Opening On Thursday A Blessing
May 11th, 2021
Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians.
A lot of Bucs fans were hoping the Bucs would begin the 2021 season on a Thursday night because it would be only rightful and just to celebrate hoisting the 2020 championship banner before a national audience in primetime.
Joe gets that. And it also makes up for the travesty of the Bucs, in their first game since beating the Raiders for their first Super Bowl, having to travel to open the season against Philadelphia.
An 18-year mistake.
But Joe likes this Thursday game to kickstart the season for a much higher purpose.
A big reason why it is so hard for teams to repeat is they have taken an extra three- or four-game beating from the previous season and have had generally five or six weeks less offseason time for their bodies to heal than most of the league.
Trust Joe, a game takes a physical toll on players.
Throw in that this year the Bucs and the entire NFL will play a 17-game schedule, Joe is worried that all those extra snaps and beatings will catch up with the Bucs at the worst time: in the playoffs. And Joe’s especially concerned about guys in their 30s like Jason Pierre-Paul and Lavonte David.
(Joe’s not too worried about Ndamukong Suh. That guy is an absolute rock of health. The only games he has missed in his career were for a suspension.)
So a Thursday night game to begin the season is basically a second bye week. Think of it, the Bucs have plenty of time through the waste that is preseason to get ready for the season opener.
Then, the Bucs get an unofficial short bye week immediately after the first game.
Joe is convinced that will help keep legs a bit fresher than a normal Sunday game to open the season.
Every little bit of extra rest is key this year.
May 11th, 2021 at 6:08 am
Bills Vs Bucs to open the season
May 11th, 2021 at 6:09 am
Sounds like a good plan, if it goes that way I’ll be ecstatic.
May 11th, 2021 at 6:23 am
Does it also keep the Bucs from being obliged to play on a short week Thur night game later in the year? Bc that’s the real win for me if so.
May 11th, 2021 at 6:55 am
Let me play the cowboys like everyone wants, our backups will be playing before halftime😂😂😂
May 11th, 2021 at 6:58 am
Still don’t understand why they didn’t add a second bye-week and add a few extra roster spots. Maybe when they expand to 18 regular season games?
In general, Thursday night football is a subpar product.
It’s like having a well established sleep schedule and waking someone up mid-sleep and asking them to go to work with limited preparation. Garbage!
In BA I Trust!
May 11th, 2021 at 7:06 am
Agree with Leighroy…..if that’s our Thursday game……it spares us a short week during the season.
May 11th, 2021 at 8:01 am
The NFL made our Bucs go to Japan that off season too.
May 11th, 2021 at 8:22 am
Joe, have the sports physiologists ever said how long it takes a professional football player’s body to “heal” after a season? Sure, players that didn’t play in the SB have a longer period to recover after their last game, but if it only takes two or three months for the body to get back to normal, there’s no advantage.
May 11th, 2021 at 8:26 am
If the rumors are true the Bucs will have a short week at Thanksgiving when they go up against the Patriots.
May 11th, 2021 at 8:44 am
PSL Bob totally agree. It doesn’t help from one year to the next, but if that’s their short week then it’s great. GO BUCS!
May 11th, 2021 at 10:06 am
Good point abt opening on thurs eliminates the short week.. wow how nice is it to be super bowl champions? only 3 seasons ago it was so painful to watch this organization.. i guess patience did pay off for us Bucs fans.. Go Bucs!! from Deadwood South Dakota
May 11th, 2021 at 12:19 pm
Lost traveling to bears on Thursday short week with lot of players injured . This is acutally a good deal
May 11th, 2021 at 12:42 pm
I’d be down to start off my week with a Thursday night game hell yea make it against the saints bears or even a super rematch lol