Brian Orakpo: “Nobody in the League Likes Thursday Night Games”
Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo said something on Monday that most players in the NFL have shied away from commenting on.
Orakpo made it point blank clear, he is not a fan of Thursday night football games, and neither is anyone else in the league.
“Nobody in the league likes Thursday night games,” Orakpo said. “I don’t know why they have them. It sucks for players, but it’s part of the game. We’ll be fine. It’s tough, but Thursday night games have been going on for a while. We don’t like them, coaches don’t like them. It’s a short week. You want to prepare and scheme as much as you can, but you can only do so much in limited time.”
The Thursday night football programming idea stems from the NFL’s attempt to own yet another night of programming during each week of football season. It’s great for fans and owners, but horrible for players and coaches. This is the first year that CBS has broadcast games simultaneously with NFL Network each Thursday, a contract that is reportedly costing CBS $250 million a year.
Orakpo makes a solid point here and it’s easy to see why he hates Thursday games, especially this week. The Redskins have 17 players on their injury list as they prepare for a short-week Thursday night game against one of their bitter NFC East rivals, the New York Giants.
