NFL - NEWS & NOTES

The Thursday night games may suck, but they get me primed for the weekend.

 

It's ingrained in our souls at this point...We can't go back to no TNF.

Sunday morning football I could live without.....but even that, I still like.

 

If you live on the west coast Sunday morning football comes on at 9:00 AM

 

I don't think that's right. More like 6:30 AM...It comes on at 9:30 AM EST here in Ohio.

 

I loved it when I was in Hawaii..., Sunday NFL (1pm EST slate) started at 8 AM. Had to get my bets in early. lol!

 

That’s the London games at 6:30

 

The nice thing is you can still do something else after football is over on any day that there’s a game.

 

The Lions were looking to add a veteran cornerback, and now they’ve found one.

Rashaan Melvin has signed a one-year deal with the Lions, a league source tells PFT.

The 29-year-old Melvin spent last season in Oakland after signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal, but he was a disappointment and was benched for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

Melvin has previously played for Lions head coach Matt Patricia in New England, and he’s also spent time with the Buccaneers, Dolphins Ravens and Colts.

 

A closer look at the onside kick alternative...

At next week’s owners’ meeting, the NFL will consider an alternative to the onside kick that would allow teams that score a touchdown or field goal — or teams that give up a safety — in the fourth quarter to elect not to kick off and instead line up their offense for a fourth-and-15 play from the 35-yard line. If they get to the 50, they keep the ball.

The rule has been proposed because last year’s changes to the kickoff made onside kicks harder to recover successfully. Picking up a fourth-and-15 isn’t easy to do either, but some teams may think it’s easier than recovering an onside kick.

Teams will only be permitted to try the fourth-and-15 once a game, and only in the fourth quarter, so we won’t see a team trying it in a surprising situation early in a game. Teams may not punt on the play.

Here’s the full text of the proposed new rule:

A team may elect once per game during the fourth period to play offense instead of a kickoff or safety kick. The following rules will apply if such an election is made:

(1) The kicking team must notify the referee of its intention to forego a kickoff or safety kick for one offensive play. The referee will then notify the team that would otherwise be receiving the kickoff or safety kick.

(2) The ball will be spotted on the kicking team’s restraining line and the kicking team will have one scrimmage down on offense to gain 15 yards (4th and 15) to the line to gain. The sideline chain unit will be placed five yards ahead of A’s restraining line and the first down marker will be placed 15 yards from A’s restraining line (40 yard-line to the 50-yard line on a normal kickoff play when the restraining line is the 35-yard line).

(3) Play clock will be set to 25 seconds and winds on the ready for play signal. Game clock starts on the snap, and normal NFL timing rules apply.

(4) Standard scrimmage play rules apply.

(5) If the offense reaches the line to gain, the offense retains possession of the ball and the customary rules are in effect. If the defense stops the offense, the defense assumes possession at the resulting yard line of the play.

(6) If the offense is penalized on the one scrimmage down (4th and 15), the offense cannot elect to then kickoff after the penalty is enforced. Example: the kicking team may not elect to kick after incurring a holding penalty on the one scrimmage down.

(7) Scrimmage kicks are prohibited.

(8) Nothing in this exception prohibits a team from attempting a legal onside kickoff under Rule 6. (PFT)
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Someone wake me up from this nightmare that never ends. Im dreaming they keep changing and trying to fix the game I grew up with and played in my younger years... a game I loved the way it was!

HIT SOMEBODY!!!... oh wait, that would be a penalty.

 

Concussions...We didn't even think about those as injuries. It was just, "he got his bell rung. He''ll be back next week"....I hate it too, but the times have changed our game we grew up with.

It just shows you how profound of an effect billion dollar lawsuits have...

 

I ran through pretty quickly but I don't believe the Lions have ever played a Thursday game on the road.

 

Nice work, I checked and you are correct. Seems odd too me.

 

Not really odd if you think about it.

Back in the day, Thanksgiving was the only time teams played on Thursday and the Lions always hosted a home game. With the advent of "Prime Time" games (MNF & SNF) the networks had a huge say in which teams would be televised. Then TNF was added relatively recently (MNF started in 1970). Originally, the NFL used TNF as a bone to throw at teams that didn't get selected by the networks for the other prime time games. I believe there was even an "unofficial rule" where, if an underperforming team was forced on a network, they only had to televise that team once per season. And because the Lions always played a prime time game on Thanksgiving, they always met the once per season "rule".

 

Agree that's probably the biggest factor but Dallas has played a few Thursday Night games on the road in addition to the Thanksgiving game.

 

Dallas hasn't been as "underachieving" as Detroit for the majority of those years.

Since their return, TNF has been the Browns' only hope for a prime time game (home or away).

 

True but their two appearances as road Thursday Night participants followed the '13 (8-8) and '15 (4-12) seasons. So they certainly weren't lighting the world on fire when the NFL put the schedule out. Detroit has actually been to the playoffs as often (3x) as Dallas over the last 10 seasons.

 

I don't need "priming" to get ready for Sunday football.

 

What bothers me about Thursday night games is the fantasy or betting aspect. In the middle of a busy workday you have to find a way to finalize a move or get picks in. Sounds easy enough, and if I only had to do it once a season I’d be fine. But every week...it’s honestly a huge reason you never see me playing the weekly pick ‘ems. Because sure enough, within the first two weeks I’ve failed to get my Thursday night pick in.

 

Cowboys signing George Iloka to one-year deal...

George Iloka left Dallas without a deal, but he’ll be going back with one.

PFT has learned that free agent safety George Iloka has agreed to a one-year deal with the Cowboys.

The Cowboys looked at a number of safeties, including Eric Berry and Clayton Geathers (before he returned to the Colts) before deciding on Iloka.

Iloka had also visited the Raiders this free agent period. He spent last year with the Vikings after spending his first six years with the Bengals. (PFT)

 

Gronk retires