling through. That way every 4 years, you get your biggest division rival on thanksgiving day.

 

I'd also make it to where Throwbacks (Fauxbacks in the case of CAR and JAX) would be allowed to be worn for those teams who want the old school looks (See ATL-NO or DET-MIN)

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division rivalries have plenty of opportunities to be on national TV

the fact the Thanksgiving night game is usually a division game anymore (after the move to NBC; in contrast, NFL Network only had a division game on Thanksgiving night once) limits the potential matchups for the game

of course my Thanksgiving schedule formula would still have given the night slot to a division game this year, but the Cardinals and Rams have longer Thanksgiving droughts than the Ravens and Steelers (which ended up being extended for those teams this year)

under my proposed formula, division games would only happen on Thanksgiving day once in a blue moon - it would be a while before any division rivals of Detroit or Dallas appear on Thanksgiving again, because all six of those teams have appeared on the holiday once in the last 10 years (including this year) - and to me, more than once in the last 10 years is far too frequent if I desire to see the other four teams more or less rotate - and this is coming from a Packers fan

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On 12/1/2020 at 2:14 PM, scar988 said:

If it were up to me, I'd have the thanksgiving games be a rotation of division rivalries every year. And I'd rotate through these rivalries for every team:

Detroit-Minnesota

 

It would take probably 6 years to get through the whole setup without adding a 4th game... so I'd add a 4th game. Do an 11am, a 2:30, a 6, and a west coast 9:30 game.

Go like this: AFC E, NFC N, AFC S, NFC W one year then: NFC E, AFC N, NFC S, AFC W, the next year. Just keep rotating them and cycling through. That way every 4 years, you get your biggest division rival on thanksgiving day.

 

I'd also make it to where Throwbacks (Fauxbacks in the case of CAR and JAX) would be allowed to be worn for those teams who want the old school looks (See ATL-NO or DET-MIN)

There is no rivalry with Detroit. We feel bad for their fans! 

Minnesota Vikings lead series 77-39-2

The Falcons put up a better fight

Minnesota Vikings lead series 20-12-0

Edited by TENINCH
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13 hours ago, TENINCH said:

There is no rivalry with Detroit. We feel bad for their fans! 

Minnesota Vikings lead series 77-39-2

The Falcons put up a better fight

Minnesota Vikings lead series 20-12-0

True. And there's the whole 1998 NFC Championship game.

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On 12/1/2020 at 1:08 PM, aceinthehouse said:
 
9oKj8Wkb_x96.jpg
 
 
Thanksgiving Day Washington-Dallas on Fox: 30.333 million viewers. Houston-Detroit on CBS: 23.389 million viewers.
 
 
9oKj8Wkb_x96.jpg
 
Of note: Washington-Dallas pulled in more TV viewers than any other NFL game this season.
 
271
 
 
And that's why you always see Washington vs Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
 
In fact, when you ask yourself or post on here why NFC East always get the Primetime games?
 
Because the ratings are always good for it.
 
And remember....this was a matchup between (2) 3-7 football teams.
 
Imagine the ratings had they been good?
 
Dallas & Washington was the most watched game all year.
 
And I'm even willing to bet that had Ravens & Steelers actually played that night?
 
Washington vs Dallas would still have had the most watchers.
 
Fact is...the NFC East is a big draw.
No matter what...

 

 

Let's not ignore the fact that a 4:30 game is 1:30 Pacific time. It's Thanksgiving and there is little else to do - put Chiefs and anyone in that time slot and it's 35 million viewers.

Comparing it to the game that started at 9:30am in the Pacific time zone is a joke - the fact that it only had 7 million less viewers is a knock on DAL/WAS to me.

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  • 5 weeks later...

OK, the Rams and Cowboys did not clinch the same place in their divisions. Neither did Jacksonville and Cleveland, or Denver and Cleveland.

So, the Thanksgiving day schedule for 2021 should be:

Arizona at Detroit - Arizona has gone longer than any other home opponent of Detroit without playing on Thanksgiving (last appearance: 2008)

Denver at Dallas - while Arizona is also playing at Dallas, Denver is not playing at Detroit, and thus Denver has the longest Thanksgiving drought of the Cowboys' remaining home opponents; not appear on the holiday during the Peyton Manning era was perhaps punishment for Peyton joining that team instead of the Browns; had Peyton joined the Browns they likely would have gotten a Thanksgiving game at some point during 2012-15

Jacksonville at LA Rams - The Rams have the longest active Thanksgiving drought of everyone not playing at Dallas or Detroit, and the longest overall; of the Rams 2021 opponents, Jacksonville has gone longest without a Thanksgiving appearance, never playing on the holiday; even though Jacksonville had the worst record in 2020, their likely new quarterback, Trevor Lawrence appears to be very marketable, so in anticipation of the Jaguars picking him first overall, the Jaguars-Rams game should be scheduled as the night game on Thanksgiving

Cleveland would thus be next in line to end the longest active Thanksgiving drought in 2022 under the scheduling formula for that holiday

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